Scars

How I Met Your Brother and Your Dog

Sam and Nick had been bothering me for days. The only difference between the two of them was that Sam was trying to bring me to his place and Nick was trying to convince me to let him share Ren. What they had in common was that both of them were completely and entirely exhausting.

Sam had somehow, in his head, decided that he wanted to bring me over for dinner. It was completely horrific in my eyes and I had been trying to avoid it for almost a week now. I wasn’t sure why I dreaded the thought of meeting his only other sibling and his dog, but I was sure it had something to do along the lines of anxiety.

Nick, on the other hand, had been making non-stop trips to my house to ask the same question over and over again. I have continued to ask him to tell me ten perfectly good reasons why he should get Ren and so far, he has only been able to give me one: that he is Ren’s biological father who loves her very much. I was becoming immensely annoyed and I almost wished I could just take a break from him. It was probably why I finally agreed to come over to Sam’s.

I only had one more problem I needed to take care of which was Ren. I refused to take her to Sam’s. I just wanted it to be as child-free as possible. But my mother was working that day and there was no way in hell I would let Sydney watch her.

The doorbell rang loudly and I let out a large sigh. Nick was here, right on schedule. I walked slowly to the door to tell him to get lost. But when I opened the door, he stood there with a piece of paper in his hands. He had a large smirk on his lips and his brown eyes gave way to the ideal that he was obviously up to no good. “What is it this time, Nick?” I asked with another sigh.

Little feet pounded on the hardwood floor behind me as Ren rounded the corner and ran into Nick’s arms. He gave her a bear hug and ruffled her messy hair before standing again to face me. “You said to give you ten good reasons why I should have a part in Ren’s life. So I made you a list.” He handed me the paper with words scribbled over it in messy ink.

1)      I am Ren’s biological father and I love her very much.

Duh. We’ve been over this one already.

2)      15 million children in America are being raised without a father. I would personally like to be the father to make the statistic go down to 14,999.

3)      Children with a single parent are more likely to be in poverty and get involved with drugs, robbery, and crime. Cultural studies show that children involved with both parents had fewer behavior problems and higher intellectual abilities.

4)      Fatherless children are at a greater risk of suicide.

I shivered when I thought about it.

5)      Children with fathers in their lives do better in school.

6)      Seventy-two percent of adolescent murderers grew up without fathers.

Really Nick?

7)      I have a job, a car, and an apartment, so I won’t be hanging out with Ren in the middle of the streets, feeding her garbage from a restaurant dumpster.

8)      I can take care of Ren when you go back to school.

9)      I can help pay for tuition and child support.

10)   Because, Brin, I still love you and I care about you and I want to be there for you and Ren because I regret what I did every day. Please just give me a chance?

I was speechless and I was struggling to choke down sobs that rose in my throat. I knew right then and there that I wanted him to be a part in Ren’s life. He cared, and that what was so beautifully amazing about him. But wait. I’ve already had my heart stomped on him before.