Dad looked... weird? Brink was looking at the ground and was avoiding all eye-contact with her dad. She knew that if she looked him in the eye she'd end up crying. And she did not want to cry again. Not now. Not in front of everyone.
"Brink," Dad started. Oh man, here it comes... "I'm sorry." Wait, what?
Brink looked up at her dad, stunned. "For what?"
"You know what for..." No, she doesn't. That's why she asked. "Brink..." Dad chuckled slightly. "Brinkley. Ah, Brinkley, I don't even know why we named you that..." Who's 'we', you ask? 'We' is Brink's Dad and Mom. "We said we wanted a unique name for you. I liked Jennifer, you know, like Jennifer Aniston. I told your mom I liked that name and she pinched my arm. Hard. She said if I named you Jennifer, she'd punch me in the arm everyday for the rest of my life...heh... Your mom knew you were different. Both of us knew that. Mom wanted you to have a name that stood out from everyone elses, so, we thought of everything we could. I guess we started talking about our schools and then Brinkley came up and, well, we named you Brinkley. Brinkley Aster Tristis." Hey, ASTER is in the word DISASTER. All that needed to be added to Brink's middle name was DIS, you know, like, DISS. "I like that name much more than Jennifer Anne Tristis. It suits you better."
"Dad-" Brink's voice cracked. She quickly cleared her throat before Dad realised. "Dad, how come you've never told me this before?" Brink said in a soft voice.
"Well, I did tell you."
"When?"
"When you were five. And six and seven and eight and nine and ten. I stopped telling you the story because you said you were sick of it and that none of it made sense to you." Dad smiled, not showing any teeth. "Plus, you were really into the story of me helping Batman and the Teen Titans out. T-E-E-N T-I-T-A-N-S Teen Titans! Woo!" Dad did a fist pump in the air. Brink just gave him a questioning look. But then she had to laugh it out, and so she did. Her and Dad laughed together. "Oh Brink. You really are something..."
"Dad, you're making it sound like I'm handicap or disabled. Seriously, buff up. Be a man." Brink kiddingly punched her dad in the arm. As an afterthought, she added, "Rub some dirt in it."
"Brink...By the way, I got a phone call from Mr. Seethers the day after you left. He said something about-" Brink didn't want her dad telling her. She knew she had to say it.
"Cigarettes. Yes, I know. I'm sorry, Dad. I don't do drugs and alcohol. But, I do smoke...and I'm kinda not ashamed of it. It's just- I don't know..."
"What?!" Dad shot up his left eyebrow while Brink's cheeks went red. Oops. "Cigarettes?! He just told me you were late to class!"
"Oh..." Brink looked to the wall and chewed on her lower lip. When Dad saw this, he immediately cooled his temperature, remembering how guilty he felt when his mom caught him smoking.
Dad let out a deep breath. "It's hard to quit, isn't it? Once you get started, you can't stop." Brink nodded, agreeing with her dad. "I should know, I used to be a heavy smoker." Brink's eyes went wide and she turned to look at Dad. "Before I met your mom, I smoked heavily. Your mom was beautiful and when I found out she didn't like smokers, I gave it up." You gave up a lot of things for Mom. "But, you know what, I couldn't be any more happier." Dad smiled again. "Brink, I know you don't want to end up how your Mom...you know. And I know you hate it when I say you're just like her."
"Dad, don't-"
"Brink, come here." Dad opened his arms wide and gave Brink a huge bear hug. "We'll get through it eventually. Step by step. Small, slow, gradual steps. Sooner or later, it'll be fine." For some reason, Brink felt as though Dad was talking about more than just the smoking addiction. They finished their hug and smiled goofy smiles. "Brink, if you'd like, you can come back home. Kelly hasn't been in your room or anything... Neither have I..."
