Where Do We Go From Here?

Arriving home, I could see Veronica sitting on the front porch steps with a book in her hand and a frustrated look on her face. She flipped through the pages with haste before putting the book down entirely. I snuck a glance at Tony who was staring at Veronica. She was still appeared delicate and emaciated; however, her cheeks held some color that it seemed to have lacked last night. I got out first, capturing the attention of Veronica whose head snapped up at the sound of me closing the car door.

“You brought your friend back.” She commented when Tony climbed out of the car.

“Yeah, he can’t seem to get enough of our family.” I joked.

Tony stood next to me before saying “Hi, I’m Tony.”

“Veronica.” She replied. “Are you staying for dinner again?” I could see the worried look gloss her eyes as she asked this.

“Only if I’m invited.” Tony replied politely.

I didn’t say anything since I waited for Veronica to say something. I didn’t want to be the one who makes the decision when it was Veronica I had to keep in mind.

“I don’t see why not.” Veronica commented before turning to me and saying “We’ll be making baked chicken and asparagus.”

“Sounds good.” I answered with a smile.

Veronica headed into the house. I turned to Tony and said “You really don’t have to stay.” I meant it too since I didn’t want a repeat of last night to happen.

“I don’t mind. Hime’s can pick me up later.” He said while grabbing a hold of my hand.

I smiled, surprised that he would want to stick around. “Thanks.” I mumbled while leading the way back into my house.

Tony followed closely behind as I tracked through the hallway to the kitchen. Jason was there with Veronica, helping her choose which cutlery to use for dinner.

“Hey man, you came back.” Jason said with a broad smile on his face.

“Yeah, Veronica told me I should stay.” Tony joked earning a smile from Ronnie.

I walked over, dropping my bag on the counter, before pulling out the defrosted chicken from the refrigerator. Pulling out one of the sheets from the oven, I opened the bag of chicken and arranged them to fit nicely on the pan. Tony and Jason stood aside, making small talk about sports and cars, as Veronica and I silently prepared dinner. I let Veronica deal with vegetables since it was an easier task, but even then I could see the wariness heavy in her eyes.

“You might want to put some olive oil on them.” I suggested as she stared at the asparagus with hesitant eyes.

“I don’t know why mom thinks this will somehow cure me.” She scowled.

I glanced at Jason and Tony, who in return just shrugged at me. “Maybe so you get comfortable around food again.” I offered.

She scoffed. “I had a big lunch, so I’m really not that hungry.”

Jason caught my eyes as he shook his head no. Veronica wasn’t gonna heal over night, we all knew that, but I wished that she would put a little effort into it. This morning—before Callie came over and before my parents had woken up—I caught her doing forbidden crunches, and from the looks of it Ronnie had been caked in sweat.

“Ronnie, just try. If mom saw you trying then maybe she wouldn’t sound like Hitler every time we sit down to eat.” I sighed.

“You don’t get it.” Veronica mumbled. “You guys just don’t get it.”

There was an unseen tension building in the room that instead of hitting her with some snide comment, I let the conversation drop completely.

To lighten the mood, Jason asked “So you two still aren’t a couple?”

I rolled my eyes, knowing Tony’s face had a broad smile on it. “I finally got Verity to agree to a first date.” He said proudly.

I cringed because I could feel both Jason’s and Veronica’s eyes on me as I placed the seasoned pan of chicken into the oven.

“What’s this I hear?” Jason teased.

“Yeah, Verity is one tough cookie to persuade.” Tony commented.

Groaning, I replied with “I really don’t know why I accepted.”

“It’s because I’m charming.” Tony replied while winking at me.

My cheeks heated up while Jason smiled. “My baby sis is growing up so fast.” He commented.

I narrowed my eyes at both boys and said “I will throw you both in the oven if you don’t stop it.”

Jason smirked at me while Tony stifled a laugh. Dinner took another hour to cook, in which my mother and father had arrived home from work. My father followed his usual routine where he went straight to his home office while my mother came into the kitchen to inspect how Ronnie and I were getting along in the kitchen. Her walking came to a halt as she saw Tony at the counter, standing next to me. I could see my mother’s smile take up half her face as she saw the way Tony intertwined his fingers with my own. No matter how many times he’s done this today I still felt my cheeks flush crimson.

“I didn’t know we were expecting company.” My mother commented as she stopped in front of the fridge.

“Yeah, I kinda invited Tony over for dinner—if that’s alright.” I said sheepishly.

“Of course it is sugar.” My mother smiled. She looked at Veronica before saying “I’ve set you an appointment with Moira Jergens tomorrow.”

“Who’s that?” Veronica’s voice snipped.

Jason had already left the room, which only left Tony and I. I felt myself tense, preparing for another verbal brawl to happen.

“She’ll be your therapist for the next year.” My mother informed her.

I looked from Veronica to my mother, wondering if they were aware that Tony was still here. The matter they were discussing should have been handled in privacy from me and especially from Tony, who is practically a stranger to both my mother and sister.

Veronica scoffed. “Therapy, really?”

“Ronnie it’ll help you. She’s been recommended by a lot of specialists.” My mother added.

Veronica sighed in defeat. “Fine.”

That’s all she said before turning her attention back on the asparagus. My mother didn’t say anything else. Instead, she shot Tony and I a warm smile before heading to the living area. Still gripping onto Tony’s hand, I ushered him out of the kitchen and towards the living room.

“Your sister seems to be doing better.” Tony commented softly.

“It’s a slow process.” I shrugged and left it at that.

Dinner went exponentially better than last night. There wasn’t an argument, there weren’t any awkward silences, and Veronica even ate a whole asparagus without making a snide comment. I felt hopeful that things were looking up. Aside from Jason talking about work and his new girlfriend—who he claims we will be meeting soon—Tony contributed to the conversation. My father would volley questions his way, asking about what Tony had planned in the future, and in return, Tony would answer them with grace. (Tony’s answer by the way; was going to college to study music theory and psychology.) I wasn’t sure what I was more excited to see, the fact that Veronica was eating, even if it was very little at that, or the fact that my parent’s seemed to enjoy Tony’s company. However, whatever the reason I couldn’t deny that everything felt normal for once.

Notes

Filler alert :3

I might be able to update once more. We'll see though :)

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