A Life With You - BTY VERSE

Following The Rules

Imagine. The front door slammed and you knew exactly what that meant. "Sami!" you called after her before she could get to her room. She sighed and turned to you as you stood there with your arms crossed. "What do you want?" she said, her tone reflecting complete annoyance. "I'm fine, thank you. My day went great" you replied sarcastically. She rolled her eyes so deeply you thought she might have seen the back of her head. "What time is it?" you asked her. She looked at the phone in her hand and answered right away "Eight thirty". "And you were supposed to be home at?" you reminded her. "Seven" she shrugged. "Ok. Give me your phone" you said more firmly and extended your hand to her. "What?" she chuckled nervously, "You can't do that. It's MY phone". "I can do whatever I want. I'm your mother. You're a part of this family. You follow our rules. If not, you're punished. That's the deal" you reminded her. "You can't take my phone! How am I supposed to talk with my friends?!" she was now screaming. "You should've thought about that before breaking the rule again. Your phone stay with me until tomorrow night. End of discussion" you stated and looked at your hand still extended. She threw away her bag against the wall and gave you her phone angrily. She walked to the stairs before shouting to you "You're just a bunch of nothing! I hate you!".

You just stood there, a little taken back, without being able to answer or protest. Yes, Sami talked back sometimes. But you never thought you'd hear that sentence again, especially from her. You watched your daughter go up the stairs as your husband went down. He frowned. "What's up with her?" he asked. You felt the tears dropping on your cheeks before you could even hold them back. You heard a door slam and very loud music being put on. "Hey baby, what's going on?" he asked concerned once he noticed your cries. "I'm a bad mother" you whispered between sobs. "What? No, you're not! You're an awesome mom" he reassured you. He took you into his arms and rubbed your back. "Tell me what happened" he said and kissed the top of your head. You explained everything to him and tried to keep your voice clear. "Listen, you were right anyway. She didn't have to come back home late and she surely didn't have to speak to you like that. But you know she didn't really mean it, honey" he let his hand brush your arm up and down, "She's a teenager. She's testing us. But we won't let her get away with it, okay?". You nodded and wiped the tears out of your face. "I'm gonna go get her upstairs and then we can talk about this all together. How does that sound?" he smiled slightly. "Good" you said and smiled politely at him. He kissed your lips and whispered "Everything is gonna be okay".

He left you to join Sami upstairs. Of course the door was closed and Kyle was standing there knocking loudly. He turned to see his father coming to his direction. "What's wrong with Sami?" he asked slowly to his father as he looked up at him. "Nothing buddy. She's just going through a hard phase. It will go away. I promise" he smiled and ruffled his hair. "Do you mind going to your room please? Mom, Sam and I have to talk for a moment" he asked. Kyle nodded and with a smile, he was off to his room.

Darren knocked on the door, but with the music, he was pretty sure his daughter couldn't hear a thing. He opened it slowly to see Sami laying in bed, her back to him. He walked to the stereo and turned it off. "Sam" he said firmly. She simply ignored him. He sat on the edge of the bed. "Sami, I'm talking to you" your husband repeated. Nothing. Not a single reaction from her. "You know what? Let's keep it simple. Keep on ignoring me and you won't be able to go to Emily's party this weekend" he stated. "Fine" Sami sighed and sat on the bed. She didn't looked at her father though; she was avoiding his gaze. But at least she was listening now.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked calmly. "Mom took my phone away!" she cried. "Really? She surely did that for fun though. I'm sure she was just being harsh on you for no reason, right?" he said ironically. Sami looked down. "You did it three times this week. We warned you. You kept doing it. So who do you think we should blame? Mom for taking your phone away or you because you keep breaking the rules?" her father explained calmly. Sami mumbled something to her hands. "I'm sorry. What?" he asked. "Me!" she answered louder. He nodded. "Second thing, I don't want to hear that you called your mother a bunch of nothing. You know exactly what that does to her. You know what her mother used to call her. You know how much it's hurts her. So you stop that right now" he said more firmly. "Your mom, Kyle and I deserve some respect. We have done nothing but be there for you. And we still are, by the way" he pointed. "So no more name calling, no more shouting, and no more breaking rules. Am I being clear?" Darren asked. She nodded. "Look at me please" he specified. His mother always did this to them. Making eye contact had always added something more real to the conversation. "I won't do it again, Dad" she said to his eyes. He nodded. "Go apologize to your mother now, please" he said and got off the bed.

Sami followed him downstairs and joined you in the living room. You put the tv on mute as Darren sat next to you. "I'm sorry Mom. I shouldn't have said that. And I'll try to be on time from now on" Sami said. "Actually you will be. Since you won't have a phone to call us in case of emergencies, I'm gonna bring you and pick you up from school tomorrow and the day after. We're actually going to keep your phone for two days for the shouting" Darren said and took your hand. You were happy to know he always had your back. "You're really gonna make me look like a baby in front of everyone at school? Really?" Sami tried to protest. "Go on arguing and I'll add more days" he shrugged. "Ok" she nodded. She started to walk away when you stopped her again. "Sam, just so you know" you took a breath, "we're here if you need anything. We're not going anywhere, alright?" you raised your eyebrows. "Alright" she smiled faintly before going back up to her room.

You sighed and laid your head down on Darren's lap. "Why do teenage years have to be such a bitch? I wasn't like that!" you said. "I was" Darren chuckled, "I tried to be rebelious. Didn't last long though". "I bet it didn't" you smiled. "Mister Rebel Pants" you joked. He giggled and kissed you. Let's just hope your daughter will follow her Dad's footsteps.