Red and Gold (Scomiche)

Chapter 7 - Family Matters

Sorry this is late. I came home from work and took a six hour nap :x

Next update will be meatier <3 love you guysssss

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I wasn’t going to lie, it did feel good to be in Arlington again. However it made my entire experience at the circus feel like a dream now that I was home. It’s like I snapped back to reality all of a sudden.

I took a cab to my parents’ house and felt a sinking in my chest when I saw they were already home from work. I walked up to the door with one overnight back in hand. As I went to unlock it with my key it flew open and my Mom was on the other side. Relief washed over her face and she reached up to give me a tight hug. “Oh thank God…” She whispered and held me there for a moment. When she pulled back though, I audibly gulped. “You’re in so much trouble! Get inside! NOW!” She pointed in towards the living room and I sighed sadly as I walked into my old home.

My Dad stood there in the middle of the large rooms with his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t happy to see me at all.

I put my bag down on the armchair and stood to face both of my parents. My dad pinched the bridge of his nose and then rubbed his hand over his entire face. “What the fuck were you thinking?” He asked me seriously. I shut my eyes and looked down as he started to yell. “Do you know how fucking worried we were?! You pack up and just take off with no explanation – not even a note telling us where you’re going!”

“I know you’d try and find me.”

They both looked to the ceiling. “That’s the point!” My Dad boomed. “You’re seventeen years old Scott. You’re not an adult. You can’t just take off on a whim! And to a circus?! What the hell is this about?!”

“I met someone.”

My Mom’s face seemed to have dropped and my Dad narrowed his eyes at me. “Yeah. WHO?” My Dad’s question wasn’t sensitive at all. He stared at me like it was a joke.

“His name’s Mitch…I met him when I brought Emmy there.”

“Is this some rebound after Casey?” My Mom asked and I shut my eyes in disgust. “Honey, you can’t keep letting him get to you like this. You’re reckless!”

“Mom it’s not like I’m out using crack or partying or something…I met Mitch…and I wanted to go with him. This isn’t because of Casey.”

It wasn’t 100% true, because after he and I’s breakup I did want to do more exciting things. He told me I was boring. He told everyone I knew that I was boring and then he cheated on me with someone else. How could that not make you want to change?

“You need to stay home.” My Mom eyed my one bag. “You can’t just drop out of school and move away.”

“You have college in the fall. You have responsibilities here!” My Dad started yelling again. “Why would you just up and leave?”

“Because I don’t matter here.”

Both of my parents stared at me for a long moment. “What are you talking about you don’t matter?” My Mom asked me, her sweet motherlike voice setting in over her angry, disappointed one. “Honey you mean to much…”

“All I do here is do my homework and babysit Emmy…my friends don’t appreciate me. You guys expect me to be this perfect son but I can’t. I don’t want to just be some shitty idle teenager anymore. I mean something when I’m out there.”

My Dad began laughing loudly. “You mean something in a circus?!” He looked at me with tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. “What are you the elephant keeper?!”