Bad Boys Can't Love

Returned

Part 19: Returned

Hey guys! The pic is of Sarah's dad- he's back! Please vote and especially COMMENT!!! Enjoy the chapter! Love you all.. Xoxo -Annie <3
"Dad?" I gasp, studying his young face that's barely changed. He looks at me, "Sarah. Who's the boy? Reminds me of me when I was a teen. And if I'm right then he should get the hell away from my daughter."
That's when I remember that Asher was punched. By my dad.
Is this a dream? I can now use 'dad' in a present tense sentence? Trust me, I'm not happy about this.
"Asher!" I turn to him. He holds his jaw. "I barely touched him. He's lucky I didn't aim for the nose." My dad jokes. I look at my dad angrily, and then back at Asher. "It's okay, SarBear. I'm fine.." Asher tells me, glancing up at my dad with fire in his eyes.
I stand in front of Asher to prevent anything from happening. "What the hell was that for?" I yell at him, "What are you doing here? Go back to whatever place you came from, and it better be far away."
He studies me, not angry or anything. "You look so big. Seventeens a large number." He grins at me. "Go pay." I tell Asher, not taking my eyes off my Dad. "Sar-" he begins before I cut him off, "Seriously, Asher. Go."
  I shove all of the things into his hands as he strolls to the counter. I wait, in a dead stare off with my dad. "How have you been?" He asks. "A lot better without you." I spit, "Leave. I don't want you in my life."
  At this, Asher signals that he's done. I walk to him, taking his arm, and stroll out of 7-11.
  That just happened. My dads back from whatever hole he crawled out of. He needs to leave, I don't want to ever see him again. Everything was so great, and now he's back. He's back and it's terrible. It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me, really. What a coincidence being that I just got him out of my mind. That I just confessed what happened with him.
   "Are you okay?" Asher asks cautiously. "No." I admit, and with that, I break down into his arm. Tears stream down my face as I sniffle unattractively. I gasp for air as I cry, not knowing what to do with my life anymore.
  "Hey, hey.. It's all going to be okay, Sar." He tells me reassuringly. He holds me close until we reach his car.
  I sit next to him in the car and cry. I cry because I'm not strong anymore. I don't have  the power to be strong. I'm weak and helpless, and I just need Asher to support me right now. And I'm so lucky that he's here now.
"So that your dad?" Asher asks me. I nod glumly, wiping the tears from my eyes. "I want him to leave. I-I-I-" I stutter, trying to speak. "Shh.. You don't have to tell me. Just relax." Asher tells me. I nod carefully and clasp onto his hand tightly.
   We pull up to my house and my dad's prized possession is in he driveway. He still has it, of course. It's always been everything to him.
  I hear screaming, and so does Asher. We quickly jump out of the car and run inside to see what's happening.
   "Get out! Now! We don't need you- you're not welcome here!" My mom screams at my dad, as he tries to approach her carefully. She throws the bowl on the table at him, and it hits him in the chest. He doesn't even flinch.
   I run to my mom's side. I hug her tightly. I don't want my dad back, especially because of my mom. I don't want her to get hurt again. "Go." I order my dad, "Leave." My mom's crying as I hold her, keeping her calm and safe.
  "Please. Listen." My dad tells us. "No, you don't deserve us." I tell him. Asher walks up to him, "You heard them, leave."
  My dad scoffs and turns around, "I'll be back." He says. Then he leaves. I hear the roar of his gorgeous car before he speeds off.
  He's gone.
  Thank god, he's gone.
But he'll be back, and I'll be ready to make him leave again. I help my mom onto the breakfast stool. I make my way to the door and lock it, he's not going to get in.
  "It's going to be okay." I say. I sound like Asher, but I've gained my strength back. All I needed to do so was my mom.
  She nods, before wiping her tears and sitting up straighter. "I know, honey. I'll make sure of it."
  Asher and I head upstairs just to lay down.
  "I hate him." I say after almost ten minutes of silence. Ten minutes of just laying in pure, deathly silence. "I do too." He exhales. "Why do you hate him, besides the fact that he punched you?" I ask. "Because he hurt you. He abandoned you, and I hate anyone who would ever dare to do that. The punch, I didn't really care about that."  Asher tells me. "Don't ever leave me." I begin to cry into his shirt.
  "I won't. Even if you wanted me to, I wouldn't."
  This helps a lot. I've had abandonment issues ever since my dad left, and to know that someone plans to be with you for good makes me feel safe. I know I won't end up with nobody now.
  "Promise?" I ask. "I promise." He kisses the top of my head gently. I smile and wrap my arms around him before he wraps his arms around me. I can pretend everything's perfect like it was earlier, but it's not.
   I know my dad will be back. And he's a nightmare.
  ***
  "You're going home early." My fourth period teacher tells me in a monotone voice. I pack up my stuff, confused as hell. Why is my mom picking me up early? Is there an appointment or something that I forgot about?
  I reach the main office. "I'm Sarah Jay, um, you said I'm going home?" I question the boring woman behind the counter. "Yes, dear. You're signed out. He's waiting for you in front of the school." I nod, not catching the word 'he.'
   I walk outside, my backpack slung over my shoulder carelessly, to see my dad. Before he notices me, I turn on my heel and start walking back toward the front door.
  "Wait! Sarah!" He calls. Darn it. "Go away. I have to learn." I snap, holding back tears. "I talked to your mother. She said that I could do this!" He tells me. I turn around.
   I stop. "Mom said that?" I ask angrily. He nods quickly. "Well than you can tell her to buzz off aswell." I say with a sarcastic/angry smile. He grabs my hand as I turn around. "Give me a chance to explain."
   I don't know why I do this. I don't know why I decide to go with him. But I do. I'm curious to what his amazing explanation might me that will fix everything.
  I nod simply and follow him to his perfect car. I take a seat next to him in the passenger. "Explain." I order.
  "Not here. At the meadow." My dad tells me. The meadow.
  My dad wasn't a dad, as I said before. Just a guy who lived in my house. But there were a few moments where he was a dad.
  And most of them were at the meadow.
  He'd take me to the meadow behind the forest and play with me. We'd chase butterflies and talk and pick flowers. We'd hold hands and skip and laugh. The happiest days of my childhood were spent in the meadow with my dad. He would pick me up and twirl me around, or set me on his shoulders to watch the sunset. He would tickle me and tell me that he loves me.
   I don't know why the second we got home from the meadow he was always back to his old self.
  We get to the forest and step out of the car. We begin to strode into the green forest, light shining through all of the branches.
  Once we make it to the meadow, I sit down on the familiar log and he sits on the tree stump. Flowers and tall grass take over the gorgeous area, and the sun shines brightly.
  "I know you don't believe it but I love you. I miss you so much, and it killed me when you wouldn't answer the phone. I got the hint at fourteen and stopped calling, but it hurt. Even if I was never the best dad, I always considered you my little girl. That's why I've sent the cards and gifts every year still for your birthdays and Christmas." He smiles. I pause, "What do you mean? I never got any of those." His smile fades, "What? Your mother must have hid them from you. Forget it. Anyway, I just want you to know why I left in the first place. It wasn't to leave your mother, even those I was never faithful. I was too obsessed with staying young that I never stayed with your mother. I wish that I did, because I did love her. But I left because I thought that I didn't set a good enough example for you. You would be better without me. So I left, and your mother told me to never come back. I tried to talk to you, I just wanted you to know why. But now I've changed and I've come back to be a better dad." He finishes carefully. "No." I tell him, wiping the tears pouring out of my eyes, "It's too late."
  "It doesn't have to be." He whispers hopefully. "But it is." I sigh, "You've missed too much."  
  "Please." He begs, "I'll never be able to live with myself knowing that I can't help. I've changed to come back. Give me one more chance, and I can prove it to you that it's worth it."
  One chance. I'll kick him out if he blows it.
  "Fine." I say. He smiles, "Thanks, Princess."
  "By the way, who's the boy? Looks like a player to me, trust me I can spot one from a mile away." He tells me warily. "Asher? He used to be, but now we like each other. I've turned him into a softie." I smile happily. "You have a tendency to do that, Sarah." My dad grins at me.
  I lean my head on his shoulder. "I hope so, Daddy, I sure hope so."
  I have a Dad again.
  Maybe things aren't all too bad.