I open the front door with a giant grin. Zander matches my smile half-heartedly, his hands wringing together nervously. I reach forward and gently pull his hands apart, intertwining our figures and leaning up to kiss his nose. Dropping back down to my heels, I pull him into the hallway and nudge the door shut behind him.

"You'll do great, it's just dinner."

He blows out a shaky breath and nods, "I'm just really nervous, I mean, our first encounter wasn't exactly on dating terms."

"I know but -"

Dad walks in with a wide grin, "Zander! Welcome back, son!" He slaps his hand down on Zander's shoulder, causing him go rigid under Dad's touch. He looks over at me terrified. I cover my mouth to hold back a laugh, nodding my head towards Dad, who is still waiting for his response.

Zander gulps and his eyes close as he brings in a shuddering breath, then he turns around with a straight face. "Nice to see you again, Sir." He grips Dad's hand tightly, shaking it firmly.

Dad looks down to their hands with amusement, "Respectful, firm grip, and still a little nervous?" He looks up to gauge Zander's reaction, obviously very happy to see the slight tint of pink gracing his cheeks. He looks past Zander's shoulder to smile at me brightly. "I like him already."

I grin widely, sending Dad a silent 'thank you' with my eyes. He gives me a playful wink before turning his attention back to Zander. His hands grip his shoulders firmly, Zander's eyes wide slightly in shock and his shoulders tense up immediately. He tightens his hands into a fist, but quickly relaxes and calms down. I frown but brush it off. I'll definitely ask about that later.

Dad quickly loses his happy demeanor, his eyes boring into Zander with a stern glare. "But let's get one thing clear. My wife isn't the only scary parent, so, if you hurt my daughter I'll rip you to shreds. Got it?"

~•~

Zander's P.O.V.

"Got it?" His grip gets impossibly tighter on my shoulders. I struggle to keep a straight face and not grimace.

"Yes, Sir. Loud and clear."

Her Dad grins widely again and pulls me into a tight hug. I awkwardly hug back, my eyes wide with surprise and my heart threatening to jump right out of my chest. What the hell is happening? Should I be worried or something?

He pats my back roughly then pulls away, giving me a once over then turning towards Sarah. He gently kisses her forehead then nods his head for both of us to follow him. "Gen is serving dinner now, we had better get in here before she gets too impatient!" He chuckles softly to himself then disappears around the corner. I hurry to follow him, only to be stopped by a light tug on my shirt. The heck? Did I catch my shirt on something? I look back to see Sarah staring up at me, her hand hanging onto my shirt. I got caught on a Cupcake!

Okay, that sounded so lame.

I raise an eyebrow and turn to face her fully, worry etched into my features. "What is it, Cupcake?"

She moves forward and wraps her arms around me tightly, pulling me into warm hug. My heart calms down immediately, my tense muscles relaxing under her touch. She leans her head back to look up at me, a soft smile gracing her lips. Damn, this girl knows just what to do, doesn't she?

"Just wanted to make sure you're alright before we head into the lions den. You seemed," Her brow furrow slightly as she thinks of the right word, "Troubled for a second there."

I smile and brush my fingers across her cheeks, "Yeah, I'm alright. Later, okay?"

Her eyes widen slightly in shock that I agreed then she quickly nods, "Of course."

"Okay," I take a deep breath then grin down at her, "Let's go." I gently pry her arms from around my waist, taking her hand in mine and intertwining our fingers together. We walk into the kitchen together, and there's something about having her by my side, something about the way she squeezes my hand in hers, that gives me a burst of confidence. Her dad looks up from his newspaper, then grins at us and gestures for us to take our seats.

"Alrighty, I've got mashed potatoes, noodles, meat loaf, and gravy." She places the last bowl on the tables then sits down beside Sarah's dad. She smiles at me softly, then turns her attention towards Mr. Jones. "Honey, are you going to say grace?"

He smiles and takes her hand then takes Sarah's hand as well. Sarah grabs my hand too, and I stare at it in confusion. What's happening?

"Zander, Honey, did you hear me?" I jerk my attention back up to Mrs. Jones. Glancing around the table I notice that they're all staring at me expectantly. I frantically look over to the Mrs again. She chuckle softly and reaches across the table, taking my hand in hers. "It's alright, we're going to pray. You don't have to join in if you don't feel comfortable with it, okay?" I nod cautiously in answer, my palms becoming awkwardly sweaty. I hope they don't notice that . . . or feel it.

She smiles and nods toward Mr. Jones to start. He bows his head and closes his eyes, Sarah and Mrs. following his lead. I sit awkwardly as they start to say their prayers, then bow my head as well to say my own little prayer.

Uh dear God, let this go smoothly, I wouldn't mind living a little longer so um, Thanks?

"Amen! Let's eat!" Mr. Jones smiles cheerfully, breaking the circle by reaching forward for the potatoes to which Mrs. Jones helps with. Sarah gives my hand a little squeeze and smiles over at me happily then lets go as well.

After a few minutes, everyone got their food and settled into small talk. Mrs. Jones finally looks up at me with a smile, her eyes glinting with what I know to be a bundle questions waiting. God, I hope you're with me . . .

"So, Zander, lets start off with some simple questions."

I gulp nervously but nod in agreement, internally preparing myself for the onslaught of questions. Sarah stares at her potatoes awkwardly, noticeably preparing herself as well.

"Why do you want to date our daughter?"

I look down at my plate and smile softly. I look back up at them confidently, "I want to date your daughter because she makes me happy, makes me feel wanted and important, she's a blessing in disguise really. She's sweet, caring, loyal, beautiful, and all around a great person to be around. I can't help but to want to call her mine."

Mrs. Jones smiles widely at that, nodding her head in approval. I glance over at Sarah to see she also has a big grin on her face, her cheeks tinted with a blush.

"How did you two start dating, exactly?"

I freeze in my spot, a blush rising across my face. What am I supposed to say? 'Oh, we met and then I stole her underwear and black mailed her into giving me kisses and now we're dating' ??? I don't think that'd go over well . . .

"We were friends for a while, as you already know, and I just kinda started liking her more as a friend then asked her . . ." I smile awkwardly, my eyes flickering over to Sarah for her approval. She's hiding behind her hand, obviously laughing at my predicament. Mr. Jones laughs and nods, accepting the answer without any hesitation.

"Next question, what do you like to do for fun?"

I frown and awkwardly look down at my plate. Everyone falls silent, waiting for my reply. I hardly get to do anything for myself anymore, I don't even know . . .

"Well, um, I like to go out and watch the birds and such. I also like drawing a little bit." A broken smile tugs at the corner of my lips at the thought, the memories of all the times Mom and I would draw together under our favorite oak tree in the backyard. I haven't really picked up a pencil since then though.

Mr. Jones smiles and nods happily, "I've always wanted to draw, but lord knows I don't have that skill!" We all laugh, and my heart lightens up bit again. He faces me again and gives another smile, "What do you do for work?"

I straighten up a bit and grip my fork a little tighter, "I work as a mechanic," And part time where you have to clean up after your mess of a father. "down near Gateway street. It pays well for now until I can get a full time job."

"What are your parents like?"

Sarah drops her fork loudly, drawing everyone's attention toward her. She mumbles a 'sorry' quietly before everyone's attention back towards me. I grimace and drop my gaze to my plate. I look up again with my jaw clenched and a tight smile, "Well, my mother died and my dad is an alcoholic. Next question please?"

Mrs. Jones stares at me with shock and Mr. Jones smiles at me with sympathy. Great, just what I didn't want. We fall into an awkward silence again, everyone stuffing food in their mouths to avoid further poking at the subject. I feel a gentle pat on my knee under the table, causing me to jerk in surprise and slam it against the table. I look back up with wide eyes and look towards Sarah to see her silently giggling to herself. Mrs. Jones smiles over at us knowingly, easing everyone back into normal discourse. My heart warms at the foreign feeling, I could get used to this again.

~•~

"You said you wanted to talk?" I settle down on Sarah's bed, stretching my legs out across it. I need to get a bed like this, it's so soft!

She smiles softly and sits down beside me, her shoulders slumped down as she gives me the eyes. The eyes of 'I know you won't like this', to which I have a bad feeling that yes I really won't.

"You mentioned your mother . . . I um, never heard you talk about your mother before?" She looks down hesitantly, "I mean, you don't have to say anything. I understand it must be a hard subject for you."

I squeeze my eyes shut as a million and one emotions rush through me, all of which are not good feelings. Sighing softly, I sit up straight and gently pull her towards me. She moves willingly, resting her head against my chest while I hold her.

"A few years back my mom was hit alongside the road while she was walking. The details are . . . hard to think about so I'll leave it at that. The only reason she was even out on the streets was because they were arguing again, worse than ever before. She tried to get him sober but . . . it never worked, he never stopped. My father," I scoff loudly, shaking my head at the title he definitely doesn't deserve, "My father spiraled even more into his alcoholism after that. He uh - he'd hit me before once and a while, nothing big but then once she died . . ." I trail off as the memories flood back in, all the ruthless beatings, all the broken bones and deep cuts I'd gotten on those dreadful nights.

"He beat you bloody . . ." Sarah finishes the sentence for me, her body going stiff. She sits up and faces me fully, taking my face in her hands. My chest constricts painfully, my eyes cast down in shame and disgust. I couldn't even defend myself, I couldn't save her. I wasn't enough. "Hey, look at me," Sarah draws my attention back up to her, her hands keeping me steady. "Don't blame yourself for his actions. Don't ever do that, okay? He made his choices, he pushed you both away. It's not your fault."

A broken sound claws up my throat, sounding something like a whimper. She gently pulls me to her chest, running her fingers through my hair while whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I wrap my arms around her tightly and bury my head against her shoulder. She plants a soft kiss on the top of my hair, then rests her cheek there.

"You're worth it, Zander, you're worth every little bit. Especially to me."

And somehow, that's all I needed to hear.

~•~

Holy slightly emotional there at the end! So we finally know what happened to Zander's mom, well, kinda anyways 😂 Awe Sarah's such a sweetheart ❤️❤️

Gen and Johnny are such fun parents, I love them! Anyone else?

Again, another long awaited chapter! Dudes, I have been so super busy this week it's nuts. School is ending for me and I've been rushing to get it done (even though I'll be done like a month ahead of schedule...hehehe). I hope you enjoy this chapter and that the family dinner wasn't boring (cause we all know that some can be 😂), I tried to keep it interesting! 😂 Next chapter will be coming soon...to a wattpad near you...😂😂😂 I've already got most of the chapter figured out so...it's gonna be interesting...😏😏

Picture added is how I imagined Sarah holding Zander ❤️❤️❤️ Awe my heart ❤️❤️❤️

I'm super tired and hungry now, so I'm gonna go stuff my face then plop on the couch. 😂

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Stay emotional!
~Molly