Carter and I parted ways when we got home. I needed space to process, and he needed to call Julie. I spent the next several hours choreographing our next routine. We were going to state with the boys' basketball team in a week and a half. I needed to quickly decide on what we were doing, then I needed to teach it. After that, we had to perfect it.
Dad came into my room while I was mid-move. I halted and looked at him.
"Your brother said you gave him a hard time today," he said with his eyebrows raised.
"I did no such thing," I replied.
His eyes squinted at me, and I held back a laugh. I didn't figure he would appreciate that.
"Taylen," he said warningly.
"What?" I asked, feigning innocence.
I didn't give Carter that hard of a time. I barely even argued with him. Is he trying to get me in trouble?!?
"Taylen Elouise, are you wanting to have this conversation over my knee?"
"No," I quickly spit, "What kind of question is that?"
His eyes darkened as soon as the words came out of my mouth. He stomped over and grabbed my elbow.
"Woah, what is going on in here?" Carter asked, walking in and taking in the sight.
"She is being sassy," Dad said and swatted my butt for the first time.
Somebody tell me how I went from never getting spanked to constantly being under fire. Sure I've adopted a little attitude but not enough to justify this. I pouted a little.
"Dad, leave her alone. She barely even did anything," Carter replied to Dad.
"You told me she gave you a real hard time," Dad turned his glare to Carter.
"I was being sarcastic," Carter said exasperated.
Dad's glare turned into a confused look, "Huh?"
"What is up with you lately?" Carter asked, "You haven't been your normal self in like a month."
"There's nothing wrong with me. What's wrong with you? You haven't gotten a whipping in a month and a half. That's gotta be a record."
Carter's emotions played across his face. First, there was a shock, then there was hurt, then there was defiance.
"I was trying to be responsible. I'm about to have a kid of my own and with you being gone all the time, you left me to be there for Peach while she falls apart. You haven't even asked where all this random misbehavior has come from. Have you met your daughter? This isn't her. That's not what you care about though, is it? No. You just care enough to shut down the supposed attitude she has," Carter went off on him.
Dad opened his mouth to defend himself multiple times while Carter was talking. Carter silenced him by raising his volume just a little bit each time.
"How dare you be so disrespectful. I put a roof over your head, I put food on the table, you got clothes, you have a truck, you have all of your wants and needs, and you dare talk to me like that? I don't think so."
"Where has my dad been then? Huh? Because when I told you that I was fixing to have a kid, you walked away. You did not show me that I could come to you with this kind of thing. Don't worry, I won't make that mistake again.
"Ok hold it," I spoke suddenly. "You both need to calm down. You are both saying hurtful things that you are going to regret later. Let's all take a breather, then we can meet at the table and positively discuss things. Attacking each other is not going to be how this is solved."
Something in me snapped. I had no idea why I had been acting the way I had been, but Carter is right, that's not me. I'm a problem solver, not a problem avoider. I go to school. I show people that no matter what happens, nothing can break me. I didn't know this girl who was spiraling because she broke up with her boyfriend. I wasn't sure when I adopted that attitude, but it would be no more.
"She's right," Carter said to Dad.
Dad nodded in agreement.
"Ok, family meeting after dinner. Speaking of, what are we having?"
"How's Subway sound?" Dad asked.
"Sounds good to me," said Carter.
I nodded my agreement.
"I'll run and grab some. Text me your orders," Dad replied.
Dad left, and it was just Carter and me again. I went upstairs to shower while he did whatever Carter does. By the time I was done, Dad was back with food. I sat down at the table with my vitamin water/Sprite drink and my chicken bacon ranch sandwich. It was somewhat awkward as we ate. We were all somewhat dreading the meeting after.
I had already decided that I wasn't going to explain what all went down with Peter and me. I would simply say that we decided mutually to part ways. I wasn't sure what all of Dad and Carter's conversation was going to be about, but I assumed the hottest topic would be about a certain teenage pregnancy.
Once we were all finished eating, I took all the trash and threw it away. When I sat back down, I began to mediate the meeting.
"Carter, why don't you start, politely, explaining to Daddy why you are upset with him," I gave him a look that was a silent warning to be nice and respectful.
He sighed and nodded, "I am upset with you because you are never here, and when you are, you are being all stern. We function just fine without you here, and then you come in like we just can't manage. You have been especially willing to discipline when you would always hear us out before."
Dad nodded, and I motioned for Carter to continue.
"I'm about to be a father soon. I have already had to step up for Peach and be there for her. You haven't even really realized that she is going through something right now. You didn't care to find where the attitude was coming from, you just wanted to shut it down, which ultimately made it worse. You walked away when I told you that Julie and I are pregnant. I needed your support, and I didn't get it. Do you know how awful that made me feel?"
Dad came in then, "Do you know how bad it made me feel when my seventeen-year-old son told me that he got his girlfriend knocked up? That me feel like I failed as a father. Like maybe there were too many things I should have done differently. Maybe I should have spanked you for the things I didn't, maybe I shouldn't have spanked you for the things you did. All I could think about was where I went wrong."
"Dad, you handed my ass to me when I needed it. I can't think of a single time that you whipped me that I didn't deserve it. I can probably think of a time or two that you probably punished me more severely than what the action warranted, but there's been a few times that you let me off easier than you should have. It was a balance. I knew what would get me in trouble and what I could get away with. I didn't get pregnant because I didn't have discipline."
"You're right," Dad replied, "So what's your issue?" he asked looking at me.
I was not expecting to be put on the spot right then, "I don't really have a problem. Peter and I decided we needed to part ways recently and so I have been dealing with that. Other than that, I'm fine."
"Oh, you and Pete? When did that happen?" Dad asked.
"Last night officially."
"Oh. Why?"
"We just decided that we would be better as friends. It was mutual," I lied.
Carter gave me a look, and I pleaded with him not to call me on it. I didn't want Dad and Jason to have any kind of awkward tension. If Peter told his parents, that was his prerogative. I wasn't telling my dad anything on the subject. Knowing my dad, he would pay some of Carter's friends to pay Peter a little visit, and I didn't want that for him.
After we chatted a little longer, I went upstairs to my room. I spent some time packing up all of Peter's clothes that he had in his drawer into a box. I would take them to Eliza tomorrow after school when he had basketball practice. I put the pictures of us that I had hanging up in a little box that I had and put them on the top shelf of my closet. I gathered up anything of his and put it in the box along with his clothes.
I went through my phone and put all my photos with Peter into an album. I wasn't ready to delete them just, but I would be soon. I didn't want to block him just in case he had an emergency, but that would be the only time I would answer him.
I was in Peter detox mode.
Question because I need to know:
What do you guy want to see more of? It can be anything and everything. Are there any plots that I started and never finished? I need some feedback on some of this to make the story a little better.
I wrote this on my porch swing and I am now covered in pollen #springtimeintheus (are hashtags even still a thing?!? oh well lol)