《a little》不渡万山

7、第 7 章 you

　　you were about to say something to him before the doorbell rang, and your father stood up abruptly without even having to ask who it was. you watched as he took a deep breath before heading toward the front door. you heard him talking to the person at the other end of the line, before the conversation ended.
　　you frowned as you heard footsteps rushing towards you, only to halt a couple steps in front of you as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.
　　"who was it?" you wondered, frowning slightly.
　　"nothing," he replied shortly. he took a deep breath. "look, i can't handle this right now... you need to leave. go. please."
　　"okay," you murmured quietly, glancing down at the ground in frustration. you wanted to fight him and stay beside him, but you knew that you weren't going to win this battle. you were always destined to lose. you pushed yourself off of the couch, turning around to head toward the door. your father grabbed your arm, stopping you in your tracks.
　　"no wait!" he cried. You looked over at him curiously, waiting for him to speak. "come here."
　　You walked back over to him, standing in front of him uncertainly.
　　"please dont go," he said softly, grabbing your hands gently as he wrapped his arms around you in a tight embrace. "i love you."
　　"i love you too," you murmured softly. "i'll come back tomorrow, okay?"
　　he nodded slowly, hugging you closer to him for a few minutes before releasing you once he deemed himself ready to let go. you smiled weakly at him one last time before opening the door.
　　"goodnight," you whispered as the door shut softly behind you. you leaned your head against the door for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh and turning around, starting to walk back toward your car.
　　you got in, shutting the door gently behind you and putting on the seatbelt, closing your eyes tightly as you rested your head on the wheel, resting your forehead against it. you sat there, unmoving for awhile, until you eventually became conscious of the fact that someone was sitting next to you. you snapped open your eyes, sitting upright and looking over at them.
　　"hey," you greeted quietly. they didn't respond. you blinked. "hello?" you repeated louder, tilting your head slightly. "hello?"
　　there was still no response. you glanced up at the side mirror, watching as his face remained hidden by shadow, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor of the car. you furrowed your brows as you turned around and looked out of the window.
　　you didn' t understand what was happening, or what was going on.
　　you had been sitting next to your father all day, but he hadn't spoken to you once, or done much to acknowledge your presence. you couldn't help but feel extremely anxious about whatever situation he was in, because you knew that nothing good could ever possibly happen when he was acting like this.
　　the entire ride home, your father had refused to talk to you. he had refused to take your hand or pat you on the head, refused to even glance at you at all.
　　you didn't know what exactly he was thinking, but it was obvious that he was clearly upset.
　　you felt a sharp pain in your stomach and squeezed your eyes shut tightly, biting your lip anxiously. you knew that something wasn't right, but you just couldn't figure out what it was.
　　maybe this was the reason why he was acting like this. maybe he was mad at you. maybe he was disgusted by the idea of having feelings for you. maybe he hated you. maybe he loved you. perhaps it was some kind of mixture of the two. you shook your head slightly, refusing to think about the possibility that your father might be feeling this way. you didn't want to believe anything bad could possibly be coming for you if your father thought of you this way.
　　for a brief moment, you remembered the letter he wrote for you in class the previous week, and the words he had written in it. you bit your lip nervously as you reread it in your mind, wondering if you'd missed anything important. your eyes scanned the text again, searching for any hint of emotion.
　　you quickly put the book away when you noticed your mother walking into the kitchen. you looked up from your food, smiling brightly at her and gesturing towards it.
　　"have another bite," you told her happily. she smiled slightly, nodding.
　　she picked up her fork, hesitantly taking a small bite of her food. as soon as her lips made contact with the food, however, the smile on your mother's face dropped, replaced instead by a look of horror.
　　your father's eyes shot open, looking down at you. you instantly felt concern rise up inside of you, reaching over and touching your mother's face gently.