A Handful Of Moments You Wish You Could Change (Patrick Stump Imagine Story)

Worst Dad Ever

You're standing in the kitchen, dividing a pot of mac and cheese you made into four bowls, one for each of you. You scrape the last of the cheesy pasta into the last bowl and set it back down on the stove, giving Gabby a bowl before taking two upstairs, one for Ethan and one for Patrick - both who haven't come out of their rooms since the incident this morning.

You first knock on Ethan's door. You don't get a response. You heave a sigh and set the two bowls down, grasping the doorknob and pushing the door open. You find your son sitting on his bed, his legs crossed and his head in his hands. "Ethan?"

He looks up at you and then back down at his lap. You pick up one of the two bowls and walk into his room, setting the lunch down in front of your son and flashing him a smile. He stares at the food.

"Come on, it's your favorite," You urge him.

"I'm not hungry," He mumbles, pushing the mac and cheese away from him.

"Not hungry? Since when is Ethan Stump not hungry?" You chuckle, sitting down on the bed and smiling at him. He can't help but smile back. You have that kind of effect on your kids, even Ethan at fourteen/fifteen years old. "Ethan...you really should apologize to him," You go on to say more seriously.

"Is that what this is about?" He becomes defensive, "You're trying to bribe me with mac and cheese so that I'll say sorry to Dad? Because it's not happening, Mom. No matter how much mac and cheese you give me. I meant what I said and I'm not taking it back."

You sigh, "Can't you at least fake it? Lie? Come on...what you said, it was uncalled for. Really uncalled for. Because your dad is trying, Ethan, he really is."

"He might be trying, but he's trying too late..." He picks up the mac and cheese and eats it, continuing with a full mouth, "For me, at least. It's not too late for Gabby, though. She's still young enough where he can change his ways. But it's too late for him to try and fix things with me."

"Ethan, your dad and I used to do everything for you! You were our everything! And you're acting like he hasn't been there for you at all!" He remains silent. "Can't you at least think about apologizing to him? That's all I'm asking for you to do. You don't even have to mean it. Well, you kind of do. Or at least make it seem-"

"I got it, Mom," He cuts you short. You blush. "I'll think about it. But I'm not making any promises."

"But you ate my mac and cheese."

"I was hungry!" He cries out of frustration.

You laugh before leaning forward and planting a kiss on his forehead. "Just think about it, okay? I love you, Ethan."

"Love you too, Mom."

You crawl off of your son's bed and leave the room, picking up the other bowl and walking across the hallway, knocking on your bedroom door. "Patrick, can I come in?"

"N-N-No!" He stammers, followed by the sounds of shuffling and things being moved. You raise your eyebrow in suspicion. "I mean...give me a second!" The door opens a crack to reveal your smiling husband, who leans against the threshold to try and act 'normal', "Hey. What's up?"

"I-I just brought you some lunch," You answer, extending the bowl out to him.

"Ooh, mac and cheese. My favorite. Thanks, babe, you're the best." He takes the bowl in his hands and kisses you on the cheek, shrinking back into the room and closing the door behind him.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Not so fast, Patrick," You remark, entering the bedroom, "You and I need to talk."

"About what?" He asks you, eating the mac and cheese.

"About what happened this morning," You reply with utmost seriousness.

He sits down on the foot of your bed and sighs, "Do we have to? I already know I'm the worst dad ever. You don't need to remind me."

"Oh, Patrick, you're not the worst dad ever." You sit down beside him and pull your legs in. "Sure, you're not here as much as other dads are, but that doesn't make you the worst dad ever."

"You sure? Because Ethan sure as hell made me feel like it."

"He's just a teenager, he doesn't know what he's talking about half the time!"

"Well he knew what he was talking about this morning..."

You heave a sigh and murmur under your breath, "Patrick, you do your best. You try, and that's all we could ever ask of you."

"But that's all I ever seem to do. Try. What do I actually do?" Before you can answer, he goes on to say, "You know, better yet, why don't you just tell me that you'd all be better off if I didn't even come back home? Because it doesn't seem to me that any of you want me here. Like you'd rather me be back on the road so the three of you can do whatever you guys do when I'm not here."

"Patrick, you're being irrational!" You exclaim, getting upset with him.

"Me? Irrational? No," He stands up and turns to face you, "Irrational is you staring at me across the room at parties when I'm talking to girls you think are prettier than you when you know I think you're the most beautiful person in the world and that there's no other girl I would want to be with. Irrational is you wanting to leave me because you 'couldn't handle dating a rock star' and trying to ditch me while I was away. Irrational is you storming out of the house when I was ranting and said I wish I never met you out of anger and didn't really mean it. Irrational is-"

"OKAY! I GET IT!" You scream at him, shutting him right up. Bad memories start coming back to you and you know what's going to happen if you keep arguing, so you put your head in your hands and mumble, "You know what? I don't want to hear it anymore." You look up at him, "Talk to your son, sort things out, do whatever you need to do. Just make things right with him. Because this family can't fall apart. We've gone through too much for too long to just give it all up because of some stupid argument." You stand up and brush past him, making your way downstairs and back into the kitchen.

You go to eat your lunch, only to find it already eaten. You glance back at Gabby who's sitting in her chair, kicking her legs back and forth with a wide smile on her face.

"Did you eat my mac and cheese?"

"Maybe..." She giggles and climbs down from the chair, running away. You heave a sigh and throw the empty bowl into the sink, leaning against the counter and crossing your arms.