Fiction.

Chapter 17: The Anthem.

Chapter 17: The Anthem.

Holy shit, she was just like me when it came to food. She already ate half the sandwich I made her, the ham and cheese sandwich obviously had ham and cheese on it but it also had mayo, lettuce, and tomato. I also gave her a small pack of lays ready salted chips and a can of cola. She was just like me when it came to eating. She ate quickly but not rudely. I sat there and watched the teenage girl guzzle down half a can of cola in ten seconds. I leaned forward and put my elbows on the table, carefully examining her. She stared at me nervously.

“Do your mom and Roger still live in Chicago?” I asked with a grinding voice. She stopped drinking the cola for a moment, hesitating. She set the can down and looked deep in thoughts that were saddened. Her gaze shot from the table top to meet my gaze.

“Like I said my mom walked out when I was four. She left me and Roger in Chicago.” She whispered softly. She looked really sad about it too, like she didn’t deserve to be left with that no good asshole. Rosie left my child with him, the nerve. I could feel myself cringe at the thought of him being near my baby girl.

“How long did it take you to get here?” I asked trying to break the tension. She sighed and ate some chips in complete concentration. I waited in silence.

“It took me about four days to get from where I live to here.”She replied with a steady tone. I was in shock; it took her four days to get here? The shock turned to disgust when I thought of Roger.

“So did Roger dump you here or did he send you?” I asked in a stern tone. I saw her body straighten into a board, she had something to say but she didn’t to say it. She shook her head carefully and stared at me with those blue eyes.

“I ran away. I took his car and drove him to Grand Island from there I took like three separate busses. Oh! And a cab.” She exclaimed with a wide, cheeky smile. She was proud of that. I wasn’t so proud of that. She ran away from home in Chicago, drove and took a bus and a cab. She’s fourteen years old, something bad could’ve happened to her. She could’ve been killed and left in a ditch somewhere and never found again, I’d never forgive myself if that happened. I sighed heavily and squeezed the bridge of my nose and shook my head.

“It’s not like she hitch hiked or anything. I might be reckless but I’m not stupid.” She snapped back at me trying to win my love back. I was still shocked by what she’s done. I had to hear it again for it to sink in. I got up to my feet, rubbing my temples carefully.

“So let me get this straight, you ran away from your home in Chicago, stole your step dad’s car. Ditched it in Grand Island and took three busses and a cab to get here. How did you even know where I lived?” I asked sullenly. She nodded at me carefully before she swallowed hard and grinned wearily up at me.

“I called the operator. They told me where you lived.” She replied with a cheerful tone. She got up from the seat and came up to me; she was a foot shorter than me. She’s about the same height as Brian. She studied me with a questionable expression.

“Why didn’t you stick around?” Her questioned made me jerk back slightly, that and the smell of her. She really needed to shower; I guess there isn’t much time to shower on the road. I rolled my eyes and groaned. I didn’t want to tell her the truth but she deserves it. She deserves to know what happened.

“How do you mean?” I asked carefully. She gave me the teenage girl expression, arms crossed over her chest with a cocked eye brow. She defiantly had her mother’s attitude. Great, she will be a handful just like her mom.

“You obviously knew I existed, why didn’t you step up and help raise me?”Her words were like knives in my heart. I did help raise you but you were taken away from me. That’s what I wanted to say. I wanted to tell her everything, I wanted to take her in my arms and just hug her. I kept my gaze down at her before swallowing hard.

“How old are you?” I asked softly. I knew exactly how old she was but I was trying to get to the point.

“Fourteen.”She replied confusedly.

“You’re old enough to know that as a young adult you need to make hard choices. Your mom lived in Long Beach as a teen. She and I dated for a while then she told me she was having you. I was only fourteen. She decided to tell me that I wasn’t the father and leave. I knew it was a lie. I was the only person she was with at the time. But if she didn’t want me in your life then that’s that.” I explained with a jerking tone. I didn’t want to explain it because there is too much that I can’t explain. I can’t explain why I didn’t fight for her like I promised. I can’t explain why her mom took her away from me. I knew this was hard for her to hear this and it was hard for me to tell her this. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes as the horrible memory of the day I lost her came back into play.

“Believe me I wanted to be apart of your life but she wouldn’t let me. But every year I got out and buy you a birthday card and a bunch of other cards.” I said. My heart broke into millions of pieces as I watched her cry silently, tears falling down her face. I wanted to hug her tightly but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Fuck it. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly into my chest. She sobbed into me sadly. I hated hearing her cry but I loved the tight hug she was giving me. I didn’t even mind her smell. She inhaled deeply and sobbed. I stroked her hair softly and hushed her quiet. I pulled her away from me, wiping the tears from her cheeks. There were thousands of tears I’m yet to dry. I smiled sweetly down at her and cupped her face in my hands. Her cheeks were rosy red and her eyes were bright blue in the shadowed sunlight.

“You are just like you mother. It’s your way, no highway option.” I said the complete truth. Peasnie smiled and laughed slightly, her laugh was amazing, and it was so lively and happy. She hugged me again.

“Roger says I look just like you. I saw a picture of you on the way here and I happen to agree.” She said. I nodded and laughed lively at her.

“You have my eyes, lips and nose but you have you’re mother’s attitude and ears.” I replied as I examined her face.

“Are you going to send me back to Chicago?” She asked curiously, looking up at me pathetically. I chuckled and shook my head.

“Only if you want to go back. But if you don’t then you’re welcome to stay here.” I offered with a smile. Her smile widened. She had a sweet smile.

“Can I stay here?” She questioned with a small raspy voice. I smiled with a small chuckle and nodded.

“Of course you can.” I replied patting the top of her head and messed up her hair. She made a weird face at me and rolled her eyes. Whoa, I just got a taste of a teenage girl eye roll. I let Peasnie finish her lunch while I cleaned the house up a little bit, rinsing out of beer bottles and tossing them into the glass bin in the back. Putting away clean dishes and sweeping up a bit. She came into the kitchen cleaned off her dishes, dried them and put them away. I noticed she kept her head down when she cleaned them off, she never made eye contact with me and she made sure every inch of the plate was clean. She tossed the old chip bag into the trash and washed her hands. I made nothing of it and showed her up to her room. She carried the carrier bag and hockey bag close to her. She examined the room carefully, it was the guest room but it was the brightest so I thought instead of letting her sleep on the couch and she could have the guest room. She looked back at me after setting the bags down. She smiled and nodded at me. I was about to leave but before I did I had to get something off my chest. I smiled at her.

“Just to let you know, you’re my little treasure.” I said making her blush brightly and grin. I walked out of the room and went back down to the living room in awe. Just three days ago I was wishing with every ounce of my humanity that my little girl would come back to me and now here she is. She’s here by my side through it all.