IN THE LINE

06| DADDY KNOWS BEST

Chloe

I'm waking up with a horrible headache. It's not from the last wild Friday night though but from the hard book under my head. I reach for it, slowly pulling it out from under my chin while trying to open my eyelids to read the title.
"Ah- Canine anatomy! Of course You!"
I throw it onto the stack of books on my bed with a sigh. My exams are coming so I'm kinda living in the library now.

And after that, only one year of my studies and my dream of being a veterinarian becomes reality.
I love animals since I was a kid, especially dogs, but unfortunately, I couldn't have one. I was not allowed to. My father always hated dogs as much as I adored them. When I was seventeen, I brought home a cute strain puppy that I found abandoned on my way from school. With its gray-white fluffy fur and yellowish irises, it looked like a little wolf. Its outstanding beauty and huge amount of cuteness just took my heart immediately and I just couldn't let it there alone. But I knew that father would be mad about the dog in our house so I sneaked it to my room and I'd been hiding it for five days. I named him Brexton and he instantly became the greatest part of my day.

Of course that father eventually found out and got insanely mad. I'd been begging him for days. He'd said that he will throw me out of the house with that dog if I won't shut up about it, but then mom persuaded him with another bottle of vodka and a pack of cigarettes. So I was allowed to keep him, but only outside the house and only on my own expenses and time. I was grateful for that even if he couldn't stay with me in my room anymore. I promised myself that I will take care of him.

Later on, I found another abandoned dog and I didn't have the heart to leave it alone on the street. I knew I couldn't keep it too, so I found the nearest dog shelter and since then I'd become a frequent visitor and volunteer at Mrs. O'Connel's shelter. She noticed my dedication and offered me a paid internship so I could continue my studies at the college.

"Yeah, well, that's life of the poorsoul." I sigh as I recall the name that idiot Dawson calls me. Oh No. I'm certainly not going to think about that asshole once again. I get up, quickly slip into my jogging wear and wash my teeth and face.

I run downstairs straight to the kitchen. I look outside the window at the asshole's huge house as I drink cold tap water. Why the hell do people build houses so giant? I bet that asshole is getting lost in that much space regularly. I chuckle a little, but my grin is gone as soon as I hear father slurping his beer and his too familiar groggy and arrogant voice right after. "Where is your mother?!" I freeze.

Oh no. Please God help me with settling this. The last thing I need right now is to argue with my drunk, despotic father. I know exactly at what stage of drunkenness he is.

"She is at work. As usual." I answer him quickly and calmly. My eyes are still fixated on the window. I'm trying to find something that'll help me stay calm and collected. It's the only way how to survive this conversation. As I stare from the window I wish to be somewhere miles and miles away from this house, from this city maybe even from this continent. Better in the Sahara desert than here with my father in this mood.

"Hmm, at work you say..." I flinch as he smacks the bottle of beer on the kitchen island. "She didn't come home yet! After a whole damn night?!" I try to act cool and do my best to not show him my fear. I turn to face him slowly, unsure to even take a look into his dangerous bloody eyes. He's standing on the other side of the kitchen island glaring at me dangerously. His tattoos of naked strippers dancing around the pole, skulls, weird symbols and quotes are my ultimate reminders of his past. He used to be a member of a gang and he was arrested a couple of times. I still don't understand how a smart and gentle person like my mother could end up with a cold and aggressive person like my father. It's like the biggest mistake of the universe.