A Couple Of Strangers

"It's only right that you take care of me now."

I heard the front door slam shut, making me immediately say goodbye to my friends and sign out of our group chat. I hopped up from my computer and jumped into bed quickly before pulling the covers over my head. I heard a pair of footsteps enter my room and suddenly a strong hand shook me “awake”. I groaned out, acting like I was half asleep, only for my father to give me another good shake. I sat up squinting my eyes as if I just woke up.

“Come on let’s go!” My father said pulling me upwards.

“Dad I’m tired, I don’t want to do this anymore, please.” I begged as he pulled me to my feet. Ever since my father figured out I could play soccer at 10 years old, he had been forcing me to get up every day at 4 AM to practice. He wanted me to become a professional soccer player. But Basketball is what I love to do, he always argued no one liked women’s basketball, and soccer is where the money is.

“Taylor I’ve been working all my life to take care of you. It’s only right that you take care of me now. Get up and get dressed or your grounded and I’ll make you practice double the time.” He said trying to cap his anger.
“No dad it’s not fair, I ought to be able to do what I want. I want to play basketball.” I argued back.

“No one watches women’s basketball Taylor. You’re playing soccer and that’s the end of it. You’re no good at basketball anyways.” He said, throwing the soccer ball at me. He then got up and turned to leave before I once again tried to argue my case with him.

“I could be the reason people want to watch; I could put butts in seats dad, I know I can.” I said pleadingly. He then turned around and shattered my world.
“No one will EVER pay to watch you play basketball Taylor. Like I said, you’re no good at it, and you’ll never be any good. Soccer is easily comprehendible for someone as simple minded as you. It’s the easiest sport to learn, just kick the ball in the goal and stay on sides.” He said before finally leaving the room. Of course, my dad would be the one to compare sports as if which one was the hardest even mattered.
I nodded quietly even though he wasn’t looking. I got dressed without much thought. Maybe he is right, no one would ever pay to see me play. I grabbed the soccer ball that had been previously thrown at me and headed downstairs to our backyard. We practiced for about 2 hours straight and my body aches.
“Are we done now?” I ask dropping to my knees in the grass.

“No, double the time remember? We’re starting back again at shooting drills.” He said kicking the ball to me. I trained for another two hours until I almost couldn’t walk anymore. My entire body pretty much hurt. I said nothing to my father as I practically lugged myself into the house. My mother looked at me sympathetically with a comforting smile. I tried my best to tiredly smile back but my body wouldn’t allow it. This made my mother frown and shake her head sadly. I pulled myself upstairs to my bedroom and used the last bit of strength I could gather to take a quick shower.

Once I finished up, I dropped into the softness of my bed before grabbing my laptop and opening it up. I pulled up women’s basketball and watched as the women flowed around the court. I’m good at basketball, why couldn’t my father see that. I sighed; this is my life why can’t I do what I want with it. I heard stomping before my room door burst open.
“Taylor he’s burning your basketball equipment!” My mom yelled before running off again somewhere. I shot out of bed and ran towards the burning smell. I ended up in the front driveway and watched as all my basketball equipment was indeed on fire. It was too late to stop it at that point and nothing would be salvageable. What hurt the most to see burn was my 300-dollar shoes that I saved up for. I waited six months to buy them since they were limited edition. Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them fall, I clenched my teeth, sucked in a breath, and turned around to walk upstairs. My dad of course shouted after me adding insult to injury.

“As long as you’re under my roof you will never speak of basketball nor play it! Maybe if I had a son he’d listen. Women are so stubborn about everything.” He yelled.
That was the last straw for me. He’s lived his life and now it’s time for me to live mine. I’m tired of him trying to control me like I don’t have a choice. I then decided my time to forcibly live up to his expectations was up. I needed to go chase after my dreams and find myself. I packed a suitcase full of my things and slipped it under my bed. I grabbed my backpack that I usually use for hiking and decided to fill it up with food. I waited a little while until I knew no one was around before I crept downstairs silently and opened the fridge to put food inside my bag. I heard a creak and footsteps coming up behind me. I stopped what I was doing immediately and slowly looked behind me to see my mom in a robe. She looked at me confused, but it quickly shifted to understanding. She helped me stuff some more food in my bag before zipping it up for me.

“Be careful out there and call me whenever you can… Okay?” She said, her hands on each side of my face as her eyes glossed over. “Okay mom I will, I promise.” I told her, giving her a tight hug. “When are you leaving?” she asked once we pulled away. “Tonight around 8.” I told her. She nodded and hugged me tightly again, causing me to groan in pain. The first squeeze hurt but this one was worse. “I’m so sorry Taylor.” She said quickly letting go. “It’s alright.” I said, giving her a smile. She smiled back before kissing my head. “Go get some rest, I’ll see you off at 8.”.
I nodded and headed upstairs; she was right, I needed to be fully awake especially since it would be dark outside. I went upstairs and laid down my bag before drifting to sleep as best as I could.
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Thanks for reading 💙 I hope you enjoyed.
🎉!Happy New Years!🎉