She'll Never Be My Mom || (n.j.)

Chapter 9

"Brook, why don't you tell Dad about Jackson?" I almost spit out the chicken I was eating. Aunt Samantha was here for dinner on Thursday night and, surprisingly, Dad was home before I went to bed.

"Jackson? I- I don't know a J- Jackson." I stutter, looking to Dad's curious face.

"Yes you do. Tell him." Why does she put me in the embarrassing situations? I have absolutely no idea.

"Well, he's my friend. He..." Do I tell them?

"He what?" Dad pushes on.

"He helps me at school." I get all of it out of my mouth, and then I look quickly down at my plate and just start eating.

"You need help? Like a tutor?" He puts a piece of food in his mouth, his gaze still intently on me.

"No, no. I get picked on at school..."

"You what?!" Dad is furious. I knew this would happen. Aunt Sam just gasps and her gaze softens, as well as the rest of her features.

"Yeah....I have since about sixth grade." And I'm now halfway through my seventh grade year.

"Have you told anyone about this?" Dad adjusts his weight on his chair and pushes his plate away, Aunt Sam taking our dishes.

"Well, I told Ally, and Jackson has witnessed some of it. See, a group of people that he hangs out with keeps picking on me, but he doesn't. He's shy, quiet, but amazing."

"Do I need to go to school and discuss this with your principal?" Dad's gaze catches mine and I just keep it.

"Dad I..-"

"What do you get picked on for?" He cuts me off.

"Mom." I blurt out before I can even think. He looks down and doesn't say a word, but just runs his hand through his dark hair. I sigh and feel much, much better that I've gotten that off of my chest. I quietly get up from my seat and go up to my room, skipping steps.

When I get there, I just sit on my bed and think. I don't know what to think about. I feel as though Dad is disappointed in me somehow because this has been going on for almost two years, and I've never told him anything. I bet he'll be coming in here any minutes to talk.

1-2-3

"Hey." He opens the door and shuts it quietly behind him. Dad walks over and sits by me on the bed.

"I'm sorry." I whisper to him.

"For what?"

"Not telling you about any of this sooner."

"Hey, maybe you were scared. I'm not sure, but I'm glad you told me sweetheart." He kisses the side of my head.

"I'm just glad that no one at school found out about the time I was taken from you. That would've been bad." I attempt to make a joke out of the situation. You know, just to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be too good. I'm sorry again." Dad apologizes for the billionth time.

"It's okay Dad."

"No it's not. I hate it when I'm like that around you. I shouldn't even have it in the house quite honestly." He rubs the side of his face and looks at my feet.

"Dad, it's cool."

"It's really not cool Brookie, but, whatever you say." He smiles and pulls me in for a side hug.

"I'm gonna have to confiscate all alcohol use in this house." I joke.

"Pshhhhh....." Dad makes a 'pft' noise at me.

"Seriously though. You've gotta stop Dad. Olivia sure didn't seem to like it the slightest bit." I make note of the other night.

"Yeah, yeah. Speaking of Olivia, she's coming over tonight."

"Woohoo." I sarcastically cheer, my phone signaling that I got a text from Jackson.

"Who's that honey?" Before I can answer, there's a yell from downstairs.

"Nick, baby, I'm here!" Immediately, Dad gets up from my bed and rushes down the stairs. I just sigh and lean back into my soft bed.

About an hour later, I go downstairs to watch my show on tv. Like I do every Thursday night. It was around 7:30 and my show started at 8. As I get to the last step, I saw something I didn't really want to see. It honestly kind of ruined my mood, if I must say.

Dad was kissing Olivia. Well, more like she was sitting on the counter and he was standing in between her legs, Dad was practically swallowing her face. I look in disgust, but just keep walking and hope that they won't notice. I hadn't see Dad kiss anyone since Mom died. I turned on the tv and I heard shoes hit the tile floor of the other room. Olivia's heels to be exact. An evil smirk comes across my face and I just flip to Fox. Not long after, Dad comes walking in.

"Watching Once Upon A Time?" He sits on the couch, particularly close to Olivia. I was definitely not ready for this kind of change in my life. Olivia nuzzles into Dad's side, but I don't pay much attention to it. Totally ignoring Dad's question.

"Brook, I asked you a question." His voice is a little more stern then normal.

"Yeah. I am Dad." I turn up the volume and watch Regina conquer the castle.

"Night." I get up from the chair at 8:30 PM. Lily is sleeping on Dad's lap and her feet are hanging over the end of the couch. Dad looks at me, tiredly.

"Night pumpkin." I lean down and he kisses my forehead. As I start to walk away, I hear Olivia stir snd start to talk.

"Hey sleepyhead." I hear the smile on Dad's face and just continue to gather my phone and charger from the coffee table.

"Hey baby." Then I hear kissing. Okay Dad, that's enough. I already saw enough of the show about an hour ago.