* Please Review! Guest: You could have left your comment under your sign in name. I wont have said anything to you. You have the right to your opinion of me and my stories and what I say just as I have the right to defend my stories. If you said it under your sign in, I would respect you for it because that means you stand by what you believe. I said what I said because, yeah, I was a little concerned that people might be bored with the story at first since the few few chapters have had no action.*
" Who is this boy?" Gideon asked as he filled Avalon's doorway the next day.
" Just a boy, Daddy."
Avalon gathered up her hair up and over her shoulder as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had already been outside and knew it promised to be another hot day. She turned to the side and checked over the dark jean shorts she was wear and the white tee shirt. It was slightly oversized and hung off one of her shoulders and under it, she was wearing her swim suit. Van loved swimming and so she knew sometime during that day they would be in the water. She didn't mind though. That meant Van would be shirtless and he looked amazing shirtless. His upper body was muscular, thanks to the swimming and the push ups Avalon had spied him doing once when she had been walking alone. His stomach was flat, his arms toned, and his chest...well she won't mind if he went shirtless all the time.
" Just a boy?" Gideon asked. " You were out until midnight last night with just a boy?" Avalon smiled as her fingers worked quickly through her hair to braid it.
" Yeah." She said.
" Well that just a boy is now sitting at my kitchen table at eleven in the morning." Gideon almost snapped. Avalon tried hard to not roll her eyes as she spun around to face her dad. He never liked any of her boyfriends or guys she had liked. Granted, Avalon hadn't always had the best taste in guys and they both knew it. Avalon, like most girls, usually liked the bad boys and Gideon, like most dads, hated it.
" Dad, he's a boy that I like, okay? He's a good guy, actually. He keeps his hands to himself, in fact, we have only held hands because I started it. Please don't be a dick here. I like him. He's the only person I know and he's showing me around and going to help me meet people." She said, fastening a black hair band to her hair to hold the braid in place.
" You have never had a hard time meeting people. As much as I have tried to teach you to be cautious and careful around strangers, you have always been open and managed to draw people in. But being in a town like this isn't like the other places we have lived. People here don't accept outsiders well, even if you have a local as a friend. You would be better off just keeping to yourself." Gideon said. Avalon smiled, dropped her hands and started towards her dad.
" You worry too much." She said.
" And you don't worry enough." Gideon said. His daughter sighed and stopped short just in front of him. She placed her hands on his shoulders as she stared into his eyes with the most beautiful eyes he had still ever seen. The second she had looked at him with those eyes for the first time, Gideon had just fall in love and knew he would do anything to protect her and that feeling hadn't faded. " Avalon."
" Gideon." She said. A smile tugged at her lips as she used his first name. It was a game between them. When she was little, he used to tell her she would wear out the word Daddy and make her call him Gideon, or Mr. Weathervane. She had always laughed, thinking it was funny to call him by his first name or Mr. Now, when she thought he was being too serious, she would call him by his name. It had always made him smile, but not now.
" I worry." He said. " You are all I have." Avalon's face soften at his words, just like he knew it would. He knew what to say to make her stay.
" Then maybe you should go out and meet people." Avalon said quieltly. Her response was not what he was expecting and he felt his anger start to stir. " I am twenty years old now. You need to understand that some day, I'm going to move out on my own. I'm going to meet a boy, fall in love and start my own life."
" Is that so? And you think that is the boy? You think that laker is the boy you will fall in love with, move out with and start a life with?" Gideon almost spit out.
" I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe through him, I will meet someone else. I don't know. All I can say for now is I like him and I want to spend time with him." She said. She sighed again as she stared into his eyes. " You need to start your life too. I'm older now so you don't need to watch over me as much as you have in past. You should have try and make friends here, go on a date."
" A date? You think I should go on a date?" Gideon asked with one of his eyebrows raised.
" Yeah. You're still a good looking man and when you want to be, you're really funny. You're smart and well travelled. Women would love you." Avalon said. Gideon rolled his eyes and frowned. She smiled again and stepped up to kiss her dad's scruffy cheek. " You need to shave, Daddy. I'm going out and I'll be back tonight."
She patted his cheek before pulling away and slipping between him and her doorway. Gideon's frown only deepen as he listened to his daughter hurry down the hallway then the stairs, calling out for the young guy. The father walked into the daughter's room and over to her wide windows and the french doors. He placed his hands on his hips and waited. A few seconds went by before he heard the door to the outside shut then saw the couple walking away. Avalon was holding Van's hand and almost bouncing with her excitement. Gideon could tell Van was grinning as he looked at her. The kid liked her, a lot. Gideon could see it on his face when they had breakfast together.
That didn't surprise him. Avalon had that effect on people. As much as he tried to make her a shut in like himself, Avalon had always had a way with people. She always drew them in with her laugh and her smile. As a young child, Gideon tried to shield her from the world, tried to protect her from anyone who might want to take her away from him but she had always reached out and pulled people into their space. No matter how much Gideon had tried to tell her the world was cruel, Avalon had wanted to experience and learn everything she could. He had made sure to take her to places like the museums he worked for and historical places. He taught her about art and classical music. Things that most people her age usually knew nothing about, in hopes that it would deter people from getting to know her. He had hoped it would set her apart of the crowd, maybe force her to be alone because what young kids would want to hang out with another kid who only talked about art and classical music? But no matter where they moved it, his plan had always backfired.
NRNRNR
" You're quiet today." Avalon said to Van as she swung their arms back and forth.
" Hmmm?" Van asked, looking at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road they were walking on. Heat shifted through the air again, bring a thin line of sweat to the skin on his bare arms. Maybe he shouldn't have chosen a black tank top for the day...or the camo cargo. Maybe he should have went with shorts. " Oh yeah, sorry. I'm just thinking."
" About?" She asked.
Everything. Van thought. He liked Avalon but he had seen Julie just that morning when he had ran into town and old feelings had almost stirred. Almost. She had been his first real girlfriend, not his first kiss or even the girl he lost his virginity to but his first real girlfriend and shouldn't it be hard to accept that they were over? Shouldn't he have felt something, anything, when he saw her for the first time after they broke up? He thought he should but he hadn't and he couldn't understand why. He thought it would hurt to see her face and hear her voice but it hadn't. He had been excited to see her when he knew she was coming home but now there was nothing.
As Van and Avalon walked, he was starting to wonder if he had ever really had feelings for her or had he been excited because she was what he was used too. Van sighed and looked at Avalon as she waited for his answer. She was the completely opposite of Julie. Her hair was colored with chucks of blond and dark brown color streaked through it, Julie's hair was just brown. Avalon had piercings, in her lip and her belly button, Julie thought girls with piercings were whores. Avalon was nice, Julie had never been very nice to anyone outside of her circle of friends. Avalon didn't make Van feel bad because he had stayed at the lake instead of going off to college, Julie resented him for it. Avalon had experiences he hadn't and, unlike Julie, she didn't rub it in his face. Van stopped walking, making her stop, and took a deep breath.
" So my dad is apart of this thing some locals do once a month. They go to different people's houses and they watch old films that were taken of the area and pieced together. Pretty much they just talk about old times and shit, and tonight it's happening at my place." Van stopped short. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to ask her to come? To officially meet his dad? To see the shit hole he lived in? Yeah, yeah he was. " Do you...I mean, would you want to come? It's going to be pretty boring so if you don't want too, I get it. I don't really want to do it too but..." He was rambling again but couldn't stop himself. Why did he ramble around her so much? Avalon smiled, silencing him slowly.
" I'd like that." She said.
" You would?" Van asked. He had to admit, he was a little surprised. Julie never wanted to see his dad or come over...then again, Avalon didn't really know what she was getting herself into and maybe after tonight, she wouldn't want to either. " You don't have too." Van said as he started walking again. No, there was no way she'd want to see him after meeting his dad and seeing his house.
" I want too. I'd love to come." She said. Van looked at her again while they walked.
" Yeah?" He asked.
" Yeah." She grabbed at his hand with both of hers and quickly kissed his cheek.
NRNRNR
" Wait here, okay?" Van said to her as they hurried into his house later that evening. " I need to help my dad get dressed." He squeezed her hand before pulling away, leaving her in his kitchen. " Dad! I'm sorry I'm late! Let me get you dressed then I'll set everything up!" He rushed through his living room, surprised that Chad wasn't in his usually chair, watching TV. " Dad!' He turned the corner and stopped short when he saw his dad in bed with beer bottles and a half empty liquor bottle laying around the bed.
" Call it off!" His dad yelled.
" Fucking perfect." Van whispered. This was fucking perfect. Just what he needed. He brings Avalon home and this is what is waiting for him? Yeah, they were over before they even got started. " What are you doing! Come on! You know you can't drink all that! Look at you!" Van exploded without thinking. His anger and resentment suddenly bubbling to the surface.
" Leave me alone!" Chad yelled.
" No! You aren't doing this to me!" Van yelled.
" I'm not doing anything to you! Leave me alone!" Chad yelled.
" Van." Chad's eyes snapped to the girl in the doorway as Van spun around. Completely humiliation washed over him at once. Avalon blinked at him then took a quick stock of the room. " Right, tell me where your bathroom is. I will start a cold shower while you get him up and out of that bed."
" Avalon, " Van started quietly as he started towards her. He took a hold of her arms and gently guided her out of the room. " look, I'm sorry. My dad...he's not well and I think it would..."
" He's not sick. He's drunk and I know a thing or two about this. My dad can't handle his liquor. Beer, yes, but liquor no. Now you have people coming here, right? We need to get him in a cold shower and shove bread down his throat to soak all that shit up. I'll start the shower, you help him in there and I will set up those chairs you have on your porch." She interrupted quickly. Van swallowed hard. She wasn't running. She wasn't judging him. In fact, she wanted to help him.
" Are you sure about this?" He asked. She smiled, stepped up and kissed him lightly.
" Where is the bathroom?" She whispered.
Working quickly and quietly together, Van got his dad showered, cleaned up, and dressed while Avalon set up the chairs in his living room and started a pot of coffee. She set out the plates and cups they would need for the guests. Since Van and Chad were hosting, they didn't have to have the food. It was up to the guests to each bring something to share with the group.
As Van took his seat between his dad and Avalon, he had to admit. He was happy. What started off as bad had actually turned out to be great. Avalon had introduced herself and greeted everyone with a smile, while Van took the food and set everything out. They had worked together like the prefect team and no one had known that everything had almost fallen apart.
" So everyone in the room is somewhere in the video?" Avalon whispered to Van as she leaned into him.
" Yeah." Van whispered back.
" And you guys do this once a month at a different house every month?" She asked.
" Well, just May through October." He said.
" This is great. I love this." Avalon whispered.
He looked at her and smiled. She was completely caught up in the images on the screen. She was smiling and even laughed a few times when the others laugh. Van took her hand and interlaced their fingers together. He looked back at the screen as they moved into each other more, pressing their shoulders together. Yeah, this was great, that is, until his mother came on the screen.
Van's smile faded and the light laughter in the room went with it. Everyone was still. Everyone was quiet. Van's hand tensed in Avalon's. Images of his mother and father, in happier times filled the screen. Pictures of Van on top of his dad's shoulders caused an ache in Van's chest. He felt like he couldn't breath when his mom laughed while Chad spun his son around. His throat threaten to close as she smiled into the camera and said how much she loved her life and them. His eyes wanted to burn with tears. Chad threw a line into the lake then leaned down to help his young son while the mother filmed them. Van's smile was bright and big. Was the room getting hot or was it just him?
And now he had to leave. Van thrust himself up, pulling Avalon with him. She didn't say a word as he hurried pass his dad and out into the night air. He could escape the pictures but he couldn't escape the memories that were flooding his system at that moment. As he almost ran, tugging her behind him, Van silently prayed that the sound of his mother's laugh would leave him and leave him fast.
And then his prayers were answered. A set of new sounds reached them. Van looked up and realized he had brought them to Julie's house. And there was a party going on. Van slowed his steps until he stopped walking completely. He turned and looked back at Avalon who was staring at him with her big, beautiful eyes. She hadn't said a word about his freak out. She had just ran with him.
" Um...about that..." He started as his other hand rubbed at his bottom lip.
" It's okay. I get it." She said. " But at least you got to have some time with her, you know? At least you have that to look back on one day when you're ready."
" I don't want to look back, ever." Van snapped. Understanding leaked into her eyes as she nodded.
" I can't even begin to imagine what's worst between us. The fact that you have memories and film you can look at when you want to see your mother or the fact that I have nothing. I have two memories of my mother and I can't even remember what her voice sounds like. You have all those memories and times with yours. You tell me, which of those is worst. You have what you don't want, I don't have what I want." Avalon said.
Van moved in a flash. One hand went into her hair to tilt her head back and claim her lips with his. Her arms went around his chest to his back while his other arm enclosed around her waist. His tongue swept into her mouth and began to tangle with hers. Lust, desire, and need flared to life between them. They pressed into each other hard and kissed until they had to come up for air. Panting, Van rested his forehead against hers.
" This doesn't change anything between us?" He whispered.
" No." She whispered. " This just shows me how much alike we are. It helps me to know there is something else who is going through what I have been going through. It should show you that you aren't alone in this anymore." Van took a deep breath and lifted his head from hers so they could smile at each other.
" This house behind me, it's the house of a girl I went to school with. Some of my old friends are there. You want to meet them?" Van asked.
" Yeah, I'd love that." Avalon answered.