A New Beginning

The Apology

Shane lay on his bed, staring at his phone. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Shania's name. No matter how upset he felt, Shania always made him feel like life was worth living. Shane tapped on Shania's name and texted, Hey beautiful. He touched the 'Send' button, threw his phone on the bed, and waited.

A moment later, his phone vibrated. Shane picked it up and looked. Sure enough, Shania had replied. Hey Babe! How are you?

I'm doing ok, Shane texted back. He was still upset over what happened earlier, but he refused to mention it to his girlfriend, for fear of making himself appear pathetic. What about you?

Shania responded after a few minutes had passed. I'm doing good. Just getting the Christmas tree set up with my family.

Nice, Shane typed. He couldn't think of anything else to say, so he just sent the message as it was.

So how are you doing with the challenge? Shania asked.

Shane groaned. This was the very question he was dreading. Idk, he replied. It's going okay. But I guess today didn't go so well.

What happened? Shania replied.

Reluctantly, Shane tried to explain what had happened that morning in a text, including the part where Mr. Peterson chewed him out.

Omg!! Shania texted back. So your dad just chews you out for no reason at all?

Ya, he plays favorites, was Shane's reply. I've been dealing with it my whole life, so I'm used to it, he added, hoping he didn't make himself sound like a weakling. As he waited for Shania's reply, he started to regret sending her that text.

When Shane's phone vibrated again, he unlocked it and read Shania's text. Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. Is there a reason why he doesn't like you as much?

Shane knew exactly why his dad didn't like him. It's because I lose my temper so easily, he replied.

A few moments passed before Shania texted back. Maybe you should apologize to your dad, she said. I know it's gonna be hard for you, but maybe it will help strengthen the relationship between you two.

"No way! Not gonna happen!" Shane said defiantly when he read the text. He's never gonna accept an apology, he texted. Besides, I'm not even his biological son. Another reason why he hates me.

What? Shania replied. You never told me that!

Yeah, well neither did he.

How did you find out?

I overheard a conversation my parents had one night, Shane explained. His mind went back to the night when he yelled at Heidi when she stepped on his phone. After shutting himself in his room after a heated argument with his dad, he listened to his parents talking from the other side of the door. As he thought about what happened, he felt the same anger and resentment towards his parents he felt at that time.

Shane decided not to describe the situation any more. He sent the message, then typed another. Listen, I gotta go. Need to get some stuff done. Ttyl

Okay, ttyl was Shania's reply.

Shane sighed loudly, throwing his phone across the room in frustration. The texting conversation with his girlfriend seemed meaningless to him, and he felt stupid for burdening her with his personal problems. He reached over towards his nightstand and turned on the radio on his alarm clock. The hard rock music that was playing matched his depressed, angry mood entirely. He closed his eyes and rested his arm over them, taking in the lyrics of the current song.