Family Troubles || Redlyn

Grounded

Ashlyn's POV

Of course, if a day starts out that strong and if you say you're good, it can only stay the same or go downhill.

Take a guess and chances are you're correct.

"I'm home!" I exclaimed, starting to go to my room to study so I could hang out with friends later. I was halfway up the stairs when I was interrupted by my dad. I realized my mom was at work.

"We should talk about something." He said.

"Um, okay, what?" I walked back downstairs and sat on the couch.

"I assume you could tell your mom and I weren't exactly agreeing on how to raise you."

"Oh, really?" I said sarcastically, not able to catch myself. "Sorry."

"Anyways, it took me forever to get her to even have this conversation with me, but I brought up how your current state could be because of the people around you."

"Who, exactly?" I asked.

"Friends, people at school, et cetera."

"Et cetera? As in?"

"You know... Big Red... and..."

"You did all that just to soften the blow, didn't you?" I asked, crossing my arms. "You don't want me dating him or something stupid."

"It isn't stupid, you know I've never exactly loved him."

"You don't have to, I do."

"You spend all your time with him. I doubt it's a coincidence that's when your grades starting slipping a bit and you run out of the house all the time. According to your mom, she finds you crying often."

"That is not his fault! I'm with him because he cheers me up!" I protested. "I go to him when I'm crying!"

"Don't yell at—"

"You can't do this, I'll still love him." I interrupted, trying to keep my expression from changing from angry to upset. "My grades are slipping a little, yes, but so is my mental health. I'm not crying for no reason. Frankly, I'm not going to blame anyone for me feeling like this, but you and Mom fighting whenever you're in town and Mom dating isn't helping."

"We tried to make it work, Ashlyn, and it doesn't."

"You can't just ignore each other? And I'm not blaming you, I don't want you guys constantly fighting. It just messes with me. I told you, it's mental health." I responded.

"He's distracting you from focusing on your school work. Besides, you know your mother and I's thoughts about mental health."

"Just let me date the guy that makes me happy! I don't care!"

"Lower your voice or you're grounded." He threatened. "You can't get into a good school or have a good future if your grades are low, he's holding you back. He's why you were so upset when we moved, you couldn't get used to things."

"He is not the only reason, I have friends and a home here." I mumbled, trying to keep my voice low. "I can very well get into a good school. My grades aren't bad just because I don't have all A's. I'm in AP classes anyways. And I don't want to go to a college for law or something dumb."

"Now you are acting like you need therapy." He muttered.

"That was an insult. Why was that an insult? Just because you don't believe in literal science doesn't mean it isn't true. And maybe I do need therapy, sounds pretty nice right about now." I shook my head.

"Our decision is final."

"You can't force me to break up with him."

"We're your parents, follow our rules."

"No one gets this." I groaned. "And for the record, the closest person to getting it is Big Red."

"This is nonsense, so if he understand he clearly is a bad influence."

"Have you ever talked to him? This is the guy who hates killing ladybugs because they're cute. The guy who comforts me through so called 'non existent' panic attacks. The guy who assures me he'll always be there. And I assure him the same, and I intend to keep that promise." When I finished, he started thinking about his response.

"Grounded, 2 weeks."

"And breaking up with the love of my life?"

"You're in high school, you can move on."

"No, I can't." I grabbed my backpack. "Goodnight." I headed up the stairs.

"It's only 6."

"I had a snack awhile ago, I'll eat dinner in awhile. If you can make me do all this I can have some time to myself." I ran upstairs and closed my door. I sat on my bed and called Big Red. "Remember that thing I told you not to worry about?"