A heavy silence hung in the room, a weight that left everyone frozen in place—except for me.
My chair scraped loudly against the floorboards as I stood up and walked towards the front door. Mom's eyes traced me as I brushed past her, but I kept my gaze fixed straight ahead.
At first, she didn't say anything, standing her ground. But as I drew closer to the door, I heard her breath hitch from behind me.
"S-Son–"
Before she could finish, a rough cough cut through the room. I heard heavy footsteps scurry along the floor until they were a little bit behind me.
"It's okay, honey. Let's just let him go," Dad said to Mom in a soft voice.
I didn't know what was going on, but the shadows cast on the floor told me enough.
Dad gently placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
But that was the last straw. Mom spun back and slapped his hand away with a loud *smack*.
"Let him go?! How can I do that?! Don't you see how he's changed–!"
Dad calmly shook his head. "It's going to be fine. Our Son is almost a grown man now. He can handle his own."
Mom clenched her fists, her voice rising an octave. "B-but–"
"If you're really that worried, then how about you let me try talking to him?"
Mom's shadow flinched. She stared him down, but he didn't budge.
Eventually, she let out a sigh that didn't carry an ounce of relaxation.
"Fine," she pushed out. "Do whatever you want."
She walked past Dad, her shoulder bumping into his, and fell onto the couch.
With a small sigh, Dad's shadow slowly approached me until he stood at my side.
He gave me a strained but warm smile and gestured to the garage.
I didn't respond. I simply put on my shoes and opened the garage door.
A weight lifted off my shoulders as the garage door closed from behind me, acting like a physical barrier between me and my home.
I let out a long breath, then made my way over to the car, which Dad had already pulled to the driveway. It saved me a lot of effort walking around to sit in the passenger's seat, so I was somewhat grateful.
"Bring me to Luna's house," I said as I got in the passenger's seat.
Dad responded with just a small nod. He pulled out of the driveway and headed to Luna's house.
The drive was a mix between the smell of leather and a silence that felt as though it tainted the air. I tried adjusting my posture, but I never got comfortable. Eventually, I gave up and decided to deal with it.
Luna's house was only a ten-minute drive, so I shouldn't have had to deal with it for too long.
As the drive went on, Dad suddenly cleared his throat, signalling for my attention. I kept my gaze on the window, but started listening to whatever he wanted to tell me.
From the reflection of the glass, I saw him glance at me, not knowing whether or not I had heard him.
...I guess I can cut him some slack.
"I'm listening," I said blankly.
Dad's eyes widened in shock, then he let out a surprised chuckle. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"For starters, I just want to say I'm sorry."
I didn't reply. He took my silence as an answer, then continued. "I wasn't ignoring you or anything, it's just–"
"There's no need to explain yourself," I cut in.
There really was no need to. I had already gotten over it. I knew Dad wasn't trying to ignore me. It wasn't his fault that Mom interrupted us before he could reply—even if he hesitated.
But at the same time, just because I understood doesn't mean it didn't hurt. In fact, it only made things harder.
Dad's knuckles whitened as his grip on the steering wheel tightened.
Noticing that, I gave him one final assurance. "It's fine. I'm over it. Well, over your thing at least."
He let out a laugh. It didn't carry its usual contagiousness this time.
"Well, if you say so."
The remainder of the drive passed in silence. However, unlike before, I never had to adjust myself in the seat.
***
Dad parked outside Luna's house. I casually took off my seatbelt and opened the door. As I stepped out, Dad called out to me one last time. "Oh yeah, don't tell your Mom that I didn't lecture you, okay?"
I turned around with a blank expression, indirectly telling him it wasn't a funny joke. He gave me an innocent wink in return. It was stupid, but a chuckle welled up in my throat. I shook my head and quickly slammed the door shut.
Dad didn't linger or watch me as I did. He just drove off. Once he left, I pulled out my phone and sent Luna a quick text.
She didn't read the message, but the front door swung open.
She was wearing a cream-coloured off-shoulder sweater with a white skirt on the shorter side, and dark combat boots that stretched to the middle of her shins. The outfit could've been a masterclass if it had been topped with a beautiful smile. Sadly, she was wearing a grumpy expression instead.
"You sure took your sweet ass time getting here!" she shouted loud enough that I was sure the whole neighbourhood could hear.
I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time.
"Really?" I said, raising a brow. "I'm actually here about two minutes early."
Luna scoffed as she hurriedly put on her shoes and stepped outside. "Whatever, let's just go. Remi and Sora are waiting for us."
Whoa, I didn't hear about any of this. If they were coming, then why did you even need me? I would've just said no if I knew… probably.
"Do we really need to do all this, though?" I protested. "I'm sure he'd be fine on his own."
Luna placed her hands confidently on her hips with a proud "hmph!"
"Of course we do!" she declared. "We have to see how much our little Yu has grown. Besides…"
Her eyes suddenly lit up. "I just want to see how Yu does on a date!"
I suppressed the urge to smack my head. This had to be an invasion of privacy or something. Not to mention…
How are we supposed to not get caught?
Looking at it realistically, the chances that we didn't get caught were extremely low. But… I couldn't deny that it sounded a little fun.
I let out a small groan. "Fine, whatever. Let's just go."
Luna's eyes narrowed. "Don't act like you aren't interested, you killjoy. I see right through you."
As if I hadn't heard her, I began walking off. Luna sighed irritably before jogging up next to me. We continued to share our little small talk as we headed to the cafe where Yu was waiting.
***
Dad Pov:
I had parked my car in the garage around four minutes ago. I told myself, "Just one more minute," but here I was, my head pressed against the steering wheel with my eyes closed.
I knew that I should get out quickly and talk to my Wife about our Son, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. There was another—more pressing matter that had occupied my thoughts.
"T-thank you."
I almost couldn't believe it the first time I heard it, because for the first time... I actually felt something from his words.
Just thinking about it put a smile on my face that I couldn't shake. But at the same time—my chest ached, unbearably so.
I wanted to hear those words more than anything—and I knew that I didn't deserve them.
And that was why, when it mattered most, I couldn't bring myself to do anything.
But... I couldn't keep doing this anymore. I didn't want to do it anymore.
I have to… take initiative.
It had been so long since I did. I had been too scared to do anything—and I still was.
But...
I let out a deep breath.
My Son is almost done with high school. He's going to be graduating soon. So... I can't stay like this forever.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Just like him—I have to grow up.
I pushed myself off the seat, took one last deep breath, and left the car.
There was no turning back now.
It was the least I could do—
I have to talk to my Wife.