a/n: id like to thank craig, aka tumblr user transcole for giving me this idea. i doubt this is finished as i want to expand on further events in lauras life featuring sad (but rad) dad james. but dont be surprised if it ends with this chapter.
"James, the mail is falling out on the street. Again." Laura bleated as she set her backpack on the floor, kicked her shoes off, and made a beeline for the fridge. James wasn't listening. He reading a Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul novel on parenting adopted children that his neighbor had recommended. Anything to help with Laura, who was starting to become a handful for James.
"Hmm?" James murmured as he put down the book on the coffee table, getting up from his rather sunken in recliner.
"I said," Laura declared with a mouthful of peanut butter, "The mail is falling out of the mailbox and onto the street. Do we need to call someone to go get it for you?"
James sighed and rubbed his temples hastily. He didn't even like talking about it. He hated even hearing the words "the mail." It made him think of her. The letter that never existed. James could hear the gunshots that killed…her. He could even smell the mix of rain and rust.
"Uhh, no." James managed to stutter out, "Why don't you do it? I'll pay you for it."
"How much?" Laura wiped the peanut butter off her face and onto her sweater sleeve, staring up at James who looked like he was close to vomiting. Or dying.
"I'll pay you five dollars to clean it out."
"Ha! Twenty." Laura demanded.
"You're ten! What are you going to do with twenty dollars?" James exclaimed. Laura just stared at him, not backing down. James sighed at this, knowing there was no point in bartering with her. "Alright. Fifteen." He grabbed out his wallet and fished out a five and ten. Laura yanked the money from his hands and ran outside.
"Hey, no running! You could fall!" James called.
"Yeah, yeah."
"I'm home!" Laura called, slamming the door.
"Did you have a good time?" James asked, turning down the volume on his beloved Family Feud. "Yeah. I guess. They all wanted to watch Full House so I just played with their cats and read some comics." "Make sure to wash your hands then. Never know what those cats could have." James stated. Laura rolled her eyes at this, typical weird James.
"Uhh…" Laura began as she sat next to her adoptive father, "We need to talk."
James shifted uncomfortably at this. After five years of parenting he still couldn't handle the talking part. Not to mention Laura had just turned thirteen and no amount of self-help books could help James with the hell known as puberty.
"I'm listening." James encouraged.
"The mail is getting out of control. Casey's mom asked about it and…" Laura grimaced. She stopped there because James couldn't know that her 'friends' had laughed at her dad. He shouldn't have to hear about that.
"Can you…?" James asked, tears filling up his eyes.
"Yeah. I'll take care of it." Laura nodded, trying to avoid looking at James. Seeing him cry was…peculiar. James wasn't the emotional type of person. He wasn't distant either….he just hid his real self very well. He closed himself off in either preservation or embarrassment.
Laura leaned onto him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." She mumbled into his arm. James awkwardly patted her arm. "It's okay."
"Now I know it's nothing special but it'll get you around." James smiled as he led Laura outside to the driveway. Laura was bouncing with joy, trying to see past James' hands that were covering her eyes.
"Voila!" James removed his hands from her eyes, letting her see the new car.
Laura squealed and ran to it, examining it all around. It was an older model but it was nice and bright red, like she had asked for in her many, many pleads for a car.
"I filled up the tank and everything, you could go for a test drive right now if you wanted." James informed her. "Really?" Laura gasped. She grinned and ran to James, hugging him. "Thank you, dad. This is the best birthday ever." James giggled awkwardly and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tight.
"Excuse me," Someone croaked.
The two separated to see what the matter was. It was their neighbor, Linda. She was a soccer mom in her mid-40's who always threatened to call the police on James for letting the mail pile up in the yard and street. She's as fun as she sounds.
"Hi Mrs. Gable." Laura beamed.
"Are you going to get this mail?" Linda snapped.
Laura frowned and suppressed a sigh. As time passed Laura became more aware of how anguished her adoptive father really was. At night she'd hear him cry or scream, even talking to himself about Silent Hill. She didn't know what to do besides protect him from the world. And that she had to do often.
The neighbors, school counselors, bus drivers, and friends all voiced their concerns and most got a bit rude about it. Even Laura had acted a bit cruel about the mail. When she was younger she'd push James about it, tell him about how no one talked to her at school because of him or scream at him about Mary. But as she grew older and became more aware of her dad, she knew to behave better than the rest.
Laura couldn't explain why he was like this, even she didn't know why James was really so scared of mail. She got a letter from Mary too and she wasn't scared. But then again, Laura didn't know Mary as well as James did nor was she really old enough to remember Silent Hill in great detail.
"I'm gonna clean it today." Laura forced a smile and nodded, trying her best to seem diplomatic.
"I'm getting sick of this. It's disgusting, weird, and it's an eyesore to this neighborhood. I should call the city, y'know?" Linda had an annoying Jersey accent that made her always sound like she worked for QVC, "It's insane how he lives. You're no better than those hoarders. Nasty."
"Are you done?" Laura pursed her lips and placed a hand on her hip, getting fed up with her neighbor.
Linda walked off, sputtering stuff about James.
"I'm sorry." Laura spun around, looking at her dad. His head was bowed and he looked similar to a puppy dog that had just been scolded. "Hey, why don't we go out for a drive and I'll buy dinner. Sound good?"
"Yeah. And you'll…" James scratched the back of his neck, looking at anything but his daughter.
Laura knew he meant the mail, "Yeah. No problem."
"So, how's campus?" James asked his daughter, Laura, as he helped her carry out some of her old stuff she had left behind.
"It's amazing. It's so much better than high school. I feel like an adult now."
"College is the best time of your life, Laura. It's when I met Mary." He swallowed, trying to remain calm. "Dad you don't have to talk about it…" Laura closed the trunk to her car, ready to go back to her dorm.
"It's fine." James whispered. "But it is going to be difficult without you. Seeing you every day for 11 years and now you're gone…" "I'll still visit you every month. And I'll call you." Laura rested her hand on his arm. "It'll still be quiet without you. That's the worst part." James admitted. "It'll be okay. I promise. Now, I've got to go. I've got three essays to write and class tomorrow." She sighed, heading towards the curb.
"I'll see you in a month," James smiled sheepishly.
"I'll call you tomorrow."
Laura ran over to the mailbox, gathering the gigantic pile of mail and putting it in the passenger seat of her car. "See ya dad."