Guns & Roses (WATTYS 2017)

six - brats & bullets

Prepare yourself for this chapter

As I settle into the front seat of the car, my heart is racing like a hamster on a wheel in my chest, and I let out a sigh of relief. Then I realize that I just smoked a cigarette from a gangbanger...in front of my father. Crap. 

The air in the car is thick with angry tension. 

"So, making friends?" My father huffs finally, his voice full of passive aggression. 

I clear my throat, ready to lie my way in circles around him. 

"Yup." I quip, not even looking up at him. 

But of course, West pushes. 

"Even the boy I told you to stay away from?" He snaps, his voice rising in level. 

"Who are you to tell me who I can and can't talk to?" I hiss, huffing and crossing my arms over my chest. I feel like a child but that doesn't mean he can treat me like one after all this time. Once you're a deadbeat, just accept it and leave me alone. 

"I am your father, Katya." 

I just roll my eyes, chortling humorlessly. 

"Since when?" I mutter under my breath, too soft for him to hear. 

"What was that?" He growls, whipping his head to the side to face me. But I'm not scared of him, not the slightest bit. 

"I said, since when have you decided that you're my father? You stopped being a parent to me the moment you stepped out of my life. You can't just flounce back in and become parent of the year. You're not about to go to my art galleries at school, or attend parent-teacher conferences. You are my guardian. That is not the same thing as being a parent." 

I exhale, my head pounding from my rant. Or maybe it's from the nicotine. 

The car is silent for a few moments and I begin to think that West is too stoned to comprehend my words. 

"As long as you are under my roof, you are under my rules." He says flatly. 

"Really? You're going for the basic stepdad routine?" I snap, brushing my hair out of my eyes aggressively. Why can't he just take the hint that this conversation is over?

West sighs deeply, exasperation flooding the air around him along with the stench of weed. 

"And take it easy on the drugs. I might have to call Child Protective Services." I jab. I know I shouldn't be pushing his buttons, but the fact that he's now trying to act like the perfect father is like a bug under my skin that I need out. 

"Look at you, taken one puff of smoke and you think you're tough shit. I don't like this situation anymore than you do, and Vanessa is as pissed as I am that you're here." 

Vanessa, must be the girlfriend, 

"Well, sorry for inconveniencing her." I drawl. 

"You should be." 

I don't bother responding to him, and I don't respond to any of his next jabs and insults, waiting for the moment I can jump out of the car as soon as we get back to the condo. 

And when we do, my hand is already gripping the door handle.

I don't even give him a look as I storm into the condo and into my room. 

"Hey!" An angry and feminine voice shouts from the living room and I back up slowly, peering around the corner. 

A woman, who I assume to be Vanessa, is standing in the hall, her long nailed hands jabbed onto her hips.