You and Me (This Summer Spin-off)

Chapter 19: Narnia

19. Narnia

I repeatedly hit the punching bag in front of me much harder than I usually did.

"Easy," dad chuckled. "Any harder and you'll punch a hole through me."

I sighed as he let it go. "Sorry."

"You seem frustrated," he noticed. "You want to talk kid?"

"I want to punch."

"Hitting's good," he said. "Hitting's real good, but sometimes it doesn't work. Talking does."

I brushed away the few strands of hair stuck to my forehead. "I hate talking."

"You and me both Princess, but I had to learn to do it the hard way."

"Yeah well I'm not you," I stated a little too harshly.

I was agitated, and he could tell, and so he didn't take my attitude personally. He never did.

Instead, he just chuckled again. "Good, it would be a shame if you were."

What did he even mean by that?

"The last thing we want is for you to bottle everything up and lash out again sweetheart," he continued. "Maybe we should get you back in the-"

"No," I immediately objected. "I hated therapy, don't make me do that again. They don't really give a shit dad, they just sit there and scribble so they get paid."

My parents, well my father mostly, had accepted my swearing at this point. It was a bad habit, but no amount of swear jars could keep the words out of my vocabulary now.

"You'd be surprised at how many of them do," he said. "I know someone who wouldn't even ask for a dime. I could call."

"I don't need therapy," I stated once more.

"You may not be me Princess, but you're a lot like me," he told me. "And people like us, we don't know how to process the bad emotions like pain, hurt, disappointment, confusion. And so we let them out the only way we know how—anger. And you know why?"

I sighed. "Why?"

He looked down at me, his blue eyes mirroring mine. "Because being angry is easier than showing weakness and vulnerability. It's okay to worry, or to be sad, or to freak out about things, love. Doesn't make you weak."

"What if I really am just angry?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Same rule applies Princess. Talking doesn't make you weak either."

I opened my mouth to speak, but the door to the basement opened and my brother beat me to it.

"Dad," he called. "It's been an hour, I'm kind of going crazy without the ice cream you promised."

"Now he, is a hundred percent your mother," my father told me, a smile on his face.

He winked at me and went to pick Shane up before exiting the room. I however just huffed and fell back into the old torn beanbag chair that we had never thrown out. I was angry, but I was also confused. I hated not speaking to Chase, but I hated it even more when he acted like an asshole. And kissing Spencer the night before. I didn't regret it, but I also didn't want things to move too quickly. He was a nice guy, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like him, but I also wanted to make sure I wasn't rushing in like a fool.

I checked my phone, still looking at the text notification with his name on the screen. He'd sent it earlier in the day but I wasn't up for talking. I made a mental note to apologize when I saw him at school so that he didn't think I was avoiding him. After a few minutes of relaxation, I got back on my feet and began to work out again.