doppelgänger --> there's never just one {sequel}

andy

It was nearing the end of the school year for the kids, and this morning Andy had decided to get up before the sun rose and get ready with them. That way, he could be with the kids, but at the same time, get off to the studio early and begin writing and recording in the morning to knock it all out before everyone got out of school. Traffic always was heavier around that time, and he could come home to see Scout before everyone else got there and the house was loud again.

But everything went so much faster than he'd expected that morning. By the time he'd gotten downstairs where everyone was, the clock still only reading 6:30 A.M., Bex was cleaning breakfast up with Sadie, and Dennis and Dani were already pulling on their backpacks, getting ready to walk out the door.

He looked between all of them, slightly stunned, even, to realize that all along when he thought he'd had the timing right, he had it wrong. "You guys are leaving already?" he blurted suddenly. His expression was as sad as he was surprised, though, because this whole school year he hadn't gotten up with them one morning to even know the actual time they got up and left.

He felt really irresponsible, and like a dad who acted like he didn't care.

"Yeah," Dennis answered, making Andy pick his head up to look at him. He watched as his son threw his backpack onto his shoulder, grabbing his car keys from where they sat on the kitchen table. "Gotta get there before that 7:15 bell rings."

"But it's --" Andy stuttered, looking at the glowing letters on the clock on the stove. It was already 6:45. He looked back at Sadie, who was looking at him from where she stood by the door. "Look, I'm sorry, guys. I tried to wake up and come down here early enough to at least sit with you while you got ready, but I obviously wasn't even aware of the time you walked out the door to leave. I should've done this more often this school year."

"Andy, its fine. You're overthinking it a little too much," Bex told him, offering him a sympathetic smile. "It's sweet of you to think of us, but I think if you did come down in time and sit with us it would only be for about five or ten minutes, and it might not be worth it. The mornings are chaotic, and none of us really take the time to all sit down together and eat breakfast, anyway. After all, you should sleep into late morning. You need the the rest," she suggested, but without realizing, unintentionally hurting Andy a little bit. He hadn't realized or thought about that there was a possibility they wouldn't care like he did. To them, he was just their annoying, nagging dad who served only one purpose: and that was to get on their nerves. He doubted, now that it was brought to his attention, that they would just want to sit there and talk to him sort of as friends, anyway.

It wasn't....

Cool.

"Well, okay. Have a great day at school," Andy said innocently, but Dani just rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, right," and with that, the door was shut and they were gone.... and Andy couldn't help but feel unwanted and not needed by his teenagers anymore. It's like he was worthless to them.

Both his head and his heart told him that wasn't actually how it was, but the other part of him believed that his kids just really didn't want him, nor need him any longer.

Yet they were too young to realize; still too inexperienced with mature adult things in life to know that they would still need their father, not only for financial support, but emotional support and to be there for them when they fell down and needed a little guidance. After all, even at only 32 years of age, Andy was the expert at life itself and had already been through just about everything someone as young as he was could. He'd definitely been through the motions. He always told his kids he would be there for them, no matter what, and as a word of encouragement that he guaranteed they wouldn't go through anything he hadn't. He'd done it all, seen it all, even lost it all, and they knew he would understand any and all their struggles.

But they never came to him.

Was he supposed to believe that there was nothing wrong at all; that Dennis, Dani, Sadie, or even Bex didn't need to talk, that they weren't struggling in any way whatsoever? Andy knew that wasn't true, even when the family just sat around the dinner table in the evenings, looking around and hearing them speak about school, for example, he could see right through them and know that there just was something, something that maybe wasn't.... right? Something that wasn't okay, possibly? But despite Andy reminding them that he was there to talk, and that Scout was too, he never had a knock on his door or a tap on his shoulder or a familiar voice asking him if it was okay to talk.

He didn't know if he was doing something wrong, but he must've been if none of them had ever come to him. Because he knew they had personal problems. For a fact, just about everyone in the world did, including the people who seemed the most 'perfect', and the ones who lived the most ideal lives; the ones who looked like they had it all together. Andy knew even Scout's co-worker who she had come home jealous of most likely did not have a perfect life.

And if Andy could ask his kids to come to him for help, he knew they would soon realize that they needed him and that he would come in handy to talk to, both when they needed him and when they wanted to converse almost as.... friends. The time they would come to realize that couldn't come faster for Andy, or the kids themselves. Because teenage years brought extra tough times and events waiting to happen, both good and bad, would bring choices, also some difficult to make and some not; with much thought involved, others not so much. They would need their parents' help and guidance to get through those types of situations.... and Andy was sure those times were yet to come, very soon, too.