Is This What You Call a Family?

I ended up spending most of the day listening to my CDs, sleeping, and just plain being a raging ball of hormones. I flipped back and forth between being angry at the entire world and bawling like a baby. I was starting to believe that those ‘stages of grief’ that I learned about were just really outta whack with me. Instead of going in any kind of order they just decided to hit random and repeat. Papa and McKenna had both tried to coax me out of the room, but they were soon discouraged when I didn't even respond to their voices after a while. I think McKenna went out with some friends after being encouraged by Papa because I don’t think I should leave. She needs someone here for her. But Papa had insisted he would be here all day if I did need someone.

It was sweet, really it was, but their sweetness made me more annoyed with the main person I was angry at, my ‘father’. His sister and father went through all this effort to try to make me feel better and feel like I was at home, but he couldn't come home early from his business trip? Obviously this was a special circumstance and his employer shouldn't hold it against him unless they were really shitty. But even if he couldn't come home, was a phone call really too much to ask?

I was stirred from my half asleep ramblings by the sound of a loud growling reaching my ears. I was confused until I heard it again and felt my stomach moving. Oh yeah, I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I should probably eat. Peering at the clock on the nightstand next to me, I saw that it was three o’clock in the morning. Where did the time go? I pushed myself up before slipping off the bed and heading to the door. I carefully opened it and listened for any movement in the house but heard nothing. I made sure to move slowly across the floor and down the stairs. I wonder what they had to eat.

As I flipped on the kitchen light, a container on the counter caught my attention. I looked around me as if expecting someone to come from one of the neighboring rooms. When no one appeared, I approached the counter it sat on and picked up the small piece of paper that had been propped on it.

Went to get you for dinner, but you were asleep so I didn't want to disturb you. Hope you enjoy it whenever you come to get it.

-Suzy

Alright, so Suzy was fucking angel too. Nice to know. I opened the container to see chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. I smiled at the selection and placed it in the microwave, more or less randomly choosing three minutes as a preferred amount of time to heat up the food. As I waited I looked in the fridge before deciding on a bottle of water to drink. I leaned against the counter and tilted my head back to study the ceiling. It was free of dots and that made a stupid grin spread across my face. No dots shall enter this house.

The beeping of the microwave pulled me from my thoughts. I pushed myself off the counter before opening the door of the microwave and grabbing the container. I let out a yelp and practically tossing the heated plastic onto the kitchen’s island. I instantly grabbed my bottle and let the coolness chill my stinging fingers. After a bit of looking through drawers, I found a fork and knife and plopped down on one of the stools. I finally set down my bottle and began to chow down. Shit, I was really hungry, huh? Within three minutes all the food was gone and I still felt like I could eat another pound of mashed potatoes. I busied myself with cleaning out the container and placing them in the dishwasher before pulling open the fridge door and staring intently at the contents.

"I really want something sweet," I muttered to myself as I shut the fridge and opened the sliding door underneath which held the freezer items. I let out a small ‘whoop’ as I found a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I will just have to owe whoever it belonged to. Maybe they'll just pity me. I shut the drawer it my foot and froze as the sound of a door unlocking and opening was heard. The sound of the door shutting and something being placed on the ground was heard before the locks were flipped again.

"Dad? Mac?" A male voice called quietly. I had the mind to childish drop behind the counter but I was silently frozen in my spot, presumably resembling a deer in headlights. Just as I was beginning to think about sinking back into the laundry room, footsteps were heard approaching the kitchen. A man popped his head in and his eyes skimmed the room before landing on me. They grew in size and he fully stepped into the room as he blinked hard.

He was pretty tall, maybe a few inches taller than Papa, and definitely had a slight muscular build to him. His hair was shaved down on the sides with an unruly mess of poof in the middle that made me wonder how the fuck he could tame it. He was dressed in jeans, Doc Martens, a wrinkled v-neck that showed some letters of a word - only REV was visible so who knows what the fuck that’s about, and a leather jacket. As I was getting ready to ask who the hell he was and why he was in my grandfather’s house, he spoke again.

"Juliet?"

A kind of click went off in my mind and I blinked a few times as I recognized the familiar face. Well, the face that became familiar this morning. This was the prick I guess I was expected to call my father. My eyes narrowed and I really wish looks could kill because he would probably be in a hole in the ground by now. He seemed to notice my less than happy feeling towards him at the current moment and shifted his feet uncomfortably. After a moment of indecision he took a step forward and I instinctively took one back. He frowned and looked like he wanted to say something, but that was when more footsteps were heard approaching the kitchen.

"Brian? What are you - " Papa cut himself as he entered the kitchen doorway and saw me standing by the fridge. "Juliet? What are you doing up?"

"I was hungry," I spoke simply. I realized I was still holding the pint of ice cream and decided to put it back in the fridge before it began to melt. By the time I turned around again, Papa had turned his attention back to my father who was staring past him at me.

"What are you doing back so soon?"

"I left Australia right after the concert. I got back about an hour ago and got a cab to drop me off," Brian explained. He leaned slightly around Papa and started with, "Juliet, I’m - "

"Fuck you," I seethed.

"Juliet!" Papa snapped, whipping around to pin me with a look as Brian’s mouth fell open in what I assumed to be shock. How dare he have the audacity to think I should be anything but excited to see him. Honestly though, Papa didn't exactly look angry, more tired and disappointed that I was already letting the rougher colors of myself bloom so early. I bet he had been expecting this but would never admit it. "Don’t speak to your father that way."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Some father."

"Jules, please. Go upstairs or outside. Just, please calm down," Papa sighed. I didn't want to risk upsetting him - I mean, I wasn't angry at him, just his deadbeat son. So, to honor his wishes, I turned on my heels and headed through the laundry room and into the backyard. I headed towards the left side of the yard where it was mostly grass instead of concrete surrounding the pool. I laid on my back and stared up at the sky. I felt my anger simmer down a bit as I closed my eyes and felt the cool air chill me.

After I'm not sure how long, I felt a distinct coldness on my forehead. My eyes snapped up to see Papa leaning off me with a weak smile, the pint of ice cream I had in his hand and on my head. I pushed myself up and quietly thanked him as I took the ice cream and spoon he offered me. I wordlessly opened it and took a small spoonful before dropping it in my mouth. I let it melt on my tongue and swallowed before speaking.

"I’m sorry, Papa."

"No, no. You have a right to be angry, Juliet. Don’t ever think you don’t have that right. But I really wish you wouldn't be so fast to judge him. I’m sure if you sat down with him and actually talked to him, you wouldn't be as mad with him."

"Why, so he can make up some lies to make him the victim in all of this?" I scoffed.

"No. So he can tell you his side of the story. A side of the story I painfully know a lot about," Papa clarified. I fell silent and began to eat more of the ice cream.

"I have to go with him tomorrow, don’t I?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, you do. But our door will always be open to you, Juliet." Papa wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I instinctively leaned into his side. "We’ll always be there if you need us. McKenna, Suzy, and I."

"Thank you, Papa." I kissed his cheek before placing the lid back on the pint of ice cream which was missing about a forth of it now. He retracted his arm as we both stood to our feet and Papa half ass cleaned the grass off his pajama pants.

He led the way back in through the laundry room and then the kitchen. I made sure to place the pint back in the freezer and drop the spoon into the dishwasher before turning around. Brian sat at the kitchen island, his eyes darting from the steaming mug being held between his hands and me. Papa was leaning on the counter to my left, glancing between the two of us as if waiting for something drastic to happen. I cleared my throat softly and Brian’s head snapped up to stare intently at me. I shifted slightly and crossed my arms over my chest as I came to a stop on the other side of the island from him.

"I'm not going to lie. I currently don't like you, like, what so ever. I guess it's technically not your fault, but I don't care. I don't like you and I feel like I can trace blame back to you for this tragic event to happen in my life. But because Papa asked me to, and only because Papa asked me to, I'm not going to act on that. I’m going to listen to your side before I make any harsh decisions. But I'm not going to trust you and I'm sure as hell not going to call you ‘Dad’. You get that title when I feel you earn it. If you have any objections to these points, it doesn't matter. That's what you get. Do we have an understanding?"

Brian looked ready to fight the entire thing from top to bottom on why I was wrong and why it wasn't fair. But I'll give him credit, he didn't instantly rage and never tried to cut me off. He wasn't happy with anything I told him but he was giving me my space and letting me access my feelings. So, he nodded, though very glumly.

"Alright, well, I'm going to bed. You probably want to get some rest from your long business trip or whatever anyways. Goodnight..morning, whatever." I turned on my heels before heading back upstairs to my guest room. I shut my door before leaning against it and taking a deep breath through my nose. Alright, that wasn't as nerve wracking as I thought, meeting my father and telling him off “nicely” was simpler than I thought. Maybe it'll be even easier once I get a few more hours of sleep.

- Time Lapse -

Ha. Hahaha. Who had I been kidding? Sleep was no option, no option whatsoever. I laid staring at the nearly perfectly smooth ceiling until the sun was high in the sky. Every time I tried to close my eyes the sight of blood flying as a bat came down onto a body kept flashing through my mind. I think I may have dozed off for a few minutes only for the bat to be turned on me and making me almost scream as I shot awake. So instead I studied the ceiling and willed the light to hurry up and invade the house.

Once it was nine and I figured everyone was up, I grabbed my clothes and shower items and headed into the connecting bathroom. McKenna was, luckily, not inside but she did leave the clothes she had washed yesterday on the counter. I debated just putting on that outfit again but decided against it. I locked both doors on either side of the bathroom before getting into the shower, softly singing along to songs as I went through the process of washing everything.

Soon enough I was nearly completely dressed, making sure to blow dry my hair and straighten it before pulling on my beanie. I unlocked the doors before gathering my clean clothes and the pajamas I had worn. I shoved everything back into my duffle bag before tossing it and my backpack over opposite shoulders. I took a deep breath in through my nose before opening the door to my room. All the doors on the floor were open and I could hear sounds from downstairs. I glared at the open door to the other guest room, wondering if Brian had been sleeping only two rooms away from me or if he had stayed downstairs. I guess it was really petty and didn't matter but it bothered me a little.

"You're going to be living with him. Get over yourself," I scoffed to myself, my logical side chiding my inner childishness. I took the stairs two at a time and heard voices drifting from the living room. I placed my bags by the front door - where I noticed two medium sized suitcases - before heading back to the doorway connecting to the packed room. Brian sat on the couch with his back facing me, Suzy sitting on the same couch with him. Papa was sitting in an armchair with McKenna lounging on the love seat to the right of the couch, her feet propped up in Brian's lap.

"At least you didn't get a boomerang to the face like last time you went on a tour in Australia," McKenna snickered to which Brian halfheartedly slapped one of her shins.

"One thing did not change though, it still scares the shit seeing a kangaroo hopping around outside of a zoo," Brian said. Suzy and McKenna chuckled and Brian shook his head. "Seriously! One just hopped up to the bus and I freaked. Johnny almost got kicked by the thing."

"That would be hilarious," McKenna laughed. About that time is when Papa, who was the only one who could see me in the doorway, noticed my presence.

"Oh, morning, Juliet." Everyone turned slightly to smile at me. Well, Brian tried to smile but he looked more constipated than anything else. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great, thanks." The only person who didn't seem to believe me was Brian. But seeing the bags under his eyes, it looked like I wasn't the only person who didn't sleep last night.

"Oh! Are you hungry? We still have some Eggos if you want them," Suzy spoke up as she went to stand. I quickly shook my head causing her to sink back into the couch cushions.

"I'm not really hungry. Thank you for the food last night, though."

"No problem, hun. I didn't want you to go hungry or anything. I'm just glad you came down to eat it last night," she explained. I smiled again and nodded.

"Did you guys have a specific time you needed to get back?" Papa’s eye trailed from me to Brian who shrugged.

"Not really. Michelle works this morning so she shouldn't be back until five-ish anyways. So, unless Juliet wants to head out..." Brian trailed off and looked back towards me. I shrugged without any real answer and he nodded softly to himself. "So yeah, just whenever. Figured we could leave around one so she can see the house and settle before dinner. Unless you're tired of us already."

"You? Definitely," McKenna spoke without missing a beat. I chuckled as Brian gave another weak smack to her leg as she beamed at his (probably) sour face. Well, this is going to be a weird few hours.