Because of You

Chapter 21

"Yeah we're actually getting kind of serious I think, " I whispered.

My mom squealed excitedly. I gave her a look and she quieted down, but she gave me a sorry not sorry look back. I rolled my eyes. "Honey this is seriously so exciting! Like your first relationship and it's going somewhere serious?! Not many people are this lucky."

I nodded and smiled. I couldn't stop thinking about Jay. We had been together for about two months now. Mom hugged me and let out one more squeak before leaning back in her chair. I scooted my legs up into the couch, cradling my cup of coffee. I could tell my mom wanted to talk about something, so I could be here awhile.

"So have you guys talked about—"

Both our heads whipped around as we heard keys crash to the floor. And with utter horror... I looked up at my dad. "Sarah," my dad said calmly, "can I please speak to you in the kitchen?"

I trained my eyes on the floor. Clearly, he didn't want me here. My mom quietly got up and walked to the kitchen, my dad trailing after her. I caught what they were saying because,  despite my father wanting to go to a different room to talk about me, he didn't bother with lowering his voice.

"Why is Wendy here acting like the two of you are best friends?" He asked my mom.

"Even if you don't want to make things better with Wendy, I do. And you weren't going to let me do it so I had no other choice than to do it without you. She is our daughter Christopher!"

"She's not my daughter. She's a mistake. She can't even speak two words to someone she hasn't known for years!"

I pinched my lips together and took a deep breath. It took a lot of effort not to cry. At least I was trying, but he wouldn't know that because he refused to talk to me, to even accept me as his daughter.

"And it doesn't help that you've been saying she was a mistake since she was two! She needs support Chris, not the opposite. Which is what you're giving her. And anyways she's trying to be better, not that you would know that since you refuse to speak to her. She's got a job and a serious relationship and she's won several dance competitions. She's not just some broken piece of garbage. She's accomplishing so much. And if she can't have two parents to be proud of her at least she can have one. There's nothing you can do to stop me from seeing her."

That did it. My eyes welled up with tears and I tried to breathe, but it was difficult. That was the first time I had heard one of my parents say they were proud of me in... well forever.

"What if I said... me or her. It's not too late for me to find a better family," he said quietly. My heart stopped. I slowly got up off the couch. He could be a jerk to me, but one word against my mom... that was not ok.

"Fine," my mom's voice sounded thick. "I guess you'll have to start searching."

I stopped dead. This was my fault. This whole thing was my fault. After 23 years of marriage, my parents were separating... because of me. My mom deserved so much better than this. I burst into the kitchen. For the first time in my life I needed to stand up for something. My mom didn't deserve this and who would I be if I didn't stick up for her. Christopher didn't even deserve to be with my mom or be called my dad. For a moment I shrunk under Christopher's stare, but then I straightened myself, determined to be confident. "I-I'm not going to," I took a deep breath. I could do this.

"I'm not going to just sit in the living room and pretend like I can't hear everything you're saying. By now I'm used to you being a jerk to me. I don't even care anymore. But 23 years you've been with my mom. 23 years Christopher! And apparently none of that was worth it to you. My mom deserves so much better because she actually tries and wants to be a good parent and she is. But you... you never were. So fine leave if you want, just like you always do. But never, never treat my mom without respect." I puffed out a huge breath of relief once I finished my speech.

Christopher looked at me with wide eyes. He was probably surprised I had gotten so many words out of my mouth without having a panic attack. Then he glared daggers at me and stormed out of the room yelling, "None of this would've happened if it wasn't for you!"

I latched onto his wrist stopping him in the doorway. "Well I'm sorry I couldn't be the perfect daughter, but the only person you can really blame is yourself," I said calmly.

"No! I loved Sarah! I thought nothing would ever tear us apart and then you came along! You were a mistake Wendy!" He screamed.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to cry now. I calmly took my hand from his wrist. "I'm sorry you feel the need to blame others for your actions."

He spat a curse word in my face and stalked out of the room. I collapsed onto my mom, a sob flying out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Shhhh. Shhh Honey. We don't need him. We can make it on our own," Mom whispered reassuringly. She still flinched when she heard the front door slam though...