Prompt: Perfect by Simple Plan
“I’m sorry I can’t be perfect, Dad.”
The words were spoken long after they should have been, after he’d left once more, after he’d shut the door, and probably after he’d entered the pub down the street. It went like this night after night; and at times, I felt like it would never end. No matter how hard I tried, I was never good enough. Ever since Mom had left, he’d transferred all his attention to me. There was a time where I would have been happy with that. A time when my Dad was my hero, and where I’d do anything just to be like him. But that time had passed a long time ago. I didn’t want to be like my Dad anymore; he was always and only pointing out mistakes people made. Not even in a nice, constructive manner; he’d just be down right rude. Especially to me. It felt like he expected me to fill the hole that Mum left; but I was just a kid too, and I wasn’t exactly up to that task.
It had started when he expected me to have done the dishes and laundry when he came home, completely forgetting that I’d been to school the entire day. He simply didn’t care anymore. He didn’t show up for the annual parent-teacher meetings, and every year I was left finding an excuse, ensuring the teachers that everything was alright and that he’d simply fallen sick.
“It’s his job,” I’d say, “always being outside in this weather”. The looks I got grew sceptical as more years passed, but nobody ever called me out on it. I’d realized a long time ago that they pitied me; something that came in handy when I hadn’t had time to finish my homework. That often happened; my dad always had something to do for me, while I tried to keep up with my education.
And now I was in my senior year, and I knew that Dad would never let me go off to college, or to university. I was certain I would pass; I’d been working hard, and my grades were good. I was, at times, surprised at how good, since I did little to no work for them. But I was glad, because it gave me an opportunity. Using the school computers, I applied to a university, and got accepted. I managed to hide the letters at home, and as I came home from graduation, Dad still in the pub, I packed my bags and left silently.
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Short Stories
ContoA collection of short stories that I've written, or am writing. Many of these are based on songs by artists like All Time Low, Against The Current or Simple Plan, but they are not fanfiction! I just like to base my stories on specific lyrics or feel...
