Lost With You

Prologue

I didn't want to hear those words anymore. I was sick and tired of the same loathsome words exchanged between the fighting adults, not because it was painful to hear the curses and cries that echoed through the house, but because it was getting super irritating. The ranting has been going on and on for a long hour now, and my head felt like it was going to explode from the tight sensation around my forehead.
    I groaned, back leaning against the bathroom door. Why did this have to happen to me? It was so unfair . . . I tried my hardest to think that everything would be fine even after Mom's death. My positivity melted quickly like ice under high heat when Ms. Harrison, Dad's soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend or my supposed new mom, showed up.
    My name was Jeremy Carson and I was just a young sixteen year old teenager who had to deal with the revolting attitude of an immature woman who was in her mid-thirties.
    Ms. Harrison was just someone Dad decided to date for a while to get over Mom's death a year ago. When he thought it was the right time, he introduced her to me. I've always had a bad feeling about her though. However, I had told myself never to judge a book by its cover. But at the time when I first locked eyes with her, I should have trusted my gut feeling.
    I didn't know why she hated me. What did I ever do to make her despise me? That's right, I did nothing. I even tried to be nice to her, thinking that maybe she wasn't fond of me because of how sheepish I had sounded and how forced my smile had been when I'd first greeted her. Whenever Dad was present, she'd act like the dream girlfriend a person would ever want, but when he was absent, she was like a damn demon disguised in human flesh.
    Ah . . . the reason why she hated me was because I was close to Dad. Of course I would be, he was the only family member who ever took care of me properly after Mom's death. My relatives, which I did not have that many of, didn't even visit frequently. It was always a yearly family gathering thing for me and Dad.
    Anyway, Ms. Harrison was afraid he'd lose interest in her, she had said that time she had shoved me away when I had tried to help her with her purse which she had dropped. I found that reason utterly stupid and pathetic. Of course he'd lose interest in her if she was going to keep up with that disgusting attitude of hers.
    If Ms. Harrison was going to give such an excuse to me, thinking that I would "stay away", as she'd said, from Dad, she might as well say it to all his relatives and friends. Considering the fact that Ms. Harrison would always bring up my dad's female colleagues to me when we were alone, I doubted that she even knew that Dad was in fact bisexual. Regardless of his sexuality, he was a very loyal man to all his partners.
    I had no idea why Ms. Harrison would randomly rant to me sometimes, saying that he should cut off all ties with his female acquaintances but I would always roll my eyes in response when she wasn't looking. It just showed how much Ms. Harrison didn't trust my dad, which would later end up in a split in their relationship anyway if he were to find out.
    I tried telling Dad once that she wasn't going to be a suitable partner for him but he told me off as gently as possible that he thought that she was a fine woman to be dating. That day, I could see his disappointed face as he'd thought I'd said such a thing just because I wasn't over Mom's death. Needless to say, he was oblivious to her possessiveness toward him. He only found out that she was aggressive toward me when he came home today only to see Ms. Harrison shoving me against a wall roughly while yelling at me, just because she caught me looking at her with a pair of deprecating eyes while listening to her pointless pontifications.
    Of course, being the clingy and needy woman she was, she tried making all sorts of excuses and even attempted to change the subject to escape the plight, but Dad was finally having none of it. And so they started arguing and fighting, which led to the current situation now.
    I cursed under my breath as I replayed the unfavorable scenes with Ms. Harrison in my head. I took a deep breath and relaxed before finally coming to a realization that nothing but silence hung around the air.
    Is it over? I wondered as I slowly stood up, twisting the doorknob and pulling it the door toward, letting out a soft but audible creak. The gap which the door had formed was wide enough for me to poke my head out to get a view of the mess that was caused by the two grown-ups.
    Since the bathroom I was occupying was near the living room which had a once clean and beautiful kitchen by its side, I could see shattered pieces of dishware scattered around the floor of the living room near the entry of the kitchen. I could only imagine the inimical scene of Ms. Harrison throwing whatever she could get her hands on during her temper tantrum, sending the remains of the once functionable tableware flying out of the kitchen and into the living room area.
    "I'm done with you! If it's not clear enough, it means I'm breaking up!" I could hear Dad yelling.
    After his outburst, the sound of feet stomping out of the kitchen followed after. Dad came into my vision and immediately noticed my head sticking out of the bathroom. I quickly pulled the door open wider to leave and scurried over to Dad's side. He grabbed my wrist tightly and dragged me along as he walked briskly to the door, ready to dash off if he caught a glimpse of Ms. Harrison.
    "TYLER, I'M SORRY, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" Ms. Harrison screeched out as she wailed like a child who failed to get her way.
    I could hear her pleaful cries getting louder. She was getting closer, the sound of her shoes against the tiles of the floor, kicking what sounded like glass fragments.
    If we don't get out, she'll chase us to no end and beg for another chance, I grimaced at the thought. Though I knew that she won't be getting one, she'd do something that might threaten us.
    "This is goodbye, you bitch!" Dad screamed and swung the door open carelessly, slamming it against the wall with a loud bang.
    I almost tripped while trying to keep up with his pace as he tugged me urgently to the car. Once the door opened, he promptly pushed me in without a second thought and got into the driver's seat. By now, Ms. Harrison was outside, looking like she'd come out of the backstage of a horror movie, hair messy with bangs covering her eyes, make-up smudged with tears and eyes red.
    "Start the engine!" I practically screamed.
    Without a word from Dad, he started the engine and drove off before Ms. Harrison could reach us. Due to limited time, the doors were unlocked during the urgency of when Dad had to start the car. He only locked it once he drove off, sweating like some sort of marathon runner, letting out soft pants. The adrenaline must have gotten his heart rate up and therefore, he must have had troubles keeping up with his breath.
    I looked back from where I was standing by the backseat, and fortunately, Ms. Harrison was out of sight. I plopped myself down, leaving the backside of my arm over my face, feeling no longer distressed from having to deal with her daily nonsense.
    Slowly, I felt my heavy eyelids beginning to close from exhaustion. I had way too many restless nights for the past months that I had been with that psycho. It felt good to be able to dive back into the dark tranquility without ever having to see the face of that woman ever again.