Chapter Six:

I opted for relatively comfortable clothes after I got out of my shower. I decided on clean, black leggings, a dark blue tank, and an oversized white tank with a silver skull embellishment. I finished the look with short heeled, newspaper print boots and a scarlet blazer.

I did my best to cover the bruises on my face and went with basic, bare minimum make-up. I curled a bit of my hair, giving it some body and I was out the door with Doug.

It’s weird. I don’t think I’ve ever had a ‘father-daughter’ type outing, before. Here goes nothing.

---

Brian’s POV

“Hey, are you okay, man?” Matt asked me. I looked over at him, just remembering that I was with him.

“Yeah, it’s just been an intense day.”

“Zacky told me about this morning.”

“You don’t know the half of it man. Shit was rough.” I sighed. He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed before letting his arm drop.

“You want to talk about it?” He asked. I shook my head.

“It’s not really my shit to tell. You know? It’s weird, Bri. I’ve never been this into a girl. I barely know her and she’s all I think about. I mean, you’ve seen her – she’s a knock-out. She’s so tough and completely breakable at the same time.”

“You’ve got it bad, bro.”

“Don’t remind me. It’s not like we’re together. I don’t even know why we’re talking about this.”

“You’re my best friend, dude.”

“Yeah, but I’m not brain-dead. I’ve seen the way you look at her.” He looked him in the eyes. He sighed.

“What can I say, man? Great minds think alike.” He smiled, shrugging. “Seriously, man, if you want me to back off just say the word. There’s a reason I haven’t made the move on her.”

“It’s not like we’re together.”

“Maybe not technically, but I see the way you are around each other.”

“It’s not like that.” I argued.

“Whatever helps you sleep, bro. If you wanna be in denial, that’s fine with me. Just means she’s fair game.” He smirked. The fuck did I just get myself into?

---

Lydia’s POV

“I think he’ll love these.” I told Doug. He smiled.

“Do you really think so? Or you just humoring an old man?” He joked.

“You can’t be that old or my mother wouldn’t be dating you.” I laughed. He joined in. He was right – this is nice.

“What would you like for dinner, sweetheart?” He asked me.

“Honestly, whatever you want is fine. I haven’t had much of an appetite today.”

“We could go home and I can fix some soup if you’d like? I didn’t even consider that you might need a night in after the ordeal you had this morning. I’m sorry.” He stopped walking and faced me. He looks totally wrecked. This is going to take some getting used to.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s seriously fine. But, if you really don’t mind, soup sounds awesome.”

“Then soup it is. Shall we?” He asked me, offering me his arm. I took it and smiled.

“We shall! Let’s head home, daddio.” I laughed.

---

“I’ll have you know that this is the highlight of my cooking ability, unfortunately. Zacky was blessed with the culinary gene. He must have gotten it from his mother.” Doug apologized, setting a steaming bowl in front of me, on the kitchen table.

“Please, I grew up on this stuff. Canned goods are my friends. Compared to my nonexistent culinary skills, this is gourmet.” I assured him, taking a small spoonful. “It’s good.” I told him, with soup still in my mouth.

“Excellent. I aim to please.” He smiled, setting down a basket full of rolls, before sitting next to me.

Talking with him is unexpectedly easy. I’ve always had older friends, but this is different. It feels like, for the first time in my life, this is a relationship without strings. It doesn’t feel like he’s being friendly just to get something from me, later. It’s refreshing and I love it.

It makes me feel better about a lot of things, especially my failure of a mother. Maybe this one time, things will work out for me. Who knows? I’ll just have to make the most of it while it lasts.

“You know, Lydia, I think this whole family bit just might work.” Doug looked over and smiled. I smiled back, unable to help myself. I think he just might be right.

Notes

Alright, Matt and Lydia interactions coming up very, very soon! I know this is short, but I had writer's block. Comments would be most appreciated. More soon! (Probably tomorrow.)

Xo
Katie