— Everleigh

I placed my father's food on the table with a sigh. It was his favorite—scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and beef sausages. I promised I would make breakfast as long as he stopped going to sleep on the couch instead of his own bed. He always fell asleep in the most uncomfortable positions... the thought itself made me cringe. Then, the following morning he would complain of back pain. It was a never-ending cycle that could all be avoided if he just slept in his own bed.

"Goodmorning, baby girl." Dad smiled. He didn't even sit down before he grabbed one of his beef sausages from his plate and stuffed it in his mouth.

The warm light above the small dining room table complimented my father's darker complexion. His short buzz-cut hair that had little pieces of gray, that my father liked to say were proof of wisdom, became apparent, but even despite his old age, the muscles on his body could've fooled anyone to believe he wasn't a day over forty.

I wanted today to be good for him. It was the anniversary of the death of my mother. He always liked to pretend he was fine, but last year, I caught him starting at an old picture of them together and he was crying. I hurried and ran away to avoid embarrassing him, but the memory always appeared in my thoughts, depressing me.

"What time do you have to be at school again?" he asked. He always wondered the same thing every morning that he was out of work. It always brought me joy when he didn't work because it meant he would drive me to school, pick me up, and we could even spend some time together. Being alone in the house almost everyday wasn't the most amusing thing in the world. There weren't many times that he took the day off.

"7:30, Dad. I get out of school around three," I informed him.

"Alrighty, baby girl," he said. I smiled as I watched him sit down and begin to eat. He was moaning in delight before his light brown and pink lips pulled up into a smile, revealing the whites of his teeth

"You cook just like your mother," he said longingly. Slowly, his smile fell down to a frown. He always did that anytime he thought of her. It was like I could see the memories they shared together playing out in his very eyes.

"Good thing I don't cook like you," I laughed. My joke quickly lightened the mood as he shook his head and chuckled.

"You got that right. Your old man just can't cook and I am not ashamed about it." he laughed.

"You should be ashamed if your twelve year old daughter has to cook for you," I joked. He smacked his teeth with a playful grin on his face.

"You know what? You're actually right." he chuckled.

Together, we ate breakfast. We sometimes talked about school and he would chat about work. It was always the best to be with my father. I loved when he was carefree and the stress of the world showed no part on him. He was my best friend and with every word that left his mouth, I could feel happiness swelling my heart.

"Oh snap! It's almost time for school!" my father exclaimed, hurrying to grab his keys. I was beginning to pick up the dishes from the table when he took them from me and placed them back down.

"Don't worry about that right now. I'll get it when I come back. Let's get you to school," he said, grabbing my backpack and handing it to me.

I followed my father out of the door and over to his truck. It was an older truck, a little run down but it still drove and my father always said that it was the only thing that mattered.

I got into the car and closed the door behind me with a slam. Once my father was in, he turned on the radio and a smile lit up his face once his favorite artist began to play. He loved Bruno Mars and he made sure that everyone knew it as he cleared his voice and began to sing the song as loud as he could.

"Dad!" I laughed over the loud sound of his singing.

"Too much?" he quirked up a brow.

"Too much," I answered.

He chuckled and drove off down the road, heading toward the place I hated more than anything. I didn't like dealing with Mia and Logan. They were always antagonizing me and the teacher never cared enough to do anything.

I wished I could tell my father about it, but I knew the reaction he would have. He would park his car, speed walk into the school, and demand some action. The only thing about that is that I didn't think it would stop Mia and Logan's teasing—it would only increase it. Plus, I didn't want to make a big deal out of nothing that I didn't have the evidence to prove. It would be their word against mine; no one would believe me.

It didn't take long for us to arrive at school. My father drove around the bus circle before parking right in front for me. I cast him a smile and opened his car door just before stepping out. I threw my backpack over one shoulder.

"Bye, baby girl, I love you," my dad called.

I smiled. "Bye, love you too."

After waving goodbye, I closed the door and made my way into the school. As I walked, out of the corner of my eye I could see Sasha stepping out of his car along with one other boys. None of them looked alike, but they shared a bond that was hard not to detect even from where I stood.

"пока, мальчики!" a lady exclaimed just before translating it. "Bye boys!"

Just then, my eyes met the familiar gray pair. For a moment, I froze. I didn't know if I should go up to him or wave. The corners of his lips pulled up into a smile just before he turned away to tend to the other boys.

I let out a deep breath and began to make my way into the school when my name was called.

"Everleigh!" a familiar, thick Russian accent called. I slowly turned around toward the sound to see Sasha. I hesitantly made my way over to him.

"Um," Sasha began. "Help."

He thrust papers into my hand so I could read them. They were slips on where each boy's class would be located. I read the top of the paper where it mentioned how he had to report to the front office so they could direct him to his classes.

"Hi, name is Nikolai," a blonde boy said. He had the bluest eyes I had ever seen. Although, one thing really managed to grasp my attention—the bruise on his face.

My father always told me that it wasn't polite to ask personal questions. If they wanted to talk about something, they would. It was the only reason why I smiled and pretended to ignore ever seeing it.

"Hi, Nikolai. I'm Everleigh," I greeted.

"Everleigh," he repeated.

I smiled. "Come on," I told them, holding up the paper. I began to walk off and turned around to see them following behind me. They were whispering to eachother in Russian so I had no clue what either of them were saying.

We made our way to the front office where the receptionist greeted us with a smile.

"Hello! What can I do for you today, young lady?" she asked me. I pointed toward Nikolai.

"His name is Nikolai and he's new. The paper says that he's supposed to come in here?" I asked in uncertainty.

"Oh, yes, Nikolai!" she exclaimed, getting up the gather some documents. She called him over, letting both me and Sasha know we could make our way to class since we are going to be late.

We walked side-by-side out of the office and toward the class we shared together with Mia and Logan.

"Thank you," he said.

"It was no problem at all. I'm happy to help," I said. His brows pulled together. I quickly realized that he probably didn't understand a word I just said.

I chuckled. "Do you want to be friends, Sasha?" I asked him.

Again, he looked confused.

"Friends," I repeated, pointing at me and then him.

"Girlfriend," he said.

If I had water in my mouth, I would have spit it out.

"Friends," I said again.

"Friends," he repeated.

"Let's do this... I'll teach you English and you teach me Russian," I said. I nearly facepalmed myself at the confused expression on his face. I'm such an idiot.

"Me, Russian. You, English," I tried in simpler terms pointing between the two of us.

"Friends in Russian?" I asked him.

"Друзья," he answered.

"Друзья," I repeated the best I could. He seemed to laugh at my accent but tried to cover it up with a cough.

"Mean!" I laughed.

"Друзья. Friends," he said. I nodded my head in understanding just before looking at the door of our classroom.

"Let's go," I said, walking in.

I am going to start uploading new chapters to my Patreon a week before it's on here, so go and sign up so you can get early access to chapters! Think is in my author description or go to https://patreon.com/eroticmarie

Please vote.