Lana
My father ignored two of my calls. By the third, he finally picked up. Three years had passed since I had spoken to him and I had to admit, he sounded the same way that I remembered.
Old, angry, and spiteful.
“What is it, Lana?”
I had to admit, it was nice knowing he kept me in his phone after all this time of being separated. After kicking me out of my home and cutting me dry, I figured he would have at least deleted my number out of his contacts.
Sitting behind the wheel of a cut engine, I stared out at a busy roadway. It was lunch hour and traffic was backed up from one end to another. Sitting in an abandoned parking lot, I felt relieved not to be in that mess. At the same time, I was kind of stuck here.
“I need your help.”
After sitting in my car for twenty minutes and trying to gather the courage to hit the call button, I practice my entire speech in my head. I tried to figure out the best way of how to ask him to pay Mr. Pratt back for the damage I’d done.
I knew what to say to make my father give an. At the same time, I knew it would only be confirming everything he had said to me before I ran away to college.
Explaining to my father the mess I’d gotten myself in, I expected him to deny me right away. Without even a second thought, I threw myself under the bus with nothing but a frown.
“Mr. Pratt knows many people. Once he realizes who I’m the daughter of, I can only imagine the rumors that will spread around. Soon, our entire family’s name will be dragged around in the mud all because of my mistake.”
My father’s weakness was his own pride.
The words hurt, especially hearing them in my own voice. I didn’t have any other choice if I wanted to make things right with Carter. I was talking completely out of my ass. The guy hardly socialized with anyone unless it was about something on his computer. I’d do anything to make things right.
I wanted to be forgiven. I wanted to forget about how angry Carter looked and how he yelled at me. I never wanted the man to be angry at me again.
“I’ll even promise to never contact you again. The next time I’m in trouble, I’ll get myself out.” That was a promise I intended to keep. Like my father, I wanted nothing to do with my family in return.
Pulling the phone from my ear, I could hear my father’s voice grow in volume. I didn’t have the heart to hear him call me insult after insult and I just wanted him to get it out of his system. Once he cooled down enough, I pressed my phone back to my ear.
“Are you going to help me out or not?” I finally asked, trying not to express the anger I felt at my own doing for the situation I put myself in.
If my father denied me, then I’d have to figure something else out. I didn’t have a hundred grand to hand out like my family. Personally, I pinched pennies to survive after I left.
I didn’t want to think about what I’d have to do to pay Mr. Pratt back.
“Each time I think you’ve disappointed me for the last time, you go and surprise me again and again.” My father’s voice was low, each word came out slow. Hearing my father’s words felt like a knife to the chest. “This will be the last mistake I fix. After that, you’re done.”
Ready to at least thank him, he cut me off.
“You don’t deserve our last name. Do us a favor and get rid of it.” Before I could even try to reply, the line went dead. My father hung up on me.
Staring at the phone for what felt like minutes, I registered our conversation with a dull sensation in my chest. Not only had Carter made my chest hurt, but now my father as well. I guess I shouldn’t call him my father anymore.
Staring at his contact for what felt like an eternity, I followed through with my promise. I deleted him from my phone and blocked his number to avoid any form of contact. I no longer had a backup plan for my problems. I really was all on my own.
Tossing my phone to the side, I returned my gaze to the busy traffic. Staring at the non-moving cars, I tried to clear my muddled thoughts.
I wouldn’t cry. I knew what I was getting into the moment I considered asking my family for help.
Blowing out a sigh, I shrugged off my hurt feelings and started up my car. If I wanted to get home before the sun lowered, I’d need to get inside the traffic. Once there, I’d get more than enough time to let my thoughts simmer.
I still needed to figure out what I would do with the rest of my summer. Two months was a long time to spend alone.