Behind These Bruises...

Behind These Bruises...[Part 18]

"You sure you want to go back home?" Derek asked. I nodded. We were sitting inside his car, parked outside of my house.

"I'll be fine. He won't hurt me now; not while I have these casts," I said. His green eyes flashed with uncertainty, but he agreed.

"If you need anything or things go south, call me and I'll come right over," he said.

"Promise," I said, holding my hand to my heart. He smiled and kissed my cheek. He went around and opened the car door for me and helped me out.

"Good luck," he told me. I took a deep breath and then walked into my home. It was quiet. The TV wasn't on. I wondered if my dad was even home. But he was; his car was parked outside.

"Dad?!" I called, going up the stairs.

"Mila?" I heard a gruff voice call back. He was in his room. I went upstairs and he came out into the hallway. He looked a mess. I took a sharp breath in. "You came back so soon?" he asked. He glanced at the cast on my arm, that was now decorated thanks to Alisha and Derek. "Oh God, Mila. I broke your arm?" he asked. He genuinely looked upset. I closed my eyes. Why did he always do this?

"And one of my ribs," I added, opening my eyes again.

"Will you stay for dinner?" he asked, ignoring the matter completely.

"I-yeah, I guess," I said, angry that he didn't even apologize. Why was it so hard for him?

"Good. We're going out to eat. I want..." he paused. "I want you to meet someone," he said. I narrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Then realization washed over me. He was going to introduce me to the young girl he came to the restaraunt with.

"It was that girl that you saw me with at the Swan Terrace. Her name is Sienna. She's..." he paused and then looked at me. His eyes suddenly grew weary and he looked old; very, very old. "She's my therapist," he said. I choked on air.

"You're dating your therapist?" I blurted out by accident. I flinched, thinking he would get angry at me for asking that. When he didn't, I took a step back. "Wait, since when did you go to therapy?" I asked. He fidgeted with his fingers.

"For a few weeks now. I didn't want what happened to your mother to happen to you. I-I'm sorry for breaking your arm and ribs," he said. My eyes welled up wih tears that I couldn't seem to keep from falling out. I couldn't understand where these emotions where coming from. I stepped towards my dad and then put my arms around him and gave him a hug. I cried into his shoulder, as if I were a little kid again.

Hearing him apologize, for the first time, for hurting me, brought a change in my heart. The anger vanished and was replaced by guilt and happiness. I felt guilty for feeling anger towards him. He was struggling with his addiction and finally sought help. I realized just then what good my mother had seen in him. I had been wrong to doubt her wish and his capacity. And then I felt happiness because he was finally getting help. He was going to get better.

After a few moments, I pulled away from him. I wiped my eyes and gave him a watery smile.

"I'm glad you're getting therapy, Dad. It's a huge step for you," I said. He nodded, looking down at his hands. "Ummm...I wanted to tell you. That boy that you saw me with at the restaraunt that day, we're not dating. I'm with someone else now; the same boy that took me to homecoming. Derek. And I'm sorry I didn't ask your permission, but he's really important to me. And I'm willing to accept Sienna if you can accept Derek," I said to him. He looked at me and something that resembled anger flashed through his eyes. I saw him struggling on the inside and then he took a few breaths and clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Agreed," he said finally.

                                                                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I went to dinner with my father and met Sienna. She was surprisingly nice. She was sympathetic towards my condition and explained to me exactly what my father's problem was. Apparently, he had a stress problem and anger issues. On top of that, the alcohol that he was so dependent on worsened and heightened those emotions to make him more violent. She explained to me the psychology behind it, trying to get me to understand. I realized it wasn't very light dinner topic material, but I was grateful that she was telling me. Hey, it was Thanksgiving. That's what I was thankful for.

It looked like my life was finally turning around. This time, though, it was for the better.

                                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He's dating his therapist?" Alisha asked.

"That's what I said. But it's great. She's keeping him on track," I explained. It was the first day back from Thanksgiving break. It was lunch time and the noise level in the Great Hall seemed to be magnified ten-fold. Everyone was excitedly telling each other about their 5-day breaks.

Just as Derek had predicted, Kyle and Leah had decided to become a couple over the break. They debuted their new relationship by kissing in the hallway in the morning. Derek had walked up to me when this happened and smiled at me, as if saying "I told you so."

So we made it official, too. We didn't make-out in the middle of the hallway like Leah and Kyle. Instead, Derek simply sat with Alisha and I at lunch. He had his arm around me and was playing with my hair as I talked.

"So everything's good at home?" Alisha asked. I nodded, swatting Derek's hand away as he tickled my ear with a strand of my hair. "Thank goodness. This Sienna chick turned out to be more help that we thought," she said.

"Definitely," I agreed.

"They're disgusting," Alisha sneered, glancing at Kyle and Leah, who were making out at their table.

"They're in love," I said.

"They're in lust," Derek corrected.

"True that," Alisha agreed. After lunch, Alisha walked off to class. Derek and I went off to Guitar.

"What are you doing Friday night?" Derek asked me as we walked. I shrugged.

"Studying for finals," I said.

"Dammit," he cursed.

"What?" I asked.

"I forgot finals are only a 2 weeks away," he said.

"Me too, until my study hall professor reminded us," I said. "Why were you asking?"

"I was going to cleverly ask you out on a date. But I changed my mind. How about we just study together and hold our first official date off until we get to winter break?" he suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Although, it's a little dorky studying together," I said.

"Good thing we're both dorks," he said, holding the classroom door open for me.

"Hey, who are you calling a dork?" I said, trying to act cool. I, then, tripped over a music stand, and knocked it over. Derek caught it before it fell. "Fail," I muttered to myself.

"So what were you saying about you not being a dork?" he asked, a small smile playing at his lips. I hit him in the stomach with my good hand. My hand collided with rock hard abs and for some reason, I blushed. Derek didn't say anything, but he knew what I was thinking, and he was smirking to himself. As we sat down, I couldn't help but wish that the next two weeks would fly by so I could have my first real date with him.

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A/N: Yaaaay! Daddy problem solved! I think the next part will be the last part. I may extend it to a Part 20 (just to have 20 parts) and make that an epilogue or something. Also, if you want to see Sienna, she's in the side bar.

P.S. Awww Derek and Mila are so cute. Joking around with each other. Awwwwwwwwwww.

XOXO