Chapter 3: Family
The rest of that day passed as normal as it usually did. I was very much thankful- I definitely had a lot to comprehend and deal with. Day passed to night, and slowly everyone went to sleep.
I woke up fairly early the next morning, at about 9:00. Most days I wouldn't wake up until about 11 or so. After breakfast, Mika and I took two of our old bikes out for a ride.
"So," said Mika after we set out, "what are you going to do about that whole. thing?"
I was kind of surprised that he actually took an interest, but I answered his question nevertheless. "It's all really. weird, you know? It's kind of like something you thought wasn't real, but it turns out that it is. I- I think I'm going to go."
"Cool," he said. The rest of the time passed in silence.
As we returned, we saw that our cousins were just arriving with our aunt and uncle. But the surprise was the arrival of our father and his new wife, Kat. We weren't expecting them, but then again, when was the last time our father ever told us anything? Nevertheless, we happily greeted him- we hadn't seen him in ages.
It was a very enjoyable evening. We sat around talking, with a nice big fire, and roasted marshmallows. Of course Mika, our cousin Chris, and I burned our marshmallows, because, well, burned marshmallows are the best. We discussed this when asked why we let them catch on fire.
"Besides, it's just fun!" Mika added.
After a while, I pulled my father aside and asked him for a private moment. He agreed, and we went inside. I pulled out the letter and pushed it under his nose.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, slightly upset.
"It was your mother," he said. "I didn't want her to get angry."
I couldn't believe he had actually said that. Of all the excuses he could have pulled (not like I would have fallen for them), he pulled the most overused of them all.
"Why are you always trying to pin all your problems on her? I really don't see how you not taking responsibility and telling us the truth is her fault. Oh, wait, now I know- you didn't want to tell us anything because you want nothing to do with us, not to mention the fact that you never even wanted kids to begin with."
"That's not-" he began, but I cut him off.
"Yes, it is true. I heard about all the things you said, all the letters," I said forcefully.
"So, she's trying to get you and Mika to hate me?" he asked, accusing my mum.
"If you really want to know, I was the one that pressed the issue- she didn't want to say much and she certainly didn't want to make us hate you. Besides, I never even saw the letters for that reason, anyway," I said. "All of our feelings came from our own thoughts, and no one else's."
"Listen, Ánië, I really am sorry about not telling you the truth. I realize now that I should have, and I guess I really don't have an excuse for not telling. I- I'm sorry," he said quietly, his voice full of emotion.
"I'm really tired, I would really like to go to bed," I said, trying to escape.
As I got up, he stood as well, and hugged me. It was very strange to be hugged by my father; I could not really recall the last time it had happened. I pulled away, went and changed into my pajamas, and curled up in bed.
My thoughts were dark, thinking of my father and our conversation. He was full of lies, as usual. I began to wonder if he had ever told the truth to anyone. His apology was a lie, and I knew it. He made one too many empty promises, and I could no longer trust him. Anger filled me as I finally drifted to sleep.
I awoke the next morning feeling a little depressed, but my heart lifted slightly when I discovered my father had left. I was, however, forced to put on a sort of show to avoid my troubles being seen. It was fairly easy; I had always wanted to be an actress, so I would work on not showing what I was thinking, or just put on a different face. Luckily, I had become that well at it that I could at least fool my family.
The time passed, and it was soon time to go home. I was sad, I loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa at their camp, but I was looking forward to seeing my mum and try to explain everything to her. Well, perhaps 'looking forward to' aren't the right words. It was more like anxiousness. But, I had a feeling it would definitely be an interesting conversation with her.
We drove back home, talking occasionally. Mainly, I was wondering what I was going to say to my mum- I thought it would probably be a pretty big shock for her to find out about everything.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And that's Chapter 3! Tell me what you think, Review!
P.S. Don't worry, Hogwarts comes up soon... next chapter, actually. Yup, and it's a long one, too!
The rest of that day passed as normal as it usually did. I was very much thankful- I definitely had a lot to comprehend and deal with. Day passed to night, and slowly everyone went to sleep.
I woke up fairly early the next morning, at about 9:00. Most days I wouldn't wake up until about 11 or so. After breakfast, Mika and I took two of our old bikes out for a ride.
"So," said Mika after we set out, "what are you going to do about that whole. thing?"
I was kind of surprised that he actually took an interest, but I answered his question nevertheless. "It's all really. weird, you know? It's kind of like something you thought wasn't real, but it turns out that it is. I- I think I'm going to go."
"Cool," he said. The rest of the time passed in silence.
As we returned, we saw that our cousins were just arriving with our aunt and uncle. But the surprise was the arrival of our father and his new wife, Kat. We weren't expecting them, but then again, when was the last time our father ever told us anything? Nevertheless, we happily greeted him- we hadn't seen him in ages.
It was a very enjoyable evening. We sat around talking, with a nice big fire, and roasted marshmallows. Of course Mika, our cousin Chris, and I burned our marshmallows, because, well, burned marshmallows are the best. We discussed this when asked why we let them catch on fire.
"Besides, it's just fun!" Mika added.
After a while, I pulled my father aside and asked him for a private moment. He agreed, and we went inside. I pulled out the letter and pushed it under his nose.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, slightly upset.
"It was your mother," he said. "I didn't want her to get angry."
I couldn't believe he had actually said that. Of all the excuses he could have pulled (not like I would have fallen for them), he pulled the most overused of them all.
"Why are you always trying to pin all your problems on her? I really don't see how you not taking responsibility and telling us the truth is her fault. Oh, wait, now I know- you didn't want to tell us anything because you want nothing to do with us, not to mention the fact that you never even wanted kids to begin with."
"That's not-" he began, but I cut him off.
"Yes, it is true. I heard about all the things you said, all the letters," I said forcefully.
"So, she's trying to get you and Mika to hate me?" he asked, accusing my mum.
"If you really want to know, I was the one that pressed the issue- she didn't want to say much and she certainly didn't want to make us hate you. Besides, I never even saw the letters for that reason, anyway," I said. "All of our feelings came from our own thoughts, and no one else's."
"Listen, Ánië, I really am sorry about not telling you the truth. I realize now that I should have, and I guess I really don't have an excuse for not telling. I- I'm sorry," he said quietly, his voice full of emotion.
"I'm really tired, I would really like to go to bed," I said, trying to escape.
As I got up, he stood as well, and hugged me. It was very strange to be hugged by my father; I could not really recall the last time it had happened. I pulled away, went and changed into my pajamas, and curled up in bed.
My thoughts were dark, thinking of my father and our conversation. He was full of lies, as usual. I began to wonder if he had ever told the truth to anyone. His apology was a lie, and I knew it. He made one too many empty promises, and I could no longer trust him. Anger filled me as I finally drifted to sleep.
I awoke the next morning feeling a little depressed, but my heart lifted slightly when I discovered my father had left. I was, however, forced to put on a sort of show to avoid my troubles being seen. It was fairly easy; I had always wanted to be an actress, so I would work on not showing what I was thinking, or just put on a different face. Luckily, I had become that well at it that I could at least fool my family.
The time passed, and it was soon time to go home. I was sad, I loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa at their camp, but I was looking forward to seeing my mum and try to explain everything to her. Well, perhaps 'looking forward to' aren't the right words. It was more like anxiousness. But, I had a feeling it would definitely be an interesting conversation with her.
We drove back home, talking occasionally. Mainly, I was wondering what I was going to say to my mum- I thought it would probably be a pretty big shock for her to find out about everything.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
And that's Chapter 3! Tell me what you think, Review!
P.S. Don't worry, Hogwarts comes up soon... next chapter, actually. Yup, and it's a long one, too!