Faithless

Chapter Seventeen

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"The Great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." - Walter Bagehot.

I just want to say thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying it!

Dedication: RaynAngel89 for the cover!

Recap:

I tried to remember, I tried to focus, I tried to recall something but all I could feel was rage. It was slowly ebbing away and it took my memory with it.

"Faith." I recognised the principal's voice, causing me to flinch. I'd heard it many times before. I almost wanted to roll my eyes. "Come with me."

Just great.

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I hate fighting with dad.

It rarely happens and if we do fight, we're over it in an hour or so anyway, but it doesn't mean I don't feel like crap after. I sat in my bed, draped in my blanket, my iPhone pressed firmly against my ear, a sour expression twisted on my face.

"You know I got the blame for it?" he asked me and I felt my stomach tighten. "Because of my absence. He thinks I'm to blame for this."

"He" being Principal Mathers. We didn't get along very well.

"I have uncontrolled anger issues with or without you here."

"I know." he sighed. "I'm really disappointed with you, Faith. I thought, after last time, you would have changed."

"She provoked me," I said, my voice quiet.

I felt a bit ridiculous having dad actually parent me. It wasn't really that style of relationship. He was more my friend and if anything, I would be the one getting up him, not vice versa. Him actually treating me like this had me feeling inferior. Which isn't cool.

"You need to start growing up a bit," he said, sounding strained. He hated fighting with me as much as I hated fighting with him. I flinched. I thought he said I was mature. "You can't just let this anger control your life. It will destroy you."

"What are you, my counsellor?" I sassed, suddenly sick of talking about this.

I just knew he was shaking his head at me. I could see the look on his face in my mind.

"When are you going to start using that brain of yours instead of your fists?" he asked, sounding slightly exasperated. "You can't expect to be able to get away with this for much longer."

"I told you not to leave dad. I needed you and you left." My voice came out way more vulnerable than I intended and I blinked back tears, my bottom lip quivering.

All I could hear was breathing.

"I left for you," he ground out after a few moments.

"Really?" I asked, my voice monotone. I felt the familiar sensation of fire slither through my veins, clouding my judgement and making me feel numb. "Convenient timing. You break up with Nancy, your old girlfriend lives up there. The one you always talk about, the one you clearly still love. Don't you think the timing is just so convenient?"

"That's enough," he snapped, his tone laced with an authoritative tone I've only rarely heard him use. "You know why I left. We needed the money and they asked for me. I was on casual work at home, hardly able to pay the bills. We needed this. Quit letting this horrible anger control you."

"At least my anger is always here for me. It doesn't just abandon me." I yelled into the phone, well aware that I was seeming more immature by the second. "There were other options. You didn't need to pack up and leave the state. You think I'm the one who needs to grow up? Please. How can I when I have parents like you guys?"