Traitors

Chapter Three

        I drown out 99% of the lecture my dad gives me about boys and not telling your parents where your going. I don't give a crap, Dad. When will you realize that?
          "From now on you have to text us whenever you arrive or leave an event or place," Dad says.
           "Are you kidding me? Why?" I ask.
           "It's important for a leader to always know where his unit is, it insures safety. I am the leader of this house and you..."
          "I'm not on of your military units Dad!! I'm your daughter!" I yell as I storm upstairs.
          I slam my door and lock it. Typical dad: treating this house as a military base.
           I kinda get why he's so protective of me. As the only child, he's naturally going to be very protective, but he doesn't have to flip at me for hanging out with my boyfriend. It's not like I was going to be out all night...okay maybe I would be, but I would've let them know eventually.
            My phone dings, signaling I have a text message. It's from Austin:
                 
       Hope I didn't get you in trouble today, I know your dad can be pretty tough. If you want to get out of the house  for a bit, Benson's throwing a party tomorrow night.
 
           
      You're all good, Austin. My dad is just crazy. And I'm so down for a party. Might have to sneak out but we're going.

                                
                               ~~~~~~~
 
          My dad isn't even home once I go down stairs for breakfast the next morning. Mom still has breakfast ready.
           "Where's dad?" I ask.
           "Urgent call from work," she says as she makes coffee.
            "Shocker," I say with a roll of my eyes.
            "Cut him some slack, Abigail. He has a very important job and he can't exactly ignore a call from work. It could affect the whole country."
            "Yeah, he spends more time at urgent meetings and military bases than he does with his own daughter. And when he is home, all he talks about is military crap and teaches me how to protect myself, which used to be fun until he started treating it like it's life or death. It was better when we lived on base with him. Then we actually saw him."
               Those days were the best. I loved moving from base to base. Yeah I never got to have a friend for more than like three months, but I was just happy that I could be with dad. He took me everywhere with him, except meetings. Every time he had to train new recruits, he took me with and showed me how to do the different skills. By the time I was 13, I could shoot just as good as half of the recruits and they let me train with them during hand-to-hand combat. That's when it used to be fun. Then I got into high school and my parents thought I needed to stay in the same school and not move around all the time. That's when the life of never seeing dad started. And when he came home after his first time being away for a long time, he didn't come back the same. He acted like the house was a base and I was one of his recruits. Training me night and day until I couldn't move. Pushing me harder and harder. Something happened during that three month span, and it changed my dad to a full time general mode person, and I hated it.
           "Staying in one spot is what your father and I decided is best for you. That way you can actually make close friends and experience a normal high school life," mom says.
            "I still wouldn't of minded moving around. I liked being with dad all the time, and he was actually normal then too."
            "I will admit your father changed a little once we stopped living on base with him, but his job got a lot more stressful and a lot more is expected from him. Give him some slack Abigail. He's still your father."
            A car horn honks outside meaning Austin is probably here to pick me up for school.
            "Yeah, well you might have to remind of that. He seems to like the role of drill sergeant/general better." I say I open the front door.
            "Abigail! You take..." I shut the door before my mom can finish whatever she was going to say. You can't deny the truth Mom. You and I both know dad doesn't act like a normal person anymore. Always a general. Never a father...just a general.