EMOTIONALLY ENTANGLED

Chapter 78.

CHAPTER 78: happy birthday...to the school

vote and comment

KELLY.

The school had an annual ball every year welcoming parents and their kids of the community together, but basically, it was the school's birthday. Every year, it was formal attire meaning suits and dresses although I worried about the amount of people who were going to be in our gym.

I checked myself over, eyes scanning my reflection in the mirror. My figure hugging champagne coloured dress clung onto me as I paired it with a matching purse and heels. Dad bought me this dress because he thought I'd like it for my birthday and boy was he right. The dress suited me, was elegant and it didn't show off too much skin which I liked.

"Kels, we have to leave in a minute," my dad says through the door as he knocked. I shouted 'come in' before he enters and I turned around to see him in his navy tuxedo. I think Caroline would be eating her shit right now if she saw dad in a tux, "are you ready?"

"Yeah, just a second. Damn, dad, do I sense you trying to impress someone tonight?" I asked smartly as he chuckled lightly, checking over my room like he did on some evenings to see if I kept it clean.

"No one's. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want another woman coming into our lives and I thought I'd be the overprotective one." I giggled, standing up straight before walking over to him. His tie was slightly messy so I helped fix it for him, "I guess we're both just protective of one another. No one—even a woman—will get in the way of you being my daughter. I've raised you up and I can't let all my hard work go to waste and anyway, who's going to help me fix my uniform if you weren't around?"

"I know, dad. I know you'd never bring a woman between us, but I'm not going to let that stop you from being happy." truth be told, I was happier without another person in our lives, but my dad's happiness always came first for me and if he's happy with a woman, I can't stop them from being with each other.

"Oh, my baby girl, I love you so much." he bent down and smoothed down my hair, pressing kissing in my hair as he let out a sigh, "you know I'm happier with just us and nobody else. You don't need to worry about anyone replacing you because that isn't going to happen."

Happy, I nodded before pulling back from dad, bringing him into a hug in which he returned gratefully. It was always just me and dad. Nobody else. To be honest, I couldn't care less whether everything stayed how it is now or if he found someone and was happy.

When dad especially struggled after mom left, it was me who picked him back up on his feet. It was me who called our really close family friends to say dad wasn't home when it was gone one in the morning because he had been out drinking. It was me who organised his work and cheered him on when he finally graduated in medicine. When he got his job as a doctor, it was me who went out with our family friends and bought him a cake to celebrate.

Caroline—as much as she said she loved him—still abandoned him and their only child. If she needed the help, she was endlessly supported by my dad who put up with her mood swings, bitchy attitude and endless 'friendships' with other men. I could never forgive her for how badly she broke my father's heart.

Me and dad both ended our little hugging session and headed quickly to the car, me struggling due to my heels and long dress. It's better late than never, I thought as dad drove out of the driveway and onto the main road.

It was weird being in this kind of outfit in the middle of the summer because I was boiling. Dad had ditched his jacket and threw it on the seats behind him before I scolded him for potentially getting it crumpled. He never does listen, though. I sometimes went to his office to see his jacket just lying on the chair in a pile.