Page 60 of Bossy Grump's Secret

“Harold, no.” Mom tries to block him off, but he comes to her anyway. She fends him off by waving her arms, and when he gets past that, she just brings her hands over her head to stop him from touching her. Such drama.

Instead of pushing closer, Dad holds those arms, pulls himself into her and whispers something in her ear. He further whispers that this calms her down for the next set of incoherence. Talk about soul mates. These guys look destined for each other… entirely and without question.

She takes a big sniff after Dad lets her go and addresses me. "Dylan, if Ava is the girl you want, we will support you. You deserve happiness, just like I am with your father."

I look between her and Dad, flabbergasted enough for me to ask, “What just happened?”

“When you get to be with the person your soul truly yearns for, you’ll understand,” is his simple answer. “Now, on a lighter note, remember the doctor came to check on you this morning?”

I nod to confirm his question.

“Well, he said you’re free to go. We just need to keep redressing that big wound on your brow…something about a reopening that you’ll explain later.”

“Oh,” I recall. “That’s from the first brawl I had with that Gary guy,” I explain.

“Huh…it was that bad?”

I nod again.

“Well, it’s a good thing he’s gone.”

This has to be the hundredth time someone is saying that. All things considered, I’m overjoyed to leave the hospital. It’s about time, but the doc decided they had to keep me for four more days. I can finally get back to work, and specifically, back to Ava. She said that Lily and she had a week left. They are about ready to go to school, so if I don't catch up with them, I can only pray that she'll return during the winter break, which is very unlikely.

My parents help me gather everything I had been using to sustain myself in the hospital, and we're about to head out when I notice someone at the far end of the hallway…watching us.

“Ava…Ava!” I struggle to go after her as she disappears when she sees I have spotted her, but my father holds me back.

“She just wants to know that you’re alright. She’s been coming every day,” Layla confesses.

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” I grit my teeth, trying to suppress an outburst.

I had better not explode. My head is still a tube of leaking dynamite, ready to go off at the slightest temperature change. I'm not about to have that.

“She said I shouldn’t.” She raises her hands in defence.

"Thanks for not allowing me to do something about my waning relationship.” I roll my eyes. I will not push further. There’s no need to cry over spilled milk.

“What do you mean, son? That girl loves you. Every night, she’d be here, watching you sleep for at least an hour and wouldn’t leave till I practically forced her to. She’s a gem,” Dad chips in.

“You knew too!?”

He flashes a coy smile that does not suit his face at all. Elderly people should not have the gift of mischief. “I was responsible for keeping your mother either asleep or distracted the entire time.”

Wow.

The ironic thing is that even though Dad seemed supportive of me chasing my love interest. The next day, when I got dressed to go to the hotel, he insisted I stay, along with my mother.

"Look at you, boy. You look like a half-peeled potato… definitely bad for business…."

“…and your father is also worried about your health,” Mom adds.

“Well, yeah. There’s that too. Betty, what do you think? Ava wouldn't like to see him looking like this. You look like a sock missing its other leg with a hole where the big toe is supposed to be.” My father completely demolishes my ego. If I weren't more mature, my self-worth would hang on a thin thread.

Layla is enjoying this because she recoils on the couch in merry laughter.

“The both of you are not fair,” I huff and stomp back to my room.

“Well, I take it you haven’t met life,” Dad hollers after me right before I slam the door.

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