Lost and Found
Lapis' P.O.V.
The next day, I go to school normally. I go to all of my classes as normal. Peridot and I act as usual in front of our friends and in lunch and everything. After school, we don't stay in rehearsals. Both of us leave.
We don't see Luke and Scarlett, which is a good sign. If we saw them or anyone else of our friends, they'd take us to rehearsals by force.
So after social studies, I kinda rudely ditched Amethyst since she told me to wait for her outside while she got her stuff together. I pretended to not hear her. It'll be fine. I hope.
I meet Peridot outside by the school's sign and then we walk together not really giving a fuck if people saw us together or not and who did and didn't. For the first time, I don't really care about that. I care more about why my dad told Peridot to come back at four today. And if we'll even make it in time.
"Why do you think you're dad wants me back at four?" Peridot asks me. I don't look at him.
"Why don't we think about the reasons he isn't inviting you for," I say.
"You're right. It should be a whole lot easier," he says.
I hook my arm around his and we walk slowly. It's not like we're in a hurry to get to my house. Then his phone rings.
"It's Luke," he says. Then my phone rings, too.
"Fuck. It's Amethyst. And Blue is texting me," I say. Just then, Amethyst hangs up and starts texting me too.
Amethyst- Peridot's not here
Then she sent on a separate text an emoji-like she's insinuating something.
Amethyst- You're with him aren't you
How the fuck does she know? I ask myself.
Amethyst- This is Snapchat
Amethyst- I know you're reading this
Fuck.
"Shit! Amethyst knows," I say.
"What?" he asks.
"Well, she doesn't know-know, but she definitely thinks you and I are together," I explain.
"Then just text her and say you were feeling sick. You could use your period as an excuse," he suggests. I smack his arm, "What did I do?" he asks while rubbing it.
"Why don't you yell it louder next time?" I sarcastically state.
"I could yell it to the whole world," he whispers slyly.
"Nope. Stop right there. I know that cliche catchphrase. You'll whisper whatever I asked you to say. And then I'll be like, why'd you whisper. And then you'll be like because you're my whole world and some shit," I explain as I text Amethyst on my phone.
Me- Peridot's not with me. I'm just feeling sick. Like, very, very, very, very, very sick.
Amethyst- Uh-huh
Amethyst- And I'm supposed to believe that because I'm stupid
Amethyst- It's obvious you two like each other
Amethyst- Face it Lapis!!
Me- Fuck you
Then I leave Snapchat.
"I've got Amethyst under control," I say.
"Fuck! Luke's calling me again," Peridot says.
"Then answer him," I say.
"No. You don't know Luke as I do," he insists.
"Well, Amethyst is probably telling everyone about her theory of you and I being together so you better answer and make something up before they find out her theory is a fucking fact!" I almost yell.
"You're scary sometimes," he says.
"Good," I answer. He picks up.
"Okay, okay, calm down...She's what?... I didn't know...Okay...No! I'm not with her...I'm," Peridot looks at me, "-helping Bella move her furniture...She canceled...He's at work. Besides, I'm strong enough to move it all...ha, ha, very mature...No. I don't know where she is...She's probably at home. I'll text her if that will make Amethyst stop staying that, though, I don't mind," he looks at me with that smirk. I smack him again and he backs a step away from me.
"Yeah, she does, but I still love her...This isn't on speaker, right?" he asks. My face becomes red and I start sweating, but it's not the fact that I'm wearing a dark blue sweater in summer.
"Okay...Bye," Peridot says, then hangs up. He looks at me, "Don't worry. It wasn't on speaker, and he knows I love you,"
I'm used to him telling me that he loves me and all that, but not in public. For that, my face gets redder.
"He's not supposed to know that we're dating," I scold him
"He doesn't know anything about this, swear. He just knows I love you. But he doesn't know about us or anything else," he says.
"He doesn't know about me? Not even the kiss?" I ask him as I remember that uncomfortable and awkward situation.
"No, he doesn't. I swear," Peridot says.
"Okay," Is all I say. I know he loves me, he's proved it. So why is it so hard to just believe without doubting? I like him. Why can't I just let him?
"Let's keep walking, I make a call to my alibi," Peridot says as he scrolls through his contacts and calls the woman who I saw when Amethyst ditched me in Peridot's house when he was sick. She said to be Blue's older sister.
"Hey, Bella. So, what're you doing?...really? Okay. Listen," he explains about Luke's call and asks her that if Luke calls, to say that he's helping her move the furniture and that if he asks to talk to him, to say that he'd just gone to the bathroom.
Once he's done, I speak, "I get the feeling that lying comes easy to you," I say.
"Years of practice of trying not to get caught until the deed is done means I still have the experience," he says. That only confuses me as we walk.
"What deeds?" I ask.
"Things. Good choices that go wrong, bad choices that go wrong. Always end up in the same place regardless of what I do," he says which suddenly makes me feel pity for him.
"You haven't gotten detention," I say.
"I can't hold my temper forever," he says.
"Peridot, no fighting. Remember," I say clinging to his arm.
"I know. Just know Lazuli, if I blow, they'll sure as fuck deserve it," he says. It makes me smile for some reason. We continue to walk through the agonizing heat, with a breeze that comes once in a while.
My house is in the middle of the street and I start to take my keys out at the curb. I open the door and Jane is standing on her back legs. In her full height, she almost reaches my head. I caress her head and scratch her ears as Peridot and I try to go inside. She goes through her pattern of standing in front of me, of twirling around in circles, shaking her whole body and then repeating. My dad comes from the kitchen.
"She smells you from blocks away," he says eyeing Peridot. Peridot with his noticeably big muscles and that sleeveless shirt with a delicate and thin fabric that just...well, let's just say it's a nice shirt.
"Mr. Lazuli," Peridot says.
"Peridot, yes. Thank you for bringing my daughter. We will be leaving and I expect you back at four," my dad says.
"Yes," he answers. Peridot looks at me, then turns around and leaves.
I go wash my teeth and leave my stuff in my room, only my phone, and my keys in my pocket. I think of taking a pad with me since I'm on my period, but because it's my third day, I decide against it. Besides, I believe it's going to be something quick.
My dad and I leave the house, with Jane staring at us while we leave.
"Do you really believe he loves you the way he says?" my dad asks. I look at him and then away.
The question catches me by surprise. The truth is I do. I do believe Peridot, and even if I didn't, I want to believe him. Peridot wouldn't lie to me. Yes, sometimes he is a little much of a flirt and things like that but that doesn't overcome the fact that he loves me. If he didn't, he wouldn't have stayed with me, he wouldn't have come back, he wouldn't know me as he does. He's trying to change for me.
"I do," I say.
"Why did you tell him about that, about you?" my dad asks.
I don't even know how to begin. I don't know I should tell him. Does he know Sam Lennord was released from jail early? Does he know that Lennord committed suicide?
He deserved that, didn't he? He deserved to die after what he didn't do. After he didn't help me. He deserved that and so much more.
"I don't know," I answer.
"How do you not know? You told him," my dad says. I look at the floor not sure how to answer.
"It was the moment, and he-he didn't, he understood, he-dad, he's not bad," I say struggling to find the right words. I don't know if he's going to trust me on that.
"Lapis, I-it's just-I'm not sure," he replies. There is a very awkward silence between us. Why can't the Earth just open up and swallow me whole?
"As you father, I have to be sure, I have to be a hundred percent certain this guy is good. I have to make sure you're okay. As your father, I also have to make sure you're happy. That you'll be fine. Then there's your mom," he explains.
"Will you tell her?" I ask.
"No. I...I'm not sure. The point is, if she finds out, she will end whatever it is you have with that boy!" he asserts, "She did it once, she can do it again.
"That's why I didn't want to tell anybody," I whisper.
"What? You were planning on keeping your relationship with that boy a secret? Were you even thinking of telling us ever?" my dad asks me. I realize I should have should keep my fucking mouth fucking shut.
"I don't know. I asked him to keep it a secret from our friends, and I wasn't sure about telling you guys. I was afraid," I say.
"Of what? Lapis, I'm your dad. If you can't trust me, then I'm doing something wrong," he says.
The shade of the lone trees and tall buildings protect us from the scorching sun. I glance at the sky and randomly think of something to take my mind off of what's going on.
The only thing that I can think of is global warming, or climate change, or whatever.
The sun is millions of kilometers from the Earth. How can something so far away have such a big effect on us? Without the sun, we're dead. Too close or too far, and we're dead. Bigger or smaller, and we're dead. Older or younger, and we're dead.
I think. I'm not really an active environmentalist. I'm not active at all.
"That's not what I meant," I say, trying to fix my failed use of the English language.
"Have you even met the boy's parents?" he asks.
"Well,-" I think, "I met his mom and his stepdad."
"Stepdad? Where's his father?" my dad asks. Why do you keep fucking up, Lazuli? I scream at myself. Then another part of me screams back, Shut it, internal voice!
"His dad kind of abandoned him and his brother when he was around twelve," I say. After I say it, I realize I might have just betrayed a secret he entrusted me with. Peridot has kept my secret without seeing me or treating me differently, yet I have given his up without much of an effort.
"What? Lapis. This boy could turn out like that," my dad says.
"What? How could you say that?" I ask.
"I'm not saying that he will. It's just that there is a probability that he might turn out just like his father," my dad explains. I turn to him in disbelief.
"Peridot would never do that, " I assert. I stare at him. I may be afraid of getting grounded, or my mom finding out, but this I cannot allow. I will not allow this. No one talks shit about my boyfriend except me, "You don't even know him! You haven't interacted with him daily, you haven't seen what he's done for me! You can't just say that because it's a 'probability'!"
I may be a fucking coward, I may be a depressed and fucked up bitch, but I'm no bystander. You do not want to fight with me over what I believe in because you will never win.
"Is this why you want him to come back later? To tell him in his face that he will grow up to be like his dad? You don't just say that to people. If anything, that should only make him respect and care for others a lot more. If he knows what it was like to get abandoned by his father, from what I know him, he would never want that to happen to someone else. So why would he do it?" I ask my dad. My dad just looks at me. I have surprised myself. I did not know I could be that deep.
Why would Peridot do that? Peridot may be a bit of a tomcat. A big flirt. But he's no asshole. Peridot wouldn't be capable of doing that. I don't- I refuse, to believe he is cold-blooded. Peridot wouldn't go around, have a child, and then just abandon them. He wouldn't do that. Not to anyone and certainly not to me. He loves me.
Why? Why do people have to judge so quickly? I do that sometimes. But it's only normal. I'm human. But I keep it to myself. I keep all the shit I think in my fucking head. I don't go around telling people that they're going to be fucking criminals because their parents were. The world would be a much darker place if it were. What if I told Marcy that she'll turn out like her mom? Single and with a child at a young age and having to work her ass off for a child without any support. What if I told Scarlet she was going to be a tyrant just because her mom is from England from where King George III reigned there during the end of the colonial periods? What if I had told Luke or Peridot that one or both of them were going to be like their father? Both of them probably would have stopped talking to me. I was sure as hell wouldn't let it slide if someone told me that I was going to end up as miserable as my parents and with a kid that felt the need to hide things and who also tried to kill themselves.
"Lapis...no. You're right," he says.
With that, we walk what remains of the walk-in silence. We go into the hospital and I'm already late for my appointment, so we go straight up and I pray that the way I'm leading my dad is the right way. I don't want to be late, but at the same time, I don't want to go.
And that brings me right back to blaming my fucking HIV.
I know for a fucking fact that if I didn't have HIV things would be different! Perhaps I wouldn't have met Peridot, but my life would be different. Yet I don't know what I would regret most if given the choice to change my fate: if losing my normality and friends again, or losing Peridot.
I've grown too attached to him. Not in a clingy or obsessive way. I'm not like that, but I've developed feelings for him that he already knows, which makes things a fucking lot harder.
We approach the counter where a woman sits on a chair typing on the keyboard, eyes glued into the computer. When we approach, she looks up and smiles.
"Good afternoon. What can I help you with?" she asks. I don't expect her to remember me but it would really be much easier.
"I have an appointment with Dr. Tyler at 3:20," I say. She types something on the computer which only makes me more nervous.
"Lapis Lazuli. Yes. And this is your father?" she asks. I nod.
"Yes, " I answer.
"Pleasure to meet you, " she presses a couple of buttons on the hospital phone and then picks up the phone and speaks, "John, you're 3:20, Lazuli is here, "
I wonder if she would still call Dr. Tyler by his first name if they weren't married.
Dr. Tyler comes through the glass door and smiles as he sees my dad and I. I can't help but think that it's all false.
It's all pity. This guy doesn't really care about me. I'm his patient and he my doctor. He's obligated to be nice to me and any other person like me.
"Good afternoon, I'm Lapis' father, " my dad says as he extends his hand to shake it. Dr. Tyler takes it and shakes it.
"Dr. Tyler, " my doctor says. Why the fuck are we still in the lobby? I ask myself. I only hope this will be quick.
We go through the doors and Dr. Tyler leads us to his office. I am very forgetful about some things. Names, faces, and ways to my doctor's office.
We go into his office and he goes behind his desk.
"Take a seat, Mr. Lazuli, and Lapis, " he says. He picks up a pen and starts writing.
"How have you been, Lapis?" he asks.
"Good, " I say. A lot of emotional roller coasters and encounters with the guy that let me get raped and my dad finding out that I have a boyfriend that's two years older than me, but I'm good.
"How's school?" he asks.
"Good, " I answer again. Fuck school.
"And how have you been feeling recently?" he asks. A little good, a little depressed, a little on my period, but, hey, I have a boyfriend, so great!
"Are all these questions necessary?" my dad asks
"Yes. Your daughter may have overcome her depression, but another one is always possible. Especially in a teenager's years, " he explains. I want to protest, but I secretly hope that my dad will listen to that and just let Peridot and I be.
"Okay, " my dad says. I can tell he's thinking about it.
He asks me a couple of more questions before he gets up and leads us to another room where my blood is drawn from my veins. I am glad it's over quickly. It hurt more than I remember. And it never hurt.
"If both of you have time, there is something I would like to show Lapis, " Dr. Tyler says. I check my phone and it's almost four. My dad turns to look at me. I look at him intently, letting him know that we cannot stand my boyfriend up.
"I'm sorry but we already have a compromise. It was a pleasure to meet you, " my dad and Dr. Tyler shake hands and then we are off.
I hate the hospital. Who doesn't? That's probably why I don't want to be a doctor.
"I'm glad that was quick, " I say.
"Text that boy to make sure he's on his way, " my dad says.
"His name is Peridot, " I retort in a low voice.
I take my phone from my sweater's pocket and open up Snapchat because why not?
Me- Where are you?
He answers almost immediately.
Peridot- On my way to your house.
Me- Ok. Us too.
Peridot- I wish I could tell Luke in case I don't make it.
Me- I'm kind of scared too.
"What are you writing?" he asks.
"Nothing. He's on his way, " I answer.
Time Skip
When we arrive at my house, Peridot is already there waiting for us.
My dad gives Peridot a glance before stepping onto the porch and taking his keys out. Peridot smiles nervously at my dad before turning to me after he turns his back. I take his hand and squeeze it reassuringly. We look at each other for a brief second, but I know we're both feeling afraid.
My dad has our fate in his hands. He can tell my mom, and then Peridot and I will be over. After seven years of grieving and being alone, I'm not going to give him up so easily.
Peridot is an amazing guy. He has flaws, like any guy, but he's so nice, so sincere, a little cliche, but still Peridot. He's hilarious and a couple of times comes up with stuff I've never heard, but he's just Peridot. He loves me. And even though I may not love-love him as he loves me, I will learn to. I like him a lot. So why not try? I'm not going to let anyone take that opportunity of happiness from me.
Peridot quickly puts a hand on the side of my face and kisses my forehead. I blush at the action.
"Hopefully, it'll be fine," he whispers. We separate before my dad turns back around to look at us.
"Let's go, " he says. I glance at Peridot once again, but he's not looking at me. He looks more nervous and afraid than I thought he'd be. Even though we could literally never see each other again after this, but he looks too nervous. He's hiding something.
All three of us go in and Peridot and I sit at opposite ends of the couch as my dad locks the door and then sits on the couch chair next to me.
"All right. So, we talked about this yesterday. And both of you gave me the short version of everything that's been going on. I want to know everything from the day you met to now, " he says. I turn to Peridot and he looks at me too.
"We met on the first day of school when Peridot almost ran me over wit-" I don't finish.
"What?" My dad almost screams, "You almost ran my daughter over?"
Peridot smiles, "Not something I'm exactly proud of, "
"But nothing happened, " I intervene before my dad starts accusing Peridot of attempted murder.
"We met again in homeroom at school. Then while you guys were at work, I-" I'm going to get in a lot of trouble for all of this, "I kind of left the house and left with him to a party, "
My dad simply stares at me in shock, "But I left almost right away. There were a lot of people-" more like there were people,"-so Peridot brought me home." I leave the part of the guys that tried to kidnap me and Peridot beating their sorry asses up, just to not give my dad another reason to say Peridot is a bad influence.
I tell him about how I didn't speak to him for the next entire week and then how Peridot starting talking to me. Obviously I leave out the part where Peridot gets into my room, or how he refused to leave, or how he knew so much about me without actually even knowing me, how he kept trying to kiss me. Not would he like the part where I literally sat on him and kissed him. I don't think my dad would enjoy the graphic details of that.
But I do tell him the good things Peridot has done for me.
For example, I tell him about how he was always complimenting me, about how he stayed with me during the lightning storm, how he pushed me to go out with our friends and do something with my life and be in that musical which is still fucking retarded but still. Making me do things against my will, will show my dad that he's inspiring me to be more productive and holy and less depressed and all that shit.
I just want this to be over and get on with life.
My dad asks Peridot about some things I say and he answers as plainly and with as less details as possible while still answering his question. He comments on some things and for a moment I believe things are going okay.
"All right. I know we spoke briefly yesterday, but I want to ask now that my daughter is here." he says.
"What are your intentions?' he asks.
Does anyone have to have an intention when they start a relationship? I know when someone is in a relationship it is for a reason, but does there have to be an intention, whether good or bad?
"Umm," Peridot looks at me, "Well, as I said yesterday," he turns back to my dad, "I love, Lapis-"
He actually said my name.
"You're a little too young to be in love, don't you think?" my dad raises and eye brow at him and looks at me.
"Yes, well, love is-" Peridot turns to me trying to think of something. Don't drag me into this! I didn't fucking tell you to say that!-"Ageless. Two small kids may love each other. They may be too young to date or marry to have a family, but they're in love. Two senior citizens may not know who they are and may be old but they nay still love each other. And unlike us, it never grows old." he says ever so cautiously.
My dad remains silent for a brief moment. But that is enough to get me scared that Peridot may have said something wrong.
"I liked your answer. What I don't like is that you're two years older than my daughter yet still in the same grade as her!"
Fucking shit.
"I'm supposed to be in college, but, when I moved here they mixed up my hospital records and so I repeated a grade. But that gave me a lot of free time to learn more things!" Peridot quickly saves himself.
"Like what?" he asks.
"In my free time I fixed my French and Spanish. Learned my roman numerals. I read a lot. I also started reading a lot on law and court cases from the supreme court and things that looked interesting. I studied about serial killers, dictators and a lot of things like that-" he says as I turn to look at him. Serial killers and dictators? Seriously? He just had to fuck it up? But apart from that he's perfect.
"Serial killers and dictators?" my dad asks surprised. Obviously he wasn't expecting that. Neither was I. How well do I actually I actually know the guy to who I've confessed my darkest secrets to?
"A lot of people found it weird but that has a lot to do with the what career I want," Peridot justifies himself.
"So you want to be a lawyer?" my dad asks.
"I'm still not exactly sure. All I know is law is what I want to study," Peridot explains.
"That is-" my dad pauses,"-interesting. But you still haven't answered my question."
"Yes. Well, as I was saying, I love her. And that's all. I just want her to be happy and I would never do anything to hurt her. I know that as her father, you're protective of Lapis, but I love her. Isn't part of protecting her, letting her experience and love too?" he asks. Fucking shit! That was way too daring! What the hell is he thinking?
My dad remains silent for a moment. I wonder what he'll tell Peridot. Peridot obviously crossed the line, my mind debates on what the best way for him to kick Peridot the fuck out and tell my mom.
"What are you afraid of?" my dad asks l, squinting his eyes.
"Nothing, " Peridot answers.
"Well, we can fix that up very quickly, " my dad replies which makes a chill go down my spine.
That was scary as fuck.
"Dad, " I say.
"Lapis, I believe Mr. Perfect has something he would like to tell you. I will be back in five minutes, " he says as he gets up and goes upstairs.
"What's he talking about?" I ask Peridot.
Peridot looks pale with eyes glued in front of him at the wall next to the TV.
"I didn't want you to know like this, " he says.
"I get that we're all a bit shaken, but can you please stop speaking as if I know what you mean?" I ask trying not to be rude. He looks at me cautiously before looking back in front to where he was looking before.
"Once you asked me how I knew so much about you when I didn't know you, " he says. I get impatient.
"And?" I ask.
"Well-okay, so- I umm, there's-fuck!" he says.
"Just say it, " I say.
"You and I have actually met before," he says, "I met you when you were five and I was seven, and I was the boy on the other side of the fence."
"What are you talking ab-" then it hits me.
He knew almost everything about me from the start. He calls me by my last name. He knew I sang. He kept saying things like, 'if I remember correctly', and things like that. He has amazing and impossible grades. He's a great singer. And his father abandoned him. It all clicks. Everything makes so much sense now.
But still.
"You're not Perry, " I say.
"I am, " he says.
"No you're not! He was a fucking nerd! A small boy with trust issues!" I say.
"And he was also two years older than you. He also had a younger brother. His parents divorced and his mom remarried. And he fell in love with you too," Peridot says. I look at him intently.
"You're serious?" I ask. He nods.
I laugh and get up abruptly. Then everything goes black.
Peridot's P.O.V.
She laughs for some odd reason. She gets up laughing and then just stops and falls. Before she can hit the ground, I grab her wrist and grab the pocket of her sweater and pick her up.
"Lazuli?" I ask as I start to panic.
"Lazuli! You're dad is going to kill me!" I say. I grab her right wrist and gently push my thumb on it trying to find her pulse.
"Oh, thank God, " I whisper to myself.
I put my right arm under her back and and my left arm behind her knees and lift her up, bridal style. Except I thought that the next time I'd sweep Lazuli off of her feet was when we got married. Not like I actually fantasize about that. I'm not obsessed. I just have a big imagination.
"Lazuli?" I pathetically try to wake her up. I lightly pat her cheeks, "Lazuli!"
Her head moves slightly, and not just from the force of gravity that pulls us all down on the ground.
Lapis' P.O.V.
When I regain my senses, Peridot is staring at me. And he is also carrying me. I blush.
"Put me down!" I say. He puts me down on the couch and then sits next to me.
"Who's being cliche now?" he asks.
"What happened?" I ask.
"You kind of fainted for about a minute or two, " he explains.
Then I remember what happened. I look at him and I can't believe it. It's hard to believe I spent five years living next to the boy I had grown to love without ever seeing his face.
"It can't be you," I say. I put my hand on the side of his face and look at him as if seeing him for the first time. I can't really stop the tears from forming in my eyes, "It can't be," I shake my head. He takes my hand.
"But it is, " he says.
I put my arms around his neck and do my best to not cry.
"How did you know who I was?" I ask doing everything humanly possible to keep my voice from breaking.
"I have a really good memory. And you're voice didn't change much. Apart from that, I actually saw you a couple of times, " he says.
"You left, " I say abruptly.
"Mom was getting married and we came here to live with her husband, " he explains.
"It can't be, " I repeat.
He hugs me tightly and tears fall. I cry silently and don't let it be heard.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask him.
"I didn't think you'd believe me. I thought that if I could make you love me without knowing who I was, we'd both know if it would actually work out without a fence between us, " he explains, chuckling lightly at the last part.
"I have so many questions, " I say.
"Me too, " Peridot replies. There is silence for a moment. A moment where he just holds me without saying anything. A moment meant to just sit there comfortably in each other's company without feeling the need to say anything. A moment to take it all in.
"I love you," he says after the moment of silence. I take a moment to respond.
"Me too," I reply.
"You love me?" he asks ever so stupidly.
"No. I love myself," I say sarcastically. We laugh softly.
"You're a rose among thorns, Lazuli," he whispers.
I smile. A poisonous rose, I want to say, but I let him flattery me.
Time Skip
After Peridot leaves and mom comes home, we eat. I eat gleefully. After all, there is something for me to be gleeful about.
Then this happens.
"Karla, something happened today," my dad says. My fork falls. And I almost choke on my food. My parents stare at me as I gulp down large sips of water at a time that should have made me choking a lot easier. After I calm down and try to steady my breathing and my racing heart.
Best way to put it, dad.
"What happened?" she ask, peeling her eyes away from me and onto dad.
I grab my fork and go to the sink to rinse it.
I don't believe my dad will tell my mom. Nevertheless, doubt still clouds my mind. My skin feels cold and my heart races. When I sit back down my dad starts to speak again.
"Well, Lapis-" my dad doesn't look at me, nor does my mom, dad just keeps on speaking, "her doctor is a really nice and trustable guy and she has parent teacher confrences in two weeks," he say, which relieves me of my stress and I drink my glass water to refresh my dry throat. My water tastes delicious.
After dinner, I go upstairs and shower while Jane lies on my bed on top of my phone. When I am ready for bed, my dad comes in.
"Lapis," he starts.
"Thanks for not telling mom," I say. He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.
"For now. The truth comes out eventually one way or another. But for now, I'll just be oberving that boy," dad explains.
I've only just realised my dad always refers to Peridot as that boy as if his very name were toxic. As if the worst thing possible could happen that could cause a domino affect of other cautostrophic events. But I'm probably overthinking it. He's my dad, he's just being protective. It's what dads do. I must just be thinking of US history in the Cold War with the Soviet Union and the US with communism versus democracy or World War I. Either way, any one of them works.
Hello! What's up? I know I didn't update last month, but here it is!
How did you like it? Let me know.
Anyway, have a good night/day, wherever it is you live!