Your Guardian Angel (BxB)

Chapter 8: Dad's Girlfriend?

There's an unfamiliar white car parked alongside Dad's truck in the driveway when I get home. Okay, weird. Aside from family occasionally coming over to visit, Dad doesn't usually have guests over. If he does, he always tells me beforehand. Confused, yet a little curious at the same time, I step inside the house. I hear voices coming from the living room, Dad's own voice mixed in with an unfamiliar, feminine voice. I slowly make my way towards the living room.

"You haven't told him yet? How do you think he'll feel about this?" The unfamiliar voice asks. I lean against the wall, right outside the living room, eavesdropping in on their conversation.

"I...I'm not sure. He's still not over what happened to his mother, and...well, he's never been the most social kid." Dad replies. I'm guessing they're talking about me. Why does Dad sound so nervous?

Hold on...Dad has a girl over, and he mentioned what happened to Mom...does that mean...?

I feel my heart sink as the realization sets in. This day was going to come eventually, I've learned to accept that, but...so soon? It hasn't even been a year yet! I sigh and knock lightly on the wall to let them know I'm home. Dad glances up in my direction, looking startled at the sudden noise, but relaxes slightly when he sees me standing at the entrance. He has a nervous smile on his face. Sitting in the chair across from him is a woman around Dad's age with tan skin, long, curly black hair and dark brown eyes behind thin framed glasses, who curiously looks up in my direction.

"Hey, kiddo. Um...sit down, I guess we need to talk." Dad motions for me to sit down. I get a nervous feeling as I set my backpack down and take a seat on the couch. I know what he's about to tell me, and I'm not prepared for it at all.

"Well, I guess there's no point in trying to hide it anymore...Nico, this is Audrey. She's my girlfriend."

Bingo, that's exactly what I suspected he was going to say.

"I should've told you about this sooner, and I'm sorry that I hid it. But...well, I figured it would be better if I told you now rather than you finding out about it later." Dad lets out a nervous laugh. Find out later? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? How could he not tell me something this important? How long has this been going on? God, there's too much I want to ask.

I only nod and take a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. "Chill out, man. You knew this was gonna happen eventually, just let Dad be happy. Besides, shouldn't you at least try to move on?" I try to reassure myself. Move on...that phrase always gives me a bad feeling.

"I'm sorry. Something for work just came up, I should be going now." Audrey pipes up after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence between the three of us. She's staring down at her phone at what I assume is some message from her job. Or maybe she's just making up an excuse to leave.

"Yeah, of course. I'll talk to you later." Dad says, standing up from his chair to escort her to the door.

Audrey glances at me and gives me a soft smile as she stands up. "It was nice to meet you, Nico." I hum and give her a half smile, quickly turning my gaze away from the two of them.

Once they've gone outside, I relax and lean back into the couch. Okay, that could've gone a lot worse. It probably could've gone a little better, though.

Dad comes back a few minutes later, and returns to his seat. I raise one eyebrow at him, waiting for him to say whatever he's going to say. "I know you've got questions, start asking."

"How long has this been going on?"

"I met her back in April, but we've only been together since the end of July." He explains. He's still really nervous, I can tell. "How do you feel about this? And please be honest." He questions calmly.