Raising Teens

Chapter 14

Noah

It's been two months.

Two damn months.

I spend the day with her when the kids are at school. She literally got a fucking apartment.

I'm not good at this.

I could never be a single father. Brecklyn has been keeping me together.

I'm ordering pizza for the third night in the row because we have to go grocery shopping.

Ruby is miserable.

The other four are miserable, and they're making it known.

Brecklyn doesn't even give a shit.

Well, she does.

She cares. She's miserable, but she doesn't let it show.

It's January 3rd.

She didn't show up for Christmas or New Years Eve.

"How are you not miserable without Mom here?" Rose asks over dinner.

I shrug.

"Dad, remember when I asked you for money for a field trip two weeks ago?" Rowan asks.

"Yeah, I gotta make sure to get that to you."

"The field trip was today."

I frown.

"Oh."

"Yeah." She says.

It's quiet for a second.

"Mom would've immediately taken me to the bank." She adds, irritated.

The house is a mess. There's clothes strewn all over the floor.

I told Brecklyn she needs to come home, that it's getting bad.

She's thinking about it.

Ruby is getting bullied really badly at school. I don't really know what to do, so I just comfort her when she gets home.

Her lip is cut because somebody threw her down the stairs today.

I think Brecklyn is going to come home soon.

I hope she does.

I can't keep living like this.

The kids are all miserable without her.

I text Brecklyn.

Me: did I tell you some kid threw Ruby down the stairs today?

Me: also, Rowan got suspended. She won't tell me why

We finish dinner, and we just kinda leave everything on the table.

I'll clean it later.

We move to the living room.

"How am I supposed to do my homework when there's so many bowls and plates? This is dinner we had like...a week ago. Dad, we had Applebees on fucking New Years Eve." Rose says.

"That was two weeks ago." Ruby whines.

I hear the front door slam, and footsteps.

A few minutes later, Brecklyn slowly walks into the living room, looking around.

Nobody says a word.

I haven't seen her in a week because she's been in the city doing god knows what.