Home for the Summer (BOYXBOY)

28 | A Habit

I didn't come downstairs again that night. After my mini-outburst at the dinner table, I decided to keep my distance, due to both anger and embarrassment. I hated the way I had acted, but it was as if it all came bubbling out of me. My mind turned into a cup of vinegar and my father added in the baking soda.

It was 9:23 PM, one hour after dinner, when Nico tapped on my door.

"Hey," he said, peeking his head in. "You okay?"

I turned to face him on my bed before releasing a breath. "Yeah."

Nico stepped inside and tossed me a bag of chips. "Thought you might be hungry."

"You're my hero," I sat up and opened the bag as he shut the door.

"So," Nico said slowly. "That wasn't exactly the... Smoothest dinner."

I popped a chip in my mouth as he sat down beside me. "I'm sorry. My dad just brings out the worst in me. I didn't mean to snap like that."

"Right," he sighed. "Well, after you left me alone with your parents-" I frowned. Was he upset? "-your dad kept on talking about how terrible of a father he's been. I think that if you just talked to him-"

"I've tried talking to him."

"Alone. Not with me and your mom there." I sighed and ate another chip, reluctant to reply. "Ollie, you're going to seriously regret it in a couple of weeks if you don't talk to him now. In LA, you said you missed him. That's still going to be true when he leaves this time."

"Then he shouldn't leave. He's my dad," I huffed out. "And it's not fair for him to be treated like a hero when he decides to waltz into my life. All he has to do is stay." I hesitated, looking towards the ground dejectedly. "But, I'm not worth staying for. That's obvious at this point."

I watched Nico's eyes falter in my periphery before he sighed. "Look, I get where you're coming from. Everything with my mom just kinda showed me how... Unnecessary I was." My gaze rested on him again as he gave an empty smile. "But, parents are people, too. And I think it's important to try and understand where your dad is coming from. Maybe if you just talk to him, you'll see that he's willing to be better for you."

I was still very against speaking to my dad. The thought itself made me want to jump out of my window and be swallowed by the ocean, but Nicolas knew me and my father better than most. And he was definitely a better decision-maker than I was.

Do you want a chip?" I asked as I tilted the bag towards him, unwilling to admit that he was right. He sucked in a breath before shaking his head and standing.

"Just brushed my teeth," he grinned. "Anyway, I'm tired. I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yeah," I said, even though it was only 9 and he never went to bed this early. Am I supposed to ask him if he's mad? Would he tell me? Before I could decide, he disappeared behind the bathroom door and left me to eat chips in front of the glow of my phone.

***

Breakfast the next morning was nothing short of torturous. Nico was out- he had just gotten a gym membership in town and decided to utilize it- which left me, my mom, and my father alone with one another. We ate silently for a long time before my mom finally spoke up.

"So, Enzo. Apollo's been working at that gelato shop on Arca Street," she said, pointing to me with her fork.

"Is that so?" dad replied with a hum. "Well, that's a good work ethic. Not many teenagers want to hop right into a job so young. They lack responsibility." I swallowed my eggs as his eyes met mine. "You've always been responsible, though. Ever since you were little."