Teach Me, Daddy

Chapter 24

The weekend had finally arrived, and it was welcomed with wide, open arms. I wasn't in the mood to talk to Claire or anyone else for that matter. Dean had texted me twice; the first time to see how my day had gone yesterday and another time this morning to say good morning and ask what I was up to. I felt bad for ignoring his texts, but I felt like I was bothering him when he should be devoting all of his time to his daughter.

This entire weekend I was scheduled to work and despite the deadly cramps that were filling the lower half of my body, I was looking forward to working. I didn't have to just stay home and feel lazy but I also didn't have to deal with school or all of the drama that occupied it. At work, I was sort of a Lone Ranger, if you would. It wasn't that I didn't like anybody, in fact, I got along quite well with my coworkers, it's just that work was the only place where I wasn't required to be social. At school, I had to hang out with friends and communicate with my teachers, at home I had to take care of my siblings, during cheer practice I was part of a team. Work was the place where I stood alone behind a cash register or hanging up clothes.

I'm not anti-social, there's no way that I could be with the number of people that I socialize with every day. However, everybody does need some time to themselves without having to worry about other people around you.

My phone buzzed for the first time on this quiet Saturday morning, bringing an end to my silent time. I rolled over on my bed and grabbed my phone to check what notification was taunting me. It was a text from Amber.

Hey babes, we haven't talked in a min, wanna hang later? It was very tempting to just type a quick yes, but then I remembered, this weekend was going to be solely for me.

Can't, busy. A short answer like that wouldn't raise any questions, right? It was too vague. I could be busy with anything and she couldn't be that concerned with what was holding me up. When she replied a simple okay, I turned my phone off and sprung out of bed.

My hair was really messy, now just a loose bun with stray hairs sticking out everywhere. I let it loose and shook it out before deciding to get ready for the day. I jumped in the shower, and scrubbed at my body, hoping to get the dirt of society off of my body and just leave me. I washed and conditioned my hair, a big plus, might I add. It made me feel really clean and like I was actually taking care of myself and I loved it.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes so that the water could fall down onto my face. It made me feel relaxed and like I had no worries in the world. It was a great feeling that I hadn't felt since I was with Dean. He made me feel like there wasn't a worry or a care in the world. He made me feel heavenly and weightless.

If I could choose one person to be stranded on a deserted island with, it would most definitely have to be him. There's just something about him that makes my stomach flutter and my heart swell.

I got out of the shower and got dressed in a pair of tights and a Nike jacket, it wasn't cute at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite, I looked sick, maybe even homeless, but it had been so long since I'd let myself go like that. I was so concerned with the latest trends and what other people thought of me and it was so tiring. I stared at myself in the mirror as I towel dried my hair and then brushed it.

What would my dad think of me? Would he be proud of the young woman I was becoming? Would he think I was beautiful? Would he love me? I felt a pang in my heart as if I had heartburn but this pain was instead, a symptom of sadness. Everyone had left me. It all started with him.

When I was little, just after Sarah was born and dad left, I began to fantasize about my wedding. At first, they were ridiculous dreams of castles and horse carriages. But then they became more realistic, yet not all the way there. I had hoped that my dad would walk me down the aisle to my true love and give me away to him. He'd look at me in awe, gawking about how beautiful and grown up his little girl was.

Maybe I was just some girl with daddy issues. I sighed and laid in my bed, resting on my back, I looked up at the ceiling. Moments like this were to die for. The quiet, still moments that you used to hate as a child but as a high schooler, loved. It didn't last for long as Sarah busted into my room and plopped on my bed.

"Sammy!" She exclaimed and looked down at my face.

"Yes, Sarah?" I asked her, not in the least bothered. Sarah actually made me quite happy. I love her so much, she's so innocent and oblivious to the evil of this world.

"Can we go to the park?" She pleaded with me, even going as far as to make an adorable puppy face.

"Hmm." I hummed, much more animated than necessary. Her puppy face got even puppier and it made me giggle. "Oh okay, tell Thomas we're going. Come get me when you're ready, okay?" I instructed her. She eagerly nodded her head and ran out of my room, without closing the door. I grabbed my phone and shoved it into my pocket without turning it on and then I pulled on my shoes. As soon as I was done, the two of them came walking into my room.

"All done." Sarah smiled at me and I returned one.

"Let's go then." I walked into my mom's room to see her watching T.V. "Hey mom, can I borrow the car? I'm taking them to the park." I asked her. She just nodded and pointed to where the keys were.

Thomas and Sarah followed behind me like little ducklings to their mother. I even zig-zagged to see if they would continue walking straight or mimic my motions, and just as I had predicted, my path was mirrored. I stopped walking and just stood still as an evil plan began to take form in my mind. The kids stopped too and just waited for me to continue walking again but after about ten seconds, I suddenly turned around and shouted out, "Rah!" The sight before me made me giggle, Thomas jumped up and Sarah screeched and hid behind him. I'm so mean, I thought to myself and shook my head as we got into the car.

There wasn't a lot on my mind driving to the park with the kids. I was thinking about what I would eat for breakfast, and that was it. Nobody was on my mind, not Amber, or Jennifer or Eric or Claire, not even Dean. Not having a phone and disconnecting from the world, even for the short amount of time that I had today, was really helping to lighten up my mood.

The park was only a short 10 minute drive away from the house. I know you're probably thinking it's stupid to drive when it's so close to the house. However, driving here may have taken 10 minutes but walking there, especially with the little ducklings, would've taken about 30 minutes. It sucked how that worked.

When we pulled up to the park, the two energetic children threw open the back car doors and fled to the colorful playscape. As I walked over to the benches, I watched as their little legs carried them to the slides, where they would race to see who could get to the bottom first. My bet was Sarah, she was way smaller than him. I sat down and watched as they both pushed off of the top of the slides and slid to the bottom.

Although Sarah had reached the bottom first, it was only by a split second. They didn't pay attention to who won after all, instead, Thomas yelled to her, "last one to the swing is a rotten egg!" I giggled as I realized that my childhood phrase may have seemed to die out, but had indeed slipped through the cracks of time and stay put in kids' lives.

Finally, after about 5 minutes of just watching them play around, my curiosity had gotten the best of me. I wanted to see if anyone had texted me, or anything at all. Just some reason to stay on my phone.

I watched as the bright white screen that displayed the apple logo popped up and then turned into the password screen. I typed in my password, which was, of course, the release date of The Lord of the Rings, 121901. I watched as my phone unlocked and opened up to my home screen which was a picture of me and Amber.

My phone buzzed and dinged repeatedly for about 10 seconds with all of my missed notifications. I had missed one call and two texts from Dean and a bunch of likes on my social media. I opened the texts from Dean to reveal a picture of him and Sophia and then one to wish me a good day. I smiled at the picture and then locked my phone again. It seemed nobody had noticed my lack of cellular usage.