The Scars Within

Talking with Dad

Taking off my shoes by the door, I walk into the living room. Once I get there, I see my father is waiting for me on one of the couches. I take a seat across from him on the opposite couch, and he looks me dead in the eye.

"I'm assuming your mother told you the news?" He asks. After he sees me nod my head, he sighs and continues. "Well, I guess that saves time since I don't have to explain. I'm sure you noticed as much as we did that things weren't working out. You don't have to worry about anything, alright? I'll take care of everything, and your mother knows this and trusts me to make fair decisions on everything. We decided to let you finish school here, and then you can pick whom you wish to live with. I will be staying in this house, as my job is near here. Your mother will be moving a few towns away so she is closer to her job. Nobody else is going to be involved, and you can tell whoever you want about this. Your mother and I have also agreed to let you come and go from each house as you please, as long as you continue going to school. You already have your driver's license so feel free to use the car. The divorce will take some time to finalize, so your mother will still be staying here for a while longer. Any questions?" Yep. Just like I thought. Straight to the point and professional.

"Nope. No questions Dad." Slightly smiling at me, he pulls me into a hug.

"I'm sorry we're putting you through this Bub, I really am. But, I hope you understand why we're doing this. I want to keep you out of the stress of this as much as I can." Wrapping my arms around him, I return the hug. No more words are exchanged. Eventually, we separate and he heads to the kitchen to make some dinner. Gathering up my things, I walk upstairs to my room.

I can honestly say my room is my favorite place in the whole house. It's pretty big, with two floor to ceiling windows and a window bench in front of one. Along the wall next to the door is a six foot tall bookshelf where I have all of my books and a few nicknacks, then against the far wall is my four-poster bed that has super soft, dark blue cotton blankets and a big, white, fluffy comforter. And, last but not least, against the other wall is my desk and the door to the walk-in closet and attached bathroom. Overall, it's a pretty sweet room. The walls are supposed to be dark grey, but I have so many posters and pictures on the walls you can barely see the actual wall.

I set my backpack on the desk, and then took off my socks. Feeling the soft, dark blue carpet between my toes as I walked towards my bed. After doing an epicly graceful belly flop onto my bed, I rolled over and pulled my phone out of my pocket. Just as I unlock it, I get a text from Stacy.

Stacy: Hey Carmin! Guess what! Leon totally asked me for your number after school! I, being the great friend that I am, happily gave it to him. You're so lucky to have him after you. I would kill to get him in my room.

She did not. No. Nope. Nada. Nu uh. Please, no. Just then, I get a text from an unknown number.

Unknown: Heeeeey babe. It's me, Leon. How's it goin'? I asked that Stacy chick for your number. Pretty smart of me eh? Listen, offer's still out there for Friday if you change your mind. ;)

She did. Why must the universe hate me today? What did I do in my past life to deserve this? I swear to God if I ever meet my past self I'm going to beat them for whatever they did. Groaning, I throw my phone onto the carpet. 'Thank you soooo much Stacy. I really needed him bothering me outside of school.' Running my fingers through my hair, I stand up and decide to change into comfy clothes. Taking off my skinny jeans and t-shirt, I pull on some baggy shorts and a tank top. Figuring dinner must be done by now, I walk downstairs. After getting to the kitchen, I see my Dad is just setting the food on the table.

"What are we having, Dad?"

"Hey Bub. We're having chicken alfredo." He smiles when he sees me do my 'happy dance' as he calls it. He knows chicken alfredo is my absolute favorite. Within a couple of minutes, we're seated at the table an eating. "So, how was the first day back?"

"It was alright. It went as good as a first day could I guess." I decided to leave out the whole 'Leon' thing because I just knew he would ask why I wouldn't go out with him. Most fathers try to keep boys away from their daughters, but not mine. He's been finding 'suitable' boys for me since the time I turned 14. A.K.A. around the time Leon started flirting.

"Do you have any classes with Leon?" Dammit, spoke too soon. Sighing, I grudgingly tell him I only have chemistry with Leon. "Oh, 'chemistry' eh?" Facepalming, I glare at him.

"Not that kind of chemistry Dad. The class chemistry." Chuckling, he holds his hands up in surrender.

"No need to break out the death glare Bub. I'm only joking with you. But seriously, why don't you like him?" This is how the conversation goes every time. 'Why don't you like him?' 'Because I don't' 'But why Bub? He's a nice boy.' Every time.

"We've been through this, Dad. I just don't like him. He's too arrogant and lust driven." This time, he doesn't say anything in reply. He only takes a deep breath and sighs. After a few minutes of silence, he speaks up again.

"I only want what's best for you Bub. I know you still have your whole life ahead of you, but I'm worried about you. You're 16 and beautiful but yet every time a boy asks you out, you turn them down. I just don't want you to be alone." He says with a small smile on his face.

"I know Dad, it's just that I don't really like any of the boys at my school. Some are nice, but they aren't my type. I'm more focused on school right now anyway. It's not a requirement to have a boyfriend in high school Dad." He chuckles, and we both finish our alfredo. Dad told me that he could load up the dishwasher, so I headed back up to my room. Picking my phone up off the floor, I lay on my bed once again and start playing games for a while. Quickly getting bored with that, I shut off the phone and put it on the bedside table.

Bored, I decide to start rolling around on my bed. Apparently I was a lot closer to the edge than I thought I was because I ended up rolling right off my bed. While the floor may be carpeted, it still hurt. It also apparently made one heck of a thump because in less than a minute my Dad was by the door looking at me. Smiling up at him sheepishly, I get up and sit on the bed. Seeing I'm alright, he says goodnight, then goes back downstairs. Seeing that it's about 9:30, I decide it's time to go to bed. I also decided to just sleep in my shorts and tank top. Hopefully tomorrow has less drama than today.