"This is gonna be awkward." We're sitting in the car, parked outside in front of my dads house. Ryan's never been here before.
"It'll be okay. I'm sure they forgot about it." Ryan says as he gets out of the car. I follow him and we grab our bags from the backseat. "This place is huge." Ryan is in awe over the house.
I knock on the door when we get to it and it opens almost instantly.
Savannah is standing in front of me, an annoyed expression on her face.
"Hello Brendon." She says with the fakest smile I've ever seen.
"My dad invited me over." I say and she purses her lips. I take Ryan's hand and push past her.
"I know." I hear her say as she shuts the door. "He's in the kitchen."
Ryan and I go into the kitchen and my dad's in there with his other kids -my siblings- Aaron and Paisley.
"Hey, glad you made it." Matt smiles brightly and comes over with a kitchen towel in his hands, and he hugs me, patting my back. "Hello Ryan."
"Hi." Ryan says shyly and I look down and smile because he's just so cute.
"I've made up the guest room for you. I thought about doing the other guest room, but I figured you two would - I don't know. I'll show you where it is."
We follow him upstairs and into the guest room.
"Thanks." I tell him.
"Dinner is in the oven. Should be done in a few minutes. Make yourselves at home." Matt leaves, closing the door behind him.
"So, I feel like his wife doesn't like you." Ryan says, setting his bag on the bed.
"She doesn't." I laugh, not meaning to, but it's funny if you think about it.
She broke up my family and then gets mad when my dad offers to help my mom after he fucked her up, and then Thanksgiving went to shit after what I did. I haven't touched a pill since, although they're in my room, hidden between the mattress and box frame of my bed.
"I wonder why your dad wanted us to come over." I shrug a shoulder and put my bag next to Ryan's.
I'm so excited for him to open his gift tomorrow. I bought him a really nice tattoo kit. It comes with two guns, the motor thing, ink, needles, stencils. Pretty much everything you need to do a tattoo. I also got him a pad of sketch paper so he can draw up any ideas he might have and a pack of these really nice drawing pencils. He's gonna be so stoked.
"I don't know." Ryan gives me a look, like he knows I got him something, but he doesn't say anything about it. "I honestly don't wanna be here. The last time I was here turned into a disaster."
"Because you were being stupid." Ryan says.
"Anyway, we should go downstairs." I put my hands in the back pockets of my jeans and walk toward the door.
Ryan stops me, gently grabbing my bicep.
"Come here." He says and I turn to face him. His hands come up to my face, thumbs gently rubbing my cheeks. "You got rid of them right?" He asks, concern in his tone.
I look back and forth from his eyes, and I wanna tell him that I got rid of the pills but I don't wanna lie to him.
"Yeah," I force a smile and put my hands on his waist. "flushed 'em."
"You're not lying to me are you?"
"I wouldn't lie to you." I lie. I feel like he's going to find out and I should tell him the truth, but I keep faking my smile and the corner of Ryan's mouth curls up some.
