Voiceless Love

9. She's got balls

I walked into the kitchen to see my dad with his laptop on the counter. He stood in front of it with its brightness turned up, making his face look paler. I sighed whilst dumping my backpack on the floor.

I knew for a fact he would be complaining about my English grade. Why wouldn't he? It's the only class I don't have an A in.

My dad used to be very involved with my school work when I was young. It started in fourth grade when I got actual homework that mattered. He'd make sure I got it all done, along with quality. He didn't help perse, he was just a helicopter parent. He'd make me do it once I got home and wouldn't let me do anything else until it was finished. That lasted until freshman year of high school.

Yeah, he did it for that long.

Honestly, I would've done fine if he stopped after seventh grade. I mean, I was getting good grades and he wasn't even helping me at all. He didn't need him. I don't know why it took him longer to realize that.

One of the reasons he stopped was that he took this job on the opposite side of town. At first, since he was a rookie, they worked him. He'd leave work from 8 AM to 6 PM, meaning he wouldn't have been home when I got back from school.

Things were changing and my mom wanted me to start driving, so I did. It wasn't hard but a bit nerve-wracking being expected to learn soon and fast. Keep this in mind, I was still a freshman. Still adjusting to high school and getting into puberty, this just added another thing to stress for me.

As the years went by, my dad's schedule got fucked up a few times to where I didn't see him for a couple of days. He'd take night shifts and sleep during the day which was weird. But the old question, "Got any homework?" never came up during that time. He'd mind his own business and I did the same. I never asked about work and he'd never ask about school.

Until now, which had me confused.

I cleared my throat, knowing he knew I was present. "Before you say anything, just know, I'm taking care of it." I tried to clarify but when his gaze met mine, I internally sighed in annoyance.

He wasn't having any of it. And I knew that look. The "dad" look.

"Really. You want to explain to me why you've got a B?" He asked with an icy tone. I knew that tone. It's the same one I've heard every argument. I wanted to start calm but after hearing that, I didn't think I would stay collected.

"Okay, first of all, why do you suddenly care?"

"What?" He asked, his voice getting deeper. "Am I not allowed to ask you that?"

"No, it's just-"

"What, Levi? What is it?" He mocked. I glanced at his closed fists resting on the countertop.

I gesture my hand at him to calm down. "Okay, I can see you're already getting riled up about this-"

"I'm not," his voice raised a bit. He heaved out a sigh. "Levi, just answer the damn question."

I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to hold back the comebacks I could've said to piss him off. I huffed and my gaze fell. "It's from lack of participation. And you know, this is not the first time this has happened, why are you acting like it is?"

"Well, I just want to know if you're doing this on purpose." He said and his words soaked into my brain for a moment. Did he really just say that?

"What the hell?"

"I just don't want you to screw up on your transcripts. It's not good for colleges. It's important to do your best in every class so that your grades will look good on the progress reports as well."