Adopted by Rilex (Jalex)

16

"Do you want me to?" He asks.

I honestly didn't know the answer to that question, I shrugged my shoulders in response but didn't take my eyes off of my food. "I'll take that as a yes." He says before ruffling my hair as he walks past me.

"Hey!" I wine as I comb my fingers threw my hair to straighten it back out.

He lets out a soft chuckle as he leaves the room. After maybe a minute or two, I hear dad yawn from the living room. "Pancakes." Is all papa said in a cold tone before coming back into the room.

He gives me one of those sympathetic smiles that never help the situation, he must have seen the frown spread across my lips. Only seconds later dad walks into the room, still with his messy bed head. As he walks past me he places a soft kiss on the top of my head before sliding into the seat adjacent to me. "Good morning." He smiles at me.

"Why were you asleep on the couch?" I ask even though I knew the answer.

His smile drops for only a moment, "Beds are overrated." He clearly lies.

"You're bed is a lot more comfortable though." I reply.

Dad sits up and twists his back, letting a symphony of pops erupt from his spine. "Maybe." He replies.

Papa drops a plate in front of dad which startles dad. "Good morning to you too." He mumbles under his breath as he straightens out the plate.

I look up just in time to see papa rolling his eyes at dad. I sigh as I cut into my syrup-soaked pancakes. Papa sits across from dad with a glare. "Can we not do this right now." Dad sighs as he rubs his own face with his hands.

Papa does not reply he just eats his pancakes. Dad sighs again before picking up his fork. I take a few bites of my food before speaking up, "Can I hang out with someone today?" I ask, breaking the tense silence.

"Who?" Dad asks, immediately thankful for the silence being broken.

"Maybe Dakota, maybe Lydia," I shrug, "whoever wants to hang out." I reply.

"Where?" Papa speaks up.

"Maybe the park?" I reply, in all honesty, I really just didn't want to bring anyone back here with this tense atmosphere. I was hoping that maybe if I left my parents home alone they could work out their issues and I would not be caught in the middle of it.

"The one nearby?" Papa follows up.

"No the one on the other side of town." I say sarcastically as I roll my eyes.

"Okay, okay, I was just checking, gotta make sure." He replies.

I continue eating my pancakes in silence not talking to my parents, while they also not talk to each other. The silence was still awkward intense I did not like it at all. After I was about halfway done with my pancakes I pulled out my phone and texted Dakota. I realized it's been a while since I've hung out with Dakota, actually hung out with Dakota. I've been focusing way too much of my time Lydia. "Busy today?" I text her.

I place my phone face down on the table and continue eating my food. I'm almost done with the pancakes when my phone buzzes. All attention is drawn to my phone as it has made the only source of noise aside from the scraping of forks and knives on plates. I pick up my phone to see it was a text from Dakota. "Nope, what you got in mind?"

"Chill at the park?" I text back.

"Bet" She replies almost immediately, "when?" She asks in a separate text.

"An hour?" I reply.

"Ight, bet." Her texts were coming in quickly.

"Can I go to the park with Dakota in an hour?" I ask both my parents.

They look at each other and without even exchanging words they both agree. Dad bods his head and papa speaks up, "yeah, do you want me to drive you there?" He asks.

"I can walk." I shrug.

Papa glances at dad who looks passive on the matter, "Okay just make sure you text me when you get there."

"And bring a water bottle." Dad chimes in.

"Okay." I reply as I finish the last of my pancake.

As soon as I'm done eating a drop my silverware on my plate and stand up. I grabbed my plate and quickly walk to the sink, running water on my plate. Once I turn the sink off I quickly turned on my heel and leave the room, not wanting to deal with the awkwardness any longer. I rush up the stairs to my bedroom and collapse on my bed.

I really need them to sort themselves out, this is just getting worse. I really hope that they are not like this on tour, being stuck in a confined space with that will be horrible.

I have an hour to kill and absolutely no idea what to do, I really just wish time and fast forward until I can see Dakota. I do not want to deal with all of this.

I end up literally just laying in my bed for half an hour, staring at the ceiling. I guess I just kind of mentally checked out for a little bit. I realized that I needed to start walking to the park soon, in order to meet up with Dakota. With a sigh, I grab my wallet and key and head downstairs. Before leaving I grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge.

"Bye!" I shout out to my parents before walking out the door.

It was really hot outside but I did not really mind. The park was not too far from my house so I knew I would probably be getting there before Dakota.

When I arrived at the park I looked around but could not spot her so I knew that she was not here yet. I decided to find a nice shady sink beneath the tree and wait. I texted Papa that I was here and then I also texted Dakota that I was already here. I was about twenty minutes early but honestly, I would rather be early than be bored at home.

"I'll hurry." Lydia texts back.

I do not reply to her text I just the rest of my head on the picnic table. I listen closely to the sounds around me, the happy playing kids, the rustling in the leaves from the slight breeze, and the occasional car driving past.

It felt peaceful here, although, rather warm, I still enjoyed being there more than being home at the moment.

Not too long later I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look up to see exactly who I expected, Dakota. She was early, I knew she was only early because I told her I was early, but I was glad.

"Hey." She smiles as she slides into the seat across from me.