Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 111: Hypothetically

Concentrating on her homework after coming home from Aaron's place was a near impossible task so Keeley gave up and decided to spend the night in her old bedroom back home. She could use her dad's advice right now.

When she opened the front door using her key, her father was watching a football game on TV and looked up in shock. "Honeybun! What are you doing here? I thought you were busy today."

She smiled in self-deprecation. "Am I not allowed to visit my favorite person on a day other than Sunday?"

"Of course not; I'm glad you're here."

He muted the game and patted the couch cushion next to him. She dropped her purse by the door and took off her shoes before curling up next to him and resting her head on his shoulder like she did when she was younger.

Robert had such a calming presence. She felt a bit better already just being near him.

"Dad…do you think people really change?" Keeley asked quietly.

"Of course I do. Do you feel like the same person you were five or ten years ago?"

She shook her head. "No…but that's not exactly what I meant."

How could she phrase this without having to explain the whole rebirth thing? "But what if someone really hurt you and they don't know or remember it and now they seem completely different?"

He seemed a bit confused. "Different how?"

"Like the way this person treats you is the opposite of how they did before."

"Is this a real situation or a hypothetical one?"

Ah, she was too transparent. She didn't like the knowing look he was giving her.

"Let's say it's hypothetical. If a person is super cold and distant with you but doesn't remember doing that because it was a really long time ago and now is relatively warm and caring…did their personality actually change or is it just a weird situational thing?"

Her father's eyes sparkled as he answered. "Hypothetically, I would say their personality changed. People can learn from their mistakes."

"But this hypothetical person doesn't have any idea they even made a mistake…if that makes sense. It's almost like the person from before and the person now aren't even the same person even though they look exactly the same."

Keeley cringed. Her explanation was all over the place.

"If they really seem like two different people why not treat the situation that way? It doesn't seem right to punish somebody for something they can't even remember. Your mother always taught you to forgive the people who wronged you, didn't she?"

"Yes," she said with a sigh.

She should have known her dad would take Aaron's side without even knowing it was him. Maybe she truly had been a bit unreasonable about all of this.

Keeley didn't like the way Aaron forced her into things she didn't want to do in high school but the way he acted now wasn't the same. The biggest problem was all of the horrible things the original Aaron did but it really seemed like they were different people…

Was it time to let her anger go? How could she when she was reminded of everything she went through when she simply heard his name?

"Dad…have you forgiven the man who killed Mom and Kaleb?"

Aaron slowly killed her spirit, let Lacy get away with murdering her father, and eventually led to her own death. She didn't think a single one of those things was forgivable. It was a touchy topic but was the only thing that came close to her situation in her father's life.

"No," he admitted sadly. "I've been trying because I want to be at peace with everything that happened. Sometimes I think I've done it but then I'll be reminded of what was lost and get angry all over again. Why do you ask?"

"…let's just say the hypothetical victim of this hypothetical person is having the same problem."

Her father ruffled her hair. "Keeley, you don't have to beat around the bush. I know you're talking about yourself. You don't have to tell me who it is or what is going on if you really don't want to but it might help not keeping it all bottled up."

There was no fooling him. "You're too smart for your own good," she said lightly. "I'll be fine; I'm just…really confused about this whole thing."

"Confusion is a part of life, as frustrating as it may be. Why don't we focus on something else for a while so you can have a break? I recorded the episodes of 'Survivor' that you missed earlier this month; how about we watch those now?"

The Halls had been watching reality shows like Survivor and the Amazing Race together ever since they lost half their family. There was something oddly bonding about yelling at people making dumb decisions on TV.

Tears formed in Keeley's eyes and she wrapped her arms around her father. "That would be great. Thanks, Dad."

He turned on the first episode she missed and her worries were soon forgotten amidst the drama happening on the island. Other people's ridiculous problems somehow made hers seem less bad.

During the challenge were the competitors were trying to knock each other's' wooden figurine off of a platform they held in one hand and things got intense.

"Don't—! Ah, they just couldn't hold on. The other team is going to win for sure," Keeley predicted.

"Probably," her father agreed. "Look, there goes another one."

She was a bit disappointed. She preferred the members of the losing team and thought they deserved to win the reward of food to help them survive in the wilderness more than the winners.

By the end of the episode, Keeley's disappointment only grew. She liked the woman who got voted off of the island. Unfortunately she just wasn't a strong competitor; they got rid of her because she screwed up the second challenge of the day.

"It's not even halfway through the season and they've already voted off three people I liked," she complained as her father turned on the next episode.

"Let's just hope it isn't the same as a few years ago when nobody liked the ultimate winner. There's still a while to go."

They chatted about previous seasons of the show during the less exciting parts where contestants were teaming up and plotting against each other. In the years they had been fans, this was the 20th season they'd watched so there was a lot of material to work with.

Talking with her dad about something silly and insignificant as a reality TV show they liked helped her feel a lot better. Aaron was but a distant thought.