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the-delta-42 · 1 year

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Firsts Part 2

Firsts Part 2: Meeting the Parents

Clementine nervously chewed her bottom lip, Gabe had asked her to meet his parents, well, his dad and his dad’s girlfriend. Since the last time she saw his dad was after she and Gabe got into a fight at the start of the year, Clementine wasn’t expecting the night to go well. She raised her hand to knock on the door, when it suddenly swung open. Gabe, holding a garbage bag, stopped and stared at Clementine.

“Clem… you’re early.”

“…I can come back later, if you want.”

“No!” Exclaimed Gabe, dropping the bag, “No, it’s fine. It’s just, my sister…”

Clementine frowned, “Miranda?”

“Mariana.” Corrected Gabe, glancing back in the house, “She’s been harassing everyone, asking what your like, if you actually exist…”

“She thinks you made up a girlfriend?” Clementine raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but she also thinks you’re the psycho who torched my uncle’s car.” Said Gabe, getting a frown from Clementine.

“What was it?”

Gabe stared at her.

“What?”

“You, you actually torched someone’s car?” Asked Gabe, dumbfounded.

“I’ve torched, stolen, vandalised and totalled multiple cars.” Stated Clementine, “Walking traumatic experience, remember?”

“Who’s that?” Came a new voice, “Is it your imaginary girlfriend?”

“Yes, now I’m a shared delusion.” Snarked Clementine, as a Cuban girl pushed herself in front of Gabe.

“You’re real?”

“No, I’m just a hallucination.”

“Dad, Gabe’s been doing drugs again!”

“What?!”

“Again?” Asked Clementine, as Gabe’s dad appeared at the door.

“Oh,” David stared down at Clementine, “you’re early.”

“Which is fine.” Gabe said, quickly.

“We were expecting you at five.” Finished David, making Clementine frown.

“But,” Said Clementine slowly, “it is five.”

She held up her watch, “See?”

Gabe gently took the watch from her, before holding it close to his ear, “Clem, this watch’s stopped.”

Clementine went red, “T-that would explain somethings.”

“Okay, you two, get out of the way so she can come in.” Said David, guiding Mariana and Gabe to the side, “The living room in the first door on the left.”

Clementine quickly nodded, before hurrying into the house, pausing on the door matt, “Do you want me to remove my shoes or is it alright?”

“It’s fine.” David waved his hand, “Ava’s doing some work in the back yard, but she’ll be through in a minute.”

Clementine nodded, before walking into the living room. It looked spacious, with a couple of couches and some chairs. She spotted a sideboard and cabinet with some pictures in it, walking up to it, Clementine spotted a car that looked familiar, before spotting a familiar face and freezing.

“That’s Uncle Javí.” Said Gabe, making Clementine jump, “He and Kate recently got in contact recently, trying to patch things up.”

“R-really?” Squeaked Clementine, glancing at Gabe.

“Yeah, he’s the guy who had his car torched a few years ago.” Continued Gabe, as Clementine slowly paled, “It was a nice car too.”

Clementine hummed, hoping Gabe didn’t notice her change in behaviour.

“He and Kate are going to be joining us.” Said Gabe, making Clementine squeak.

“Are you okay?” Asked Gabe, getting a hurried nod from Clementine.

“How do you think Clem’s getting on?” Asked Duck, flicking through a comic book.

“Hopefully, she’s having more fun than we are.” Answered Becca, as Sarah threw up into a bucket.

Duck wrinkled his nose, glancing at the doorway of the living room, “What did you and Gill eat?”

“There was some left-over food in the fridge.” Groaned Sarah, before dry-heaving into the bucket.

“What food?” Questioned Duck, as Sarah stopped heaving.

“There was a tin in the back, had some meatloaf in it.” Sarah gagged, “It was really dry.”

Duck stared at Sarah, “You and Gill ate dog food?”

“Why do you take the labels off dog food?”

“We don’t, it’s home made.” Said Duck, slowly, “We use raw meat and part cook it when the dog eats.”

Sarah stared at Duck, before dry heaving into her bucket. There was a silence, before the doorbell rang. Sighing, Duck put his comic down and headed towards the door, “Hopefully, that’s Gill’s mom with a change of clothes.”

Javí sighed as he pulled into David’s driveway. He and Kate had been avoiding contacting him, since they’d had an affair behind his back and eloped after their dad died.

“You okay?” Asked Kate, making Javí look at her.

“Yeah, just,” Javí paused, “just thinking.”

“About what, that five-year-old you ran over?” Snarked Kate, before gently placing her hand on his, “Javí, that was an accident. Besides, Jesse doesn’t blame you.”

“Really? Because it feels like he does.” Huffed Javí, glancing at Kate, “He’s still not over not finding his sister.”

“That can’t be helped, I asked Joan for help finding her, but she said she needed a bit more than ‘Clemmy’.” Sighed Kate. Jesse was, currently, an eighteen-year-old that Javí stared fostering when the boy was thirteen. Javí hadn’t planned on fostering, not after that cold-gazed pyromaniac that stole, crashed and torched a custom, and expensive, dodge challenger. Jesse had opted to remain at their home, he wasn’t a big fan of family reunions. When he was six, his parents took him and his younger sister out, before depositing them, at different points, on the side of the highway. Jesse spent most of his time looking for his sister, which was difficult as he only remembered a nickname for her, and he couldn’t accurately describe how she looked. Javí the suspicion that child he accidentally hit was Jesse’s sister, but when he checked around for her, he couldn’t find her. He had assumed he’d imagined it, until he saw it on the news.

That hadn’t gone down well with the rest of the family.

“Well,” Sighed Kate, opening the car door, “time to face the music.”

Javí slowly followed her out of the car and started to approach the front door. He swallowed, at the door suddenly swung open and Mariana stared at them.

“You’re early.” Said Mariana, looking at them, “Dad’s almost everything ready and Ava’s talking to Gabe and his girlfriend.”

Javí and Kate shared a small look, before following Mariana inside. Javí froze in the doorway to the living room, his eyes falling on a familiar hat and face that had a mixed look of panic and embarrassment.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Gaped Javí, staring at Clementine.

“How do you think Clem’s getting on?” Asked Duck, getting a groan from everyone.

“Duck, please,” Pleaded Sarah, “you’ve asked us that question seventeen times every hour.”

“I’m sorry, I’m bored.”

“You think we aren’t?!”

Clementine sat stiffly next to Gabe, while Javí glared at her, and Mariana looked at her like she was her hero.

Ava glanced around the table, David was glaring at Javí, Gabe was looking between Javí and Clementine, and Kate was staring intently at her glass. She awkwardly cleared her throat, “So, Clementine, I take it you and Javí know each other.”

“Yeah, er,” Clementine glanced around the table, “he, er, tried to foster me a few years ago.”

“Biggest mistake I ever made.” Muttered Javí, making Clementine scowl.

“I torched his car after I found out he was trying to use me as a sympathy case.”

Everyone stared at Clementine, “When was that?”

“When I was eleven, I think, so about four, five years ago.” Responded Clementine, getting a growl from David.

“Seriously, you tried to take in a child to look good?” Growled David, glaring at Javí.

“I was trying to keep my job.” Defended Javí, “Things were tough.”

“You mean that gambling thing you did?” Asked Mariana, getting everyone’s attention.

“There were also the drugs.” Offered Gabe, leaning back in his chair.

“You were doing drugs?” Asked Clementine, looking at Javí.

Javí scowled, before getting up, “This was a mistake.” He stormed out of the room, with Kate quickly following him.

They all stared after them.

“Well,” Said Clementine, “That was dramatic.”

Clementine quietly closed the door to Alvin and Rebecca’s house. She sighed, the rest of the evening had been quiet, more or less. She and Gabe had planned on meeting with the others, only to receive a text saying Gill and Sarah had fallen ill, which gave her and Gabe more time with Gabe’s family.

“How was it?” Asked Rebecca, as Clementine walked into the living room.

“I think it went well, even if I met the guy whose car I torched.” Said Clementine, dropping down onto the sofa.

Rebecca frowned, “You ran into him?”

“No, he’s Gabe’s uncle.” Responded Clementine, dropping onto the sofa. The pair satin silence for a moment.

“Where’s Dad and AJ?” Asked Clementine, looking around.

“Alvin said something about a game that AJ wanted to see.” Responded Rebecca, putting her book down, “Clem, someone called here today. They said they wanted to talk to you.”

“Who?” Asked Clementine, frowning.

“They said they were your parents.” Responded Rebecca, making Clementine freeze.