AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hum low in my throat. “Yes, you will.”
From the backseat, I hear Elaine yell, “Bye, Caden!”
I’m instantly grinning, moving over to look at her where she sits. “Bye, kiddo.”
Daria drives off moments later and I stand in Leo’s driveway, watching the car disappear out of sight the further they move, telling myself that the two of them driving off together, and me in my car alone, is exactly how it’s supposed to be.
5
DARIA
“So, I need to tell you something, and I don’t want you to get mad.”
I pause with the forkful of spaghetti twirled around it halfway to my mouth. I level my older brother, Cody, with a stare as he sits on the opposite end of the couch. He came over for dinner, and as we eat, Elaine sits by the coffee table, coloring, and a live football game plays on TV—a Rebels game, of course, with me trying not to actively look for Caden when the camera isn’t focused on him.
“That’s an awful way to start a sentence,” I say flatly, eyeing him warily.
He shoots me a nervous smile. Cody is four years older than me, and the two of us have always been close, despite what started out as a tumultuous relationship with my parents that eventually turned into them completely icing me out after I got pregnant with Elaine. Our folks are traditional, having a very clear understanding of the right way and wrong way of doing things.
Me going through a rebellious phase during my teenage years, and then getting pregnant at twenty-one out of wedlock? Very much the wrong way of doing things in their eyes.
Even Cody’s relationship with them is a little rocky, but nowhere near as bad as mine with them. At least Cody still talks to them, visits them. I haven’t spoken to them in years.
As if sensing my thoughts, Cody winces a little and says, “It’s about Mom and Dad.”
I nearly drop my fork on my plate out of exasperation. Of course, it’s about them. “What?” I ask with a sigh and resigned shake of my head.
Cody takes in a breath, his plate of half-eaten pasta in his hand. “So, if you remember, their thirtieth anniversary is coming up,” he starts, and I nod because, yeah, I do remember, even if we haven’t talked in a long time. “I was over at their place the other day when they were planning a party, and, uh, I’m pretty sure they’re going to reach out to you to invite you to the party.”
I blink at him a few times, wondering if I heard him right. “What. . .” I trail off, eyebrows furrowing together in bewilderment as I begin to shake my head. “What thefuck?” I hiss, keeping my voice deliberately low so Elaine doesn’t hear me. I stare at my brother, my expression no doubt showing my disbelief. “Why the hell are they going to invite me?”
“They’re getting old,” Cody says with a shrug, and my face scrunches at his statement. He looks exasperated, as bewildered as me. “I don’t know, Daria. I guess they got tired of putting up a façade in front of all of their friends. You know how they are. Image is everything, and all that B.S.”
My lips turn downward, my food suddenly tasting like cardboard in my mouth. Yeah, I know exactly how my parents are. I know them really fucking well, considering they wanted nothing to do with me when they learned of my pregnancy. Grandma Alice, my mother’s mom, had me stay with her. Elaine’s room was my old bedroom when Grandma still lived in this apartment—which she then left to me after moving down to Florida in a beach view retirement home.
“So, what?” I ask with a shrug. “They think making amends means inviting me to their anniversary party and suddenly everything’s going to be okay?” I scoff in disbelief. “Do you think they’ll even apologize? Like, actually say the wordswe’re sorry?”
We’re sorryfor abandoning you when you needed us most.We’re sorryfor failing to step up as parents and grandparents.We’re sorryfor never reaching out. My chest squeezes as I look toward Elaine, who is happily coloring away. The moment she was born, I tried to make sure she would never want for anything. I may not have the money to provide her with everything, but I damn sure as hell will always try. She may not have had my parents in her life, but she had my Grandma Alice, and, admittedly, Logan’s parents, too. It has been like this for years.
So, why now? Why the sudden change of heart from my parents? I don’t trust it, or them. I know Cody’s probably right—they probably aren’t doing it for the sentiment of it all, but rather just for self preservation. They probably got tired of being known as the people who kicked out theirtroubleddaughter—which is funny, because I was nevertroubled. I was a Goddamn teenager, doing teenager things, and in their eyes, it was too much. I should have had better self control, more shame, according to them. Sneaking out and hanging out with my friends, or whatever boyfriends I had, was just a precursor to me ending up pregnant right out of college, in my parents’ eyes.
They haven’t evenmetElaine. And at this point, I’m not sure if I really want them to. They made me feel like an embarrassment before I stopped letting their opinions get to me; I don’t want my daughter anywhere near that kind of energy, for her to ever feel badly of who she is.
“I don’t know,” Cody sighs as a response to my questions. “It’s up to you whether you go or not. You know I’m on your side.”
I flash him a small, grateful smile. “I know. That is,ifthey even invite me. They’ll probably change their minds if they’re even thinking about it,” I say with a dismissive shake of my head before looking back at the TV.
I take another bite of my food, trying to calm myself down from the frustration that mounts when it comes to my parents, and I watch as the camera zooms in on Caden tackling another player from the opposing team. They both go down hard, but Caden gets up like it was nothing, and I scoff slightly at his confident gait.
On the other end of the couch, Cody comments, “Your friend is a beast.”
I chuckle, taking a sip of my water. Unlike my friends, Cody doesn’t know about the true nature of my relationship with Caden. All he knows is that we’re friends, which was something that took a while for him to wrap his head around.
Speaking of friends. . . “Hey,” I say to him. “Would you be able to babysit Friday night? We’re going out for Tina’s birthday, but I get it if you can’t—”
“Of course, I can,” Cody says. “Val’s going on a business trip next weekend anyway, and I was planning on staying in.”
I grin. “Thanks—you’re the best.”
