Bad Love (on hold)

Chapter 7

When I got home that night, I had been expecting my Dad to be out or possibly asleep. What I didn't expect was for him to be sitting at the kitchen table, cradling a bottle of beer. I attempted to get up the stairs as quietly as possible as it was past midnight. However, I failed in my mission when I heard him bellow for me to come back down.

'Where were you?' He said, suspicion present on his aging face. I looked closely at him for a second, finally noticing the wrinkles clouding his forehead. This man really was broken, I thought. In all honesty, he probably never really cared about my feelings, instead just asking the obligatory questions any parent would.

'At a party.' I said, choosing to not lie. What Stacy had said, knocked the fight out of me, causing me to appear stoic and unfocused.

'You smell of beer. Why were you drinking?' He said sternly, ironic as he failed to hide the bottle of the same substance in his hand. I rolled my eyes at his judgement of my actions, when he clearly never followed the same rules himself.

'Leave me alone' was the reply that escaped my mouth before I hurried upstairs, fearful of my Dad's actions once he had a drink or two. Instead there was no footsteps marching up the stairs, nor the sound of him bellowing my name. He had well and truly given up. Only the contents of his drink provoked a worthy reaction from him.

I ran to my bed, removing the damned dress before putting on my comfy sweatpants and shirt. Kira would be angry once she discovered her damaged dress, but the circumstances behind it were forgiving. I replayed the night's events in my head over and over before I eventually fell asleep, Stacy's words being the last thing which my mind was fixated on.

-

The sound of my phone alarm went off once. Then twice. Then three times. An annoyed grumble left my throat as I attempted to locate the device with my eyes closed. Giving up almost immediately, I realised that I was recieving a phone call.

'Yes.' I answered briefly as my eyes slowly drifted closed once more. I just wanted to sleep and block out the negative thoughts crowding my head. My life was a shitstorm but at least in my dreams I was safe.

'What happened last night? Someone told me you were crying and I heard that my dress is ruined. Thanks bitch.' She said, laughing at the end but the tone of my voice caused the playful atmosphere to dampen.

'Stacy said some pretty unplesant things to me and threw vodka on the dress.' I said, not wanting to go into detail about what exactly the unpleasant words were. Kira understood, though I knew how tough it was for her to actually stay quiet and not prob.

'That shit. It's gonna take ages to get that stuff out of the dress.' She sighed, mourning the loss of her dress. We spoke again for a while until I hung up, too distraught to engage in happy talk. The hangover I was currently having wasn't bad, but I could still feel the effects. I was questioning how I could cover up a hangover in school when my bedroom door opened.

'I need to talk to you.' My Dad said, coming in. He always had a way of entering a room that invited no questions; just him allowing his own way in. I was confused about what he would want to speak about, considering he left no room for conversation. It was probably about last night, I sighed.

'You seemed upset yesterday night. What happened?' He questioned, his voice betraying no sense of emotion. I could always remember him being this way, but the circumstances baffled me as to why.

'Nothing, but can I ask you something?' I said tentatively, unsure of how he would react to my question. After all, I had no right to just ask him personal questions, then again I was his daughter.

'When you found out about mum's affair, what happened?' I asked quietly, noticing a dark cloud gather on his face before he finally collected himself together. He settled further on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath in.

'I felt betrayed of course, any man would. I gave your mother all the love she deserved and more, but it wasn't enough. But I was willing to forgive her.' He said sadly, looking at me. This was the first time he had allowed me to read through the cracks in his life so clearly. 'But why are u asking me this?' He said, confused on my choice of question.

'I just needed to know. There's been some things that haven't been spoken about.' I said, respecting how he chose to value my question, instead of shunning it completely. He nodded briefly for a moment before patting my head gently.

'I know I haven't been the best father to you and I am to blame for that. I'm sorry for everything, Lucy.' He said, a tint of emotion finally burning through his usual hostile tone. He hung his head for a moment before finally retreating from my room, leaving me stunned.

His unusual show of emotion wasn't ordinary for my Dad, who seemed to treasure his closed, mysterious side. He had unravelled his inner turmoil in a way that would bind us together, as we were both mourning the loss of my Mother. If only I could tell him about what happened last night, but what good would come out of it. I had been humiliated by a person who blamed me for the deep grievances occurring in her family.

I quickly showered, before getting dressed, trying to ignore the dull headache pounding in my head. If going to college wasn't an option, I would gladly take it. Unfortunately my grades needed to improve, so staying at home wasn't an option for me. I went downstairs, hearing voices in the living, unaware that there were other people in the house.

'Lucy, come here.' My Dad said, opening the door of the living room. He beckoned me inside, before I saw three people sitting on the sofa. I didn't recognize any of them, but the man and woman holding hands looked vaguely familiar.

'We need to talk to you about something important.' The third person said, taking off their glasses, and staring at me. 'Please sit down.' She motioned.

'What's going on?' I asked, confused. The expression on my Dad's face suggested this was serious. I sat down warily, waiting for one of them to speak.

'Your father has decided to check himself into a rehab clinic for his drinking problems.' The glasses person said before introducing themselves. 'My name is Allison and I'm a social worker.' She said taking my hand into hers.

'That's...great.' I breathed out, astonished that my Dad had taken a big step into recovery. However, the solemn expression on her face implied she had more to say.

'Your only 17 Lucy, and he thinks it's in your best interest to live with a foster family for the duration of his treatment.' She said briskly. I looked at the couple on the left, finally understanding what their intentions were.

'Why didn't you tell me before?' I said, anger prominent in my voice as I turned towards my Dad. He seemed conflicted as he tried to think of how to answer my question.

'Lucy I've been in a bad place, but that's going to change now. The alcohol made me tune out my problems.' He sighed, making me feel remorse for how depressed he looked. Maybe we both needed a change.

'Lucy, we would be delighted to foster you as you've been through so much.' The other woman said, reaching over to touch my knee gently. Her eyes looked friendly as she withdrew her hand after a few seconds.

'Because your over 16, we need your approval before we start the process.' Allison said, handing me pieces of paper, which required my signature. As my eyes wandered over the words on the page, my breath caught in my throat, as I realised how real this was now. I mulled over my options for a minute or so, feeling the eyes of the others on me. This could be my chance to start over afresh from all the pain in my life. So, with a shaking hand, I wrote my signature on the pieces of paper, before handing them back to the woman.

'Welcome to the Franco family.' The woman announced, a big smile painted on her face.

Where had I heard that name before?