Jamie

Meet Your Father

It took Jamie a good 45 minutes to reach her house by foot. She had been crying all the way home, with thoughts of suicide flickering in her mind. Jamie entered her house, wiping the tears from her eyes while letting the other tears roll off her chin and splatter onto the floor.

Jamie closed the door behind her and looked up to see Billie Joe sitting on her couch next to her mother. "This is Jamie," her mother said, introducing Billie to his daughter. Jamie backed up away from her parents, running into the front door behind her.

"Katherine...I mean, your mom...showed me all your Green Day posters. Ha ha ha," Billie laughed. Billie's laugh came smoothly into Jamie's ears, for that was always one of her favorite qualities about him. But at this moment, she hated it.

"Jay, come over here," her mother said. She signalled for Jamie to come sit on the couch next to Billie, but Jamie refused to move from her current location at the front door.

"Jamie, I want to talk," Billie said. It sounded so convincing to her, but she was fearing that he would only hurt her more. "I know, I'm terrible. I felt awful when I heard about how upset you were when you found out, y'know. Terrible. I know how it feels to grow up without a father figure, but the main reason I left without you is because I felt it was more important to you, y'know, being a girl, to have a mother figure in your life. Katherine often would call me once every month to tell me about how you were doing. She would tell me when you, y'know, seemed depressed, when you got more band t-shirts, and everything like that."

"It's not like I want to call him," her mother interrupted. "He made me call him to update him about you, because he cares. If I had a choice between calling him to tell him about you, or not calling him at all, I wouldn't." Billie glared at her, and Katherine returned the favor.

"What's your favorite Green Day song?" Billie Joe asked.

Jamie was unsure was to say. It was Jesus Of Suburbia of all time, but she didn't want to give Billie Joe the reaction he wanted; which would be giving him an answer.

"She likes Jesus Of Suburbia," her mother answered for her.

"Oh... well what to do you think about Drama Queen?" Billie Joe asked.

Jamie finally decided to speak. "It's kind of sad... the lyrics, I mean."

"It's about you," Billie Joe answered. Jamie's eyes widened. She began to play the song in her mind, trying to see what lyrics related to her. She would never hear the song the same again, knowing now that it was about her.

"Is it now?" Jamie's mother questioned, rolling her eyes.

"Who else would it be about, y'know?" Billie laughed at her doubts. "I don't have another daughter. Just one," he looked at Jamie, "and that's why you're special."

"Billie!" her mother shouted. "If she was so special to you, then you wouldn't have left her!"

"I didn't leave her, I left you," Billie replied. Jamie almost laughed at his remark. Jamie's mother gasped at Billie, and got up and stormed out to the back porch to smoke a cigarette, cussing all the way there.

"I'm sorry Jamie. All of this was to make you happier; I never wanted it to turn out like this. I would never want anything like this for my daughter," Billie Joe said. He hugged Jamie tight. Jamie had always dreamed of this moment ever since she was 4. She was in Billie Joe's arms.

"You saved my life," she cried into his chest, remembering that he is her hero rather than some shitty parent.

"You don't have to live here if it takes someone like me from killing yourself," Billie said. "You should never want to die."

"You're my hero," Jamie sobbed. 

"You're mine, too," Billie Joe said. "Come live with me. You can, y'know, you're old enough to legally choose."

Jamie snuffled her nose, and looked at him. She never thought she'd see Billie Joe Armstrong in person, let alone be invited to live with him. She was no longer angry with him. 

"What do you think I should do, dad?"