My Father's Best Friend (revised)

Chapter 1

After a long day at school I finally made my way home. The day was cold but bright, everyone was so excited to go home for a three day weekend. I on the other hand was not excited to be home. My stepmother caused a lot of problems for my father and I so I try to stay out of the house as much as possible. I got home and stood outside the front door for a few seconds to try to listen in on the chaos inside. Once the voices of my father and stepmom grew louder I quickly snuck in and made my way to my bedroom. I thought I made it fast enough but then my stepmom called my name. I couldn't ignore her or my dad would be upset with me. I slowly walked into the kitchen where they were previously arguing. "Yes Trinity?"

"Has your father always been so annoying or is this new?" Trinity said to me while looking at my father. I had to bite my tongue. Of course this is new he never acted like this when my mother was around. He would always start conversations with my mom but never with Trinity, at least not anymore.

"I'd prefer to stay out of whatever issues you have, thanks for asking my opinion though." Without allowing her to speak I went back to my bedroom. I sat down on the floor next to my bed and sighed. The only person around here who is annoying is her. She leaves messes all over the house, never stops complaining about her hair, and will not shut up about how her nails are cracking.

There was a light tap on my door. "May I come in?" My dad asked with a slight smile on his face.

"Of course you can." I smiled and stood up so I could sit on my bed. He sat next to me.

"So, Alice, I was thinking about some things and I want to set them in motion." He said and took my hand in his. "I'm going to divorce her."

"But dad, I thought you loved her." He looked down when I said this.

"Well honey, I did love her. But, everything has become too much to handle and I don't want you to spend your last year in high school sneaking around in your own home." He was now gently rubbing my hand with his thumb.

"Okay so what's wrong then? You seem upset." He stood up and glanced at my bedroom walls.

"I'm going to send you away until it's all over." He ran his fingers through his hair anxiously.

"Why do you have to do that? Where are you sending me? Dad you shouldn't be alone with her she could hurt you!" I was trying to keep quite just incase she was listening.

"I have to, my lawyer and I both believe it'd be best to keep you out of all of this. I'm sending you to stay with a friend of mine until this is all over, his name is Joshua and I trust him with my life. You'll be safe with him."

"But dad, why are you doing this now?" He was now bringing over a suitcase from my closet and starting to pack for me.

"Because Trinity left to get her hair done so we can get you packed and out of here before I give her the divorce papers." I started helping him pack. I wasn't even sure how long I'd be gone for, and by the way my father is packing my stuff I assumed it would be for a while. "I already talked to your school, as of now you are enrolled in online homeschooling so you don't have to worry about falling behind." He tried to reassure me with this but it wasn't helpful. We were almost done packing when we heard a car horn in the driveway. My dad looked out of my window and gave a thumbs up. A minute later a man dressed in all black came into my bedroom.

"Hello, I'm Tyler, I'm just here to drive you to your temporary home." He helped us finish packing and carried my suitcases to his car. I looked around at my now empty bedroom then looked at my dad as he picked up another suitcase.

"It's time to go Alice." He spoke softly and avoided eye contact. I walked downstairs and to Tyler's car trying to process how all of this is happening. My dad put the last suitcase in the trunk and opened the car door for me. "I love you so much I will see you soon I promise. We will finally be a family again." He hugged me and kissed my head before rushing my into the car. "Thank you Tyler tell Josh the same." My dad stood in the driveway until we were out of sight.

It was a long quiet drive. Tyler tried to make small talk by asking me about school, my friends, my grades, future plans. I wasn't in the mood to talk about the life I was just forced to leave behind. It's not his fault, he probably doesn't know much about what's going on. He seemed calm, like everything was going to be fine, like my dad had this all figured out and everything would go smoothly.

After hours of driving we arrived at a beautiful three story Victorian home. There was a tall man standing by the front porch steps, Tyler pulled the car next to the man. He opened the door for me and waited for me to get out of the car before introducing himself. "Hello Alice, I'm Joshua and I will be looking after you until further notice." He took my hand and gently kissed it. He and Tyler carried my suitcases into the house, I tried to help but they insisted. I followed them inside.

The house was something you'd see in a movie or a dream. It was beautiful, dark wooden floors, matching cabinets, beautiful lights. The furniture seemed to be mostly antiques. "I like to keep old tradition and style alive" Joshua said from behind me.

I turned to look and him, "I've noticed. Your home is very beautiful."

"Now it is your home as well" he said and smiled softly before continuing, "I hope you enjoy your stay."

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A/N: I finally decided to rewrite this story mainly because I was not happy with how rushed everything was in the previous story. I plan to go into more detail and change a few things in the plot. I hope you enjoy this version more than the last.