Bullied

Chapter 6

When I got home from school that day, I was surprised to see my father sitting there. Brock Logan looked nervous, possibly even distressed about something. He was always so cool and calm that it really threw me for a loop to see him in this sad state. He usually worked on Friday afternoons until after 6 p.m. That way, he always said, he could get a jump start on relaxing over the weekend. It was 3:32 p.m. and he was home. Oh my god. Did someone die? I tried to rack my brain to see if I could come up with a possible relative that could have been dying or sick, but my mother was the only one who was living that I knew of. Is she okay? He was freaking me out! Just sitting there. Not doing anything. Not saying a word. Just sitting.

Honestly, I wasn't even sure if he knew whether or not I was home. He hadn't reacted to the door opening and closing or my loud, stomping hippo-like legs. I didn't really know what to do in that moment. So, I set down my bag carefully and sat down across from him at the white kitchen Island. The bar stool seats were actually quite comfortable and matched the island perfectly. Our kitchen was a decent size. I mean, obviously if we had an island in the middle of it. It was pretty large and state-of-the-art. My dad loved to cook and was trying to teach me how as well. I hated cooking. I am accident prone and would generally either get burnt or cut. One time I even hit my head off of the oven door. Don't ask how. I'm not even sure.

"Dad? You alright? You're kind of freaking me out."

He rubbed his head and looked at me for a moment before responding.

This isn't going to be good at all...

"I'm fine, sweetheart, but we need to talk..."

Those were never good words to kick off a conversation. I don't think I had done anything recently that he should be concerned about. Well aside from my experimental eating disorder, that is. I've been doing better though. He shouldn't even know about that. I had been careful in my attempted recklessness. I hope that's not it. I really didn't want to discuss weight problems with my dad. His advice was too terrible to subject myself to willingly. He'd have to tie me to a chair before I'd want to listen to his babbling rubbish. I didn't really know what to say to continue the conversation, but he was just sitting there still. Seeming to not know what to say either. I had homework and I really just wanted to get this over with already. Why was he just sitting there?!

"What's up dad?"

He sighed audibly and I rolled my eyes. Why won't he just spit it out already? I was seriously getting annoyed with his delayed responses.

"Well...I never thought I would be having this conversation with you so soon..."

"Dad. Seriously. What is it?"

He looked up at me then, as if surprised to see me sitting across from him. I raised my eyebrows at him and began to drum my fingers on the table. He reached over and covered my chubby, clammy hand with his strong warm one to silence the noise.

"Fine. I'll just come clean, then."

My heart lept into my throat in anticipation.

"I've been seeing someone..."

That was so not what I thought he was going to say. Truthfully I wasn't prepared for that. I don't know what I expected him to say, but it definitely wasn't that.

"For how long, dad? Who?"

"For about...six months now. Her name is Alice. Alice Mayfield."

He cringed just then as if he expected me to yell at him or something. I breathed out a brief sigh of relief. Dating was no big deal. I didn't really expect him to be alone forever. So, that part wasn't much of a shock. I thought I had done something to cause him to worry. That was one thing I could not bear. This relief, however, was short lived as I realized what last name he had uttered.

"Mayfield...?"

"Yes. She has a daughter your age. I believe she goes to your school. You may know her."

For the life of me I couldn't seem to grasp why the last name sounded familiar. The reason was escaping me. I was hungry. That was part of the problem. He had built me all up and stressed me out so much that it had been hard to concentrate on what he had been talking about. All I was thinking about right now was making those Oreos in the cupboard my bitch.

"Her name is Callie. I think she's even in your grade."

I stopped thinking about food for a second. Do you know how hard that is for someone like me? My eating capabilities were totally ruled by my emotions. What I put into my mouth directly correlated to how much stress I was under. I finally caught on to what he was saying. He was dating twat-Callie's mother. Seriously?

"You're dating Callie's mom?"

He smiled, not understanding my emotional response once again.

"Yes. Do you know her?"

"Do I know her? Seriously dad?"

"I don't understand why you're so upset. Aren't you two friends?"

"I don't have any friends dad. I have....I have...UGH!"

I shoved back from the island angrily, nearly toppling over at the force of my exertion.

"You have what, sweetie?"

"I never even talk about friends. What makes you think I have any at all?"

"Of course, you have friends. You're wonderful."

"Dad...you're delusional! People make fun of me. I don't actually have any friends."

My dad scratched his head and looked at me with fatherly concern.

"I just thought you were...a private person. I didn't know."

I sigh, exasperated with him. He's probably just going to tell me now that I need to ignore them. I pretty much stopped telling him anything important once I hit puberty in the 8th grade. He used to basically just tell me to suck it up. So you can imagine my surprise when he did a complete 180 from the dad I thought I knew.

"Why didn't you ever tell me? Maybe I could have helped somehow. Wait. Is that why you're so upset about Alice's daughter. Did she do something to you?"

I was at a loss for words, but somehow managed to blurt a quick sentence out. This conversation was getting uncomfortable.

"Last time you tried to "help" by talking to the principal, it got worse."

The tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. Is Callie a bully?"

His genuine concern made my heart hurt. He really didn't know. I had thought he knew, this whole time and just didn't take it seriously. Boy had I been wrong! I mean I knew he loved me and cared about me, but sometimes he just put on this tough guy act. It was hard to swallow.

"Yes. Her and everyone else..."

"We should all get together then and talk about it. Try to work it out."

He beamed, I rolled my eyes. Just when I thought he was getting me, he just had to say something completely ridiculous. He didn't look like he was going to change his mind though.

"Seriously? Dad...-"

He cut me off by putting up a finger and closing his eyes for a second.

"No really. We should get together. I really like Alice. I want this to work, but it can't work if you guys have these issues. You have to confront your problems head on sometimes to make headway."

Nope. He wasn't going to budge. I could tell by his determined stance that it was over for me. I had lost before I had even truly realized what hit me. I pursed my lips, but nodded once and crossed my arms. I was reluctant, but I could see how important it was to him. Did he not understand how important it was to me, though, to not meet with Callie?

"Okay dad. You win. I'll try to get along with her. It's not like I have to live with her, right?"

"Oh good! Of course not. That's not even been discussed yet. If everything goes well, though, who knows?!"

He walked away before I could properly close my mouth and respond. He could not be serious. Could he?