Realistic or Modern A Happy Family ( Жизнь лжи )

[october sunrise]

"I'm home!"

Vera pushed the door closed behind her, toeing off her green converse--worn out from excessive use and covered in sharpie doodles, courtesy of her best friend Esperanza--and sliding her backpack off her shoulder, heaving it up to hang it from the hook near the door. She rolled back her shoulders, breathing a soft sigh upon being relieved of the weight of it, and zipped open the front pouch to grab her phone and tuck it into the pocket of her denim skirt. After all, it was Friday, so there was no need to take out and get started on her homework for Monday just yet. She turned back towards the hallway, pushing her golden braids over her shoulders so they hung down her back instead of her chest. It was unusual for her father to not immediately respond, so instead of heading upstairs to her bedroom, as she often did, she walked down the hallway and poked her head into the living room, finding her father seated on the couch, facing the television. Brows furrowing in confusion, Vera walked over to stand behind the couch, folding her arms on the headrest and leaning over the back of it.

"Earth to pops," she laughed, tilting her head and quirking an eyebrow as she leaned a little farther, finally able to meet his eyes. "Hey, space cadet, what's got you so distracted?" She glanced towards the television, but there didn't appear to be anything of much interest on. In fact, it appeared to be in the middle of an entirely average commercial break. It wasn't like her father to zone out like that, so in spite of her joking tone, her amber eyes were tinged with concern. She rounded the couch and plopped down beside him on the thick cushion, tucking her legs underneath her and reaching to grab the remote as she waited for her father to answer. If whatever he was watching had thrown him off that much, he shouldn't be watching it, she figured. Besides, she seemed to recall Esperanza mentioning that this was one of her highly anticipated Harry Potter weekends, when they played the movies one after the other. Vera had never watched the movies, although she adored the books, because she feared they would be completely awful. But Esperanza absolutely adored them, so Vera figured she may as well give them a shot.

 

[elskagalla]

Dmitry flinched slightly when he heard Vera join him in the living room, thankfully the television station went to a commercial break at the perfect time. And even better luck, his daughter decided to flick off the TV before the news could continue with her sitting right there. The man forced a smile, though he knew his child was far more intuitive than he would've hoped for in this moment. He needed a deterrent fast. "Oh I just saw a bit on figure skating, you know that makes me a little upset, so it's better we turned it off." Dmitry mentally crossed his fingers that the lie would be just believable enough to avoid any further questioning. It should've been, at least. Last time the Olympics were on, he truly did grow saddened seeing all the others skaters, wishing he didn't face an injury that'd put a halt to his career. He still went to the local rink occasionally and every holiday season he'd take Vera and her friends to the pond after the first frost so that they could skate in a winter wonderland, but his days of salchow and axel jumps were long over. It was disappointing, but strange above all else. If he continued on in skating, he may have never even ended up tangled in this mess.

"So, you and Esperanza still going to have that Harry Potter marathon? Sounds like a real fun time," He dodged the subject, keeping his tone nonchalant, he didn't want her to know he was hiding anything. But if Dmitry had learned anything from being a parent these past 13 years, it was that hiding things can become crucial at times. However, for most parents, this means not discussing money issues around the kids, or bickering once everyone else has gone to bed. Dmitry wished those variables could've been his situation at the moment, yet instead, he was trying to cover up the fact that his daughter was on the news, being discussed in a missing person case. Hearing people even refer to her in that regard seemed almost criminal in itself. How could Solstice Avignon be missing if she never even truly existed in the first place? A pang of guilt filled Dmitry's body as that thought entered his mind, because, to be fair, Solstice was never really given a fair chance. But if he could weigh in, he'd argue that Vera was living a much better life over here.

 

[october sunrise]

"Oh," Vera said quietly, her expression softening. Something about her father's voice was a little off, but then, he always got incredibly distressed whenever he saw figure skating on the television, so she gave it no thought. One way or another, she certainly wasn't going to push, because she absolutely hated seeing her father upset. He had a face that was rather serious by default, with stern blue eyes and a dramatic profile, but she could still tell his emotions relatively easily because of how well she knew him. When he was upset, a little crease would appear between his thick eyebrows (a trait she was a little relieved she hadn't inherited), and just slightly, his lips would turn down at the corners. She had found, as she got older, that she subconsciously mirrored this when she was upset. She hadn't inherited a lot from her father personality-wise, but she was just as reserved when it came to showing negative emotions when he was, and so it was really no surprise that she mimicked his tiny frown and creased eyebrows when she was distressed, without giving any further indication. She immediately perked up, drawn out of her thoughts, when Dmitry mentioned the movie marathon with Esperanza she had planned for the weekend.

"Yep!" she chirped happily, immediately latching on to the new topic. It was a pretty common response whenever Esperanza was brought into the conversation; Vera had trouble focusing on just about anything else when she could be focusing on Esperanza. "I was actually hoping I could spend tomorrow night at her house, if that's okay," she said brightly, folding her hands in her lap and leaning forward just a little, looking up at Dmitry imploringly, "She doesn't think we'd have enough time to watch them all in one afternoon." Vera had probably slept at Esperanza's house just as many times as she had slept at her own, and Esperanza could likely say the same. The two were attached at the hip, and spent every moment they could together, had since they met as first graders.