Tough Girl

27: Come and Join Us

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long :) I just want to thank you so much for all the support this book is getting! It's really amazing to see how far this book has gone. I really hope you enjoy this chapter! This chapter is dedicated to DeathlyAngels101 and flower116! Thanks for the comments guys! (Comments= chance for dedication like those lovely people)
ENJOY

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I took a deep breath as I stood before my father's hospital room door. I had my phone with the light system open in hand, the other posed to knock. Sean nodded, as if saying go ahead, but I had the feeling he was dreading this just as much as I was. It felt automatic as my hand fell back and forth against the door. I was a windup doll as someone twisted me up and I walked forward, closing the door behind me and standing before him.

The man my mother choose as a replacement. The man that helped take me away from my father. The man that abused me and his own wife. The man that took things from me; my health, my friends, my mother, my sense of security.

"Hello," I said. He glances up at me and all I see is fatigue.

"Sang, hello. How are you?"

"I'm...I'm good," I say, a little stunned. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, and what I can only describe to be guilt. You must understand that my demons have driven me all these years, but now something nags me. Long my soul has been at war, but now it seems to be coming to an understanding I was missing." He sits up. "Please, come closer. I won't hurt you."

He beckons me closer and hesitantly I walk up and sit on his bed beside him. He puts his hands over my own. "Sang, where is my daughter?"

"She is gone."

"No, she has left me. She has run away from me, but I am her father. I am her Daddy. I love her so much. My baby Marie."

His eyes fill with tears. "But I am no father. I'm an abusive drinker and a threat to everyone, including myself. Including you. After...after Karen died I only wanted the best for Marie. I wanted your mother to be perfect, to be like Karen. I spent all this time trying to fix you two but the only person who needed to be fixed was me."

He begins to sob. I stare at him in amazement. Could he be lying? Yes, it's very possible. But the fatigue on his face, the age and the guilt, says otherwise.

I drop my phone to the floor and for the first time, I put my arms around him.

And he puts his arms around me.

This man, I could learn to love this man. I could call him father. Dad. The one thing I've been missing in my life, I now realize. It isn't that I've been missing my Dad, I've been missing a Dad.

Sean had entered the room, most likely alarmed by the sound of my phone dropping. He stood in the doorway and I watched tears glean in his eyes too. Andrew glanced up and laughed.

"Come and join us, son. There is plenty of room."

So we sat, in a three way embrace with my new father. I loved the moment, it was beautiful. Everything I had imagined would happen today in this room, the were nothing close.

After awhile, he sniffed and patted us both on the back. "You really should go see your mother, Sang."

I smiled, standing up and picking up my phone. Me and Sean walk out, though I pause in the doorway.

"Bye Dad," I say. He smiles, his face radiating happiness as he waves goodbye. I move to my mother's door. At this point, I'm not sure what to expect. I knock once again and open her door. She snaps to attention as I enter, her eyes wearily following me as I shut the door and sit down.

"Hello," she says. I smile and give a curt nod. "I've been doing some thinking lately. Also, some research and whatnot, and I've decided we're moving."

"Moving?" I ask.

"Yes, moving. It will be a very nice change."

"Did you talk to Andrew?"

"No," Mom laughs. "No, he didn't need to know."

"Mom we can't move-"

"It will be really beautiful. There's a gorgeous house in California that I've been looking at."

"California! I'm not moving to California, that's crazy."

"You will move with me, and it will be good, I promise. Just you and me. There's no space for argument." She smiles like we'll both be happy with this decision.

"Well I'm not going with-"

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not! For heaven's sake listen to me! I'm not moving to California with you. It's the middle of the school year, my friends are here, my family is here, my life is here. This is where I live now. I'm not moving again," I argue. I can't imagine moving again. Leaving everything here, leaving everything behind.

"Yes you are, you're moving-"

"Mom! You can't move again. Moving doesn't solve anything. You can't run away again because you're scared that you messed up and you have to start over. You just have to keep going."

"I'm not running away. Running away is not the same as moving."

"You're just scared. You're just scared, Mom, aren't you."

She glares at me. "I'm not having this conversation with you. We're moving, I swear to God Sang, we're moving! Do you understand me?" She growls.

I shake my head and look at my hands. "You just have to keep going, Mom. I'm not moving with you. You can move by yourself, I'm not going with you! Do you understand me?"

"You're a disgrace," she growls. "You're not my daughter."

My eyes fill with tears. My mother...thinks I'm a disgrace? So much that she didn't even want to call be her child?

"Get out," Mom says coldly. "Get out of here."

I hold back the tears, my head up and my shoulders back, as not to let her see. It hurt, but I smiled and left. North was waiting outside instead of Sean and automatically I fell into his embrace.

"Will I have to move?" I cry as we stand outside her door.

He rubs my back, holding me closer. "I don't know, baby. I don't know."