As soon as I took a step into the house the bubbly atmosphere from this morning was replaced with a humid and tense one, which clearly indicated that my dad was really home.
I was struggling to balance the shopping bags and my book bag all at once till I got up to my room but that was an epic fail. All the bags just tumbled down and landed on the floor with a loud thud.
Shit!
I dropped to the floor and tried gathering all of them before anyone came out wanting to know the source of the noise, but I knew that wasn't going to happen when I heard rushed footsteps come down the stairs.
I just froze in place and didn't want to look up because I already knew who was at the bottom of the stairs and I wasnt ready to face him. I was about giving an apology when a voice spoke out.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes", he called out.
That voice! I thought to myself, could it really be him? After all these months?
I slowly looked up and sure enough, standing in his 6ft 3 inch glory was the last person I expected to see here.
"Ian?", I whimpered with an almost cracked voice from all the emotions that were rushing through me, he just smirked at me.
He took the few little steps that was left between us and gestured for a hug, "Well hey there little sis".
I didn't know when I jumped into his arms, but I didn't care because he was the one person I needed to survive the next three months with my dad apart from Nana.
I hugged him so tight I was expecting him to tell me I was choking him but instead, he just hugged me back and replicated the pressure.
"It's been that long huh?", He breathed.
"Too long", I whispered as I melted into his arms.
He put me down and patted my head, I would have complained about that especially with how long it takes to get my hair presentable, but I was too excited that he was standing right in front that I could care less about the state of my hair.
"What made you get in so late?", he asked me.
I simply pointed to the pile of shopping bags on the floor making him laugh and nod in comprehension knowing the reason without me saying anything.
I stomped all the way to the bags and attempted lifting them all up at once, only for them to drop to the floor again.
"Let me give you a hand with that", he offered me while I stepped aside.
He grabbed most of the bags with ease, that being because he was basically made up of height and pure muscle compared to my lean 5 foot 7 self.
I was trailing right behind him towards my room when my dad appeared at the top of the stairs. I almost fainted at the sight of him, not because he scares me but because I didn't know when and how long ago he stood there.
Ian turned to me and just raised his eyebrows as if saying 'good luck with him' and he took the rest of the bags from me.
"Where have you been?", My dad boomed.
His voice was cold, almost icy and nonchalant, if we weren't on speaking terms I would've thought he almost cared about me, but my dad rarely cares, ever since we moved here and I had that huge fight with him, he just started staying away from the house and from me probably because he doesn't want to be facing my attitude and cold looks much.
Unfortunately for him, we'd be boarding the same plane together and now that he's home, I'm guessing his questioning me is just an excuse for him to work on our relationship before we leave for Fresno tomorrow.
"What's it to you?", I replied, my voice just as cold.
I walked up the remainder of the stairs and past him not wanting to converse any further. I heard him let out a frustrated sigh but I didn't want to care about his feelings or what he was thinking at that moment.
I walked into my room and shut the door behind me looking down I noticed all the shopping bags sitting comfortably at the end of the bed.
I let out a grunt at the sight of them as I dragged my tired feet towards my bed collapsing on it, I was too tired to start sorting through anything.
All I wanted to do was pass out long enough for tomorrow to catch up, I was about dozing off to get a quick nap when I heard my phone ding.
I took my phone out of my pocket unlocking it to find texts from both Reneé and Ian.
Why Ian texted me even though we're in the same house was beyond me, he was probably worried from not hearing any arguments or yelling like there always is with my dad and I.
I couldn't help but smile at the sight of both text notifications though, not because they texted at the same time but because of the history these two had.
Reneé used to have a crush on Ian but got over it once she acknowledged the fact she was crazily in love with Cameron.
Yeah! I know right.
I've only known Reneé and Cameron for two plus years but they are more in love than my grandparents, which was saying a lot.
Ian on the other hand, really liked Renee and was even the first girl he ever had a crush on, but when he got to see for himself who she felt for he just let her go and wanted her to be happy and besides, a few months after knowing her he had to leave for college so it was a bit easier for him to adjust to the loss.
I replied both their texts, plugged my phone to its charger and attempted sleeping off again when my stomach rumbled.
"Well, there goes my nap", I said into my pillow.
I grudgingly got up and changed my clothes then got into the bathroom to wash my face before heading downstairs to get something to eat.
I wanted to turn back immediately when I got to the kitchen but my stomach disagreed with me.
There in a miserable attempt to prepare dinner was my father trying to put something together all by himself, looking at him in that state of confusion I almost wanted to help him, but I settled for chuckling at the sight.
He must have heard my snicker because his head shot up in my direction and he stared at me, I pulled a straight face as I walked towards the fridge and got out the ingredients for a ham and cheese sandwich.
Thankfully we were able to ignore each other's presence and continue on with our separate tasks, until he decided to open his mouth that is.
"Your mums not going to be home tonight", it was quite clear he wanted to make conversation, the silence was probably driving him nuts.
I didn't say anything, knowing he was going to continue on anyway.
I was right, "She's going to join us at the airport tomorrow morning, she had to go visit a friend that got in an accident this afternoon", he rushed.
"Is she alright?", I asked to ease his flustered state.
"I'm assuming you're asking about her friend?", He asked me, a slight trace of hope was evident in his voice which sparked a new annoyance in me.
"No shit", I laughed.
That was rude, even for me, I know.
I heard him cough rather loudly which only made me want to laugh even more because I know how much he despises us using curse words.
"For one, your mum and her friend are both fine and Two, I'd really appreciate it if you could watch your language miss", he said those last words with what almost sounded like spite in his voice, the little hope that was there was completely gone. Perfect.
I didn't even stop to think before the next words flew out of my mouth as I turned to face him,"And I'd appreciate it if you were a better father", I said staring him in the eye.
I saw his eyes flicker with an emotion I couldn't read but he turned away from me before I could decipher what it meant.
I added the finishing touches to my sandwich and left the kitchen, I rushed up the stairs towards my bedroom but stopped at the door when i looked at Ian's bedroom door adjacent to mine, I looked down at my plate holding two large sandwiches before walking over to his room barging in without knocking.
Stepping in I saw him at his computer working on what looked like a school project as I crossed his room making my way to his bed plopping on it, at the sound of that he turned to look at me half surprised.
"Knock much?", He asked teasingly.
I gave him a look saying I didn't wanna go there and he just chuckled at that, I smiled and stretched out the plate of sandwiches to him.
"How long has it been since you tried my famous masterpieces?", I teased back.
His eyes literally glowed at the sight of them as he swiped one off the plate, "Too damn long", and took a huge bite out of it.
I watched him gobble down his sandwich while I slowly savored mine, Ian and my Nana have always been the stable family members I've had in my life.
The differences between them and my parents was even with the distance between us they still made an effort to be constant in my life that it made it easier for me as time went by without them.
A thought popped in my head as I fully turned to Ian to ask,"Wait a sec, I didn't know you were coming home".
He looked at me as I said that midbite of his sandwich and quickly swallowed that down.
"I wanted to surprise you, was that so bad? and besides, dad insisted I be home so", he shrugged his shoulders at that and kept on eating.
I tried to push the thoughts of my dad to the back of my mind not wanting to think about the harsh words I said to him.
"But I didn't even see your truck in the driveway", I stated.
"Parked it in the garage", he mumbled out with his mouthful and in a whiff his sandwich was gone, he eyed mine for a split second and I snuffed it down immediately not wanting him to snatch it from me.
Ian laughed at my reaction as he brought up topics for us to talk about including what the next three months would unfold for us.
Little did I know that my life was going to change forever as soon as I stepped off the plane.