Other Half

Do Better

"I just, I can't deal with us disagreeing on everything all the time Mike" Stef said sitting down. She was exhausted from constantly fighting with him.
By now it was already dark out,
"Then don't even ask me, just do whatever you want" he said opening up a beer bottle and drinking it.
"This behavior reminds me of the old days when the twins were little" Stef said crossing her arms.
"They turned out fine. Just ignore me then" he said walking out. Just then he heard the front door slam and saw Brandon peeking out from his room,
"What was that?" Mike said carefully.
"Callie.." Brandon said and Mike dropped the beer and ran as fast as he could downstairs and out the door.
He saw her already almost down the end of the sidewalk walking.
"Callie!" He yelled but this only made her walk faster.
He started sprinting till he finally caught up to her,
"What in the world are you doing?" He said noticing her backpack on and tried his best not to cuss even though she freaked him out.
"I'm running away" she said continuing to walk. Mike noticed she was crying.
"No, you're not" he said grabbing her arm.
"Let go of me!" She yelled
"Shhhh" Mike said trying not to disrupt the neighbors or cause a scene.
"I hate you!" She continued to yell between her tears. This shocked him, the kids have only said they 'hated' him about only once before. That word rarely got thrown around.

"What's going on?" He said bending down to her level while still holding her so she didn't run.
"You don't love me" she said giving up and letting herself sob while her shoulders relaxed in Mike's arms.
"What! Why would you think that? You two are the most important thing in my life" he said bringing her into a hug.
"you think I'm wrong" she said getting out of his grasp,
"Callie, sometimes when I say stuff that seems rude or harsh it's not because I'm trying to hurt you or be mean, it's because I care about you and I'm trying to help you learn.. and I am trying to do better so I can be a better dad" he said holding her hand. Before Callie could answer they were interrupted by Stef,
"Oh my gosh, what the hell!" She said running up to them.
"What are you thinking? Get back inside young lady RIGHT NOW" she said angry trying not to be too loud.
"Stef, it's fine, I'm trying to talk to her" Mike said.
"Wow seriously Mike? Now is not the time for you to be calm and collected, she just left the house and walked down the damn street" she said clenching her jaw.
"Then you handle it" Mike said rolling his eyes and walking away.
Stef firmly grabbed onto Callie's arm and walked closely behind Mike back to the house.
"You could have gotten seriously hurt, what is wrong with you? There are bad people in the world and you are a young girl!" Stef said angry. She was trying to let her know how dangerous she was being. 
Callie didn't say anything, she was scared and felt ashamed so she willingly walked with them still in Stef's grasp.
They entered the house,
"Now go upstairs and you better not pull another stunt like that" Mike said
"You're grounded until furthur notice so give me your phone" Stef said and Callie basically threw her phone into Stef's hands and she ran up to her room immediately.

"Ughhh!" She yelled.
"I can't believe her" Stef said rubbing her face.
"She said it was because of me" Mike said after a small moment of silence. Stef didn't say anything and they both headed upstairs.
"I wish I wasn't alive" Callie said laying face down on her bed crying.
"Calm down, you're just upset, it's fine now" Brandon said, he usually didn't know what to do when she got emotional or was crying.
He was on his phone googling and watching YouTube. Brandon continued searching for what he wanted to,
'Girl and boy kissing first time' he searched and watched some of the videos eagerly with his headphones on.
Stef walked in without knocking and Brandon quickly put his phone down. Stef noticed the strange behavior but ignored it this time.
"Callie, you can't be in here love. Come out" Stef said holding the door open.
"I don't care" she said still laying face down.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, you choose" Stef said. Callie didn't move until Stef took a few steps towards her.
"Ughh!" She yelled again getting up and fast walking out and into the guest bedroom.
They were getting renovations done with it so there was plenty of boxes and bags everywhere.
She layed on the bed and cried.
It was now 9 pm and time for bed,
"Goodnight B, I love you" Stef said giving Brandon a kiss and tucking him in slightly.
"Love you B" Mike said also giving him a kiss.
"Callie time for bed love" Stef yelled. Callie was downstairs and had been avoiding them since the incident. She reluctantly went upstairs and into their room,
"Come on" Mike said patting the spot next to him on the bed. They slept in their parents bed sometimes when one of them was sick, if they had a nightmare, or other circumstances.
Callie climbed into the bed and snuggled up to Mike. He kissed her forehead and smiled at her.
Stef got into bed next to them. She liked it when the kids slept in their bed because that just meant Mike wouldn't try anything with her.
"Sorry" Callie said looking up at Mike.
"It's okay, I get it. Get some sleep" he said moving her hair away from her eyes and she nodded.
Stef watched the cute moment. She hated being the 'mean' parent but she knew the way she did it was the right way. Unlike Mike, who would discipline in the wrong situations or let them off too easy. She realized they had very different parenting strategies.