Dismissing Dakota | ✓

»6. everytime«

Silvia's P.O.V.

Half an hour into his visit, I learned that my mother wasn't staying and that the luggage all belonged to Lenard. Dad had supposedly bought their tickets. They were meant to come on my birthday, but something had caused them to delay their visit. Lenard was the only one that was supposed to come, but my mother demanded that she also got a trip over to California. That was possibly why they were delayed a few days, getting an ok from Evelyn.

Evelyn wasn't home. She announced her pregnancy to us all earlier this month and the family has been overjoyed by the good news. I heard her drive off this morning, knowing ahead that she was getting a check-up.

"I originally wanted to come on Thanksgiving. I got discharged about two weeks before the holiday." Lenard said, relaxing back on the recliner, holding a can of soda in one hand. His fingers tapped against the metal as his eyes swept around the vicinity, quite impressed at what he saw. He raised his brow at appropriate times and didn't dare ask the price of anything in the room.

"I'm happy you were able to make it. That's all that matters to me." I beamed and went for another hug. I was getting greedy with the affection. He was so numb the last time I saw him. There was a different rhythm in the way he walked. Even the way the light behind his eyes after he smiled seemed to look significantly different all together. As much as I wanted to believe he was the old Lenard I grew up with, I knew that he wasn't. Not after everything that happened. He appeared to seem healthier than before though. That was what I cared about, not if he was the same Lenard.

"I've heard a bit about what's been going on around here," Lenard said, taking a slug of his drink. "If you ask me, it sounds a lot more interesting than what I've been through."

I shook my head. He didn't need to be weighed down by my dumb drama. I wanted his mood to not be ruined by my own issues. "No, it's been pretty boring around here."

He took a long sip. "Dad told me about Dakota."

I shot a look at my father. "Really? You had to?"

After the last day of school, Hunter and Pierson had brought me home. It took my father one guess to figure out what happened. With me bawling my eyes out and cursing out Dakota's name, it really wasn't hard to know what occurred. It was the first time in a long time where I saw my father show more interest in my life than in his work.

Dad shrugged, not showing any shame. "What? I had to. It's frowned upon if a 40-something year old beats up a teenager. I figured Lenard would be a fair opponent against your ex."

Mom snorted a laugh. "What did this Dakota guy do? I hope you didn't piss off any more older men like you did in Maine, Silvia. I don't want to have to ship you off to another school before you've even finished high school."

My face fell. I had worked so hard to erase what I did in Maine but with my mom here, I knew she wouldn't let me escape it. "I'm not getting into any trouble here mom. It wasn't my fault. What happened between Dakota and I has been resolved," I lie, "and there won't be any problems now."

She scoffed. "You say that now. But don't come crying to me again once photos of you blow up online again like they did before."

"Hey. He did that without her knowledge. That wasn't Silvia's fault." Lenard chimed in.

Mom rolled her eyes. "Well if she would've kept her legs together than maybe that whole incident wouldn't have happened. Silvia's not a victim."

Lenard's gaze darkened. "You said you wouldn't do this."

"Not do what? Be honest?" She raised a thick brow. "God, I'm not her therapist. I'm not here to coddle her. I'm her mother."

"You would coddle a bottle of Valium faster than you'd coddle your own daughter. Don't you see how fucking pathetic that is?"