Beth had always made Michael really flustered, since day one.
She was at their apartment, casually sitting on the couch and watching as Michael tried to round up Parker and get his things together so Beth could take him for the weekend. Usually it was pretty easy, but Michael still got nervous at the possibility of him fucking up and Beth laughing in his face.
But Parker didn't necessarily want to go to his mom's house, and he was making things a lot more difficult than they should have been. Michael really loved Parker, but he could be so exhausting sometimes.
"Daddy, let's play Mario Kart." Parker laughed, grabbing Michael's hand and dragging him back into the living room.
"No, Park, we have to pack up all your stuff." Michael dragged Parker back into his bedroom, which was a mess from Michael throwing around various items to put in Parker's bag.
"But I don't want to pack up all my stuff." Parker smiled sweetly, sitting down on the edge of his bed and grabbing his stuffed lion. "Why do I have to leave?"
"You're going to Mommy's house for a couple days. Come on, dude, you've been doing this for almost two years now." Michael rolled his eyes, shoving a few more shirts from the floor into Parker's bag.
"Ooooh." Parker nodded, seeming to understand now. "And you're going to come with?"
"No." Michael let out a big sigh, taking a seat next to Parker.
"But why not? You have to, Daddy, it won't be fun without you!" Parker whined. He shifted a little and wrapped his arms around Michael's waist, trying to keep him there.
Michael really didn't understand why Parker was acting like this. He'd been unusually clingy for the past few days, and Michael couldn't figure out why. He hadn't done anything different than he normally did, and nothing strange had happened to Parker either. The last few days had been the same as any other, yet for some reason Parker never wanted to leave Michael's side.
"That's just not how it works, Pac-Man." Michael gave Parker a small smile and ruffled his hair. "Some days you stay here with me and other days you go with Mommy."
"I think we should all go together. Mommy's house is nice, you'll like it." Parker said, his words muffled due to his face being buried in Michael's side.
Honestly Michael had only been to Beth's new house once or twice. It was pretty nice, with a cool kitchen and a nice backyard. But she had creepy neighbors.
"I can't, buddy." Michael sighed. He tried to get up but it was kind of awkward with Parker hanging onto him, so he picked Parker up too. "It just doesn't work that way anymore."
"No." Parker protested. "No, no, no."
"No what?" Michael groaned. He grabbed Parker's bag from the floor and shut off the light in his room, walking back down the hall again as best as he good with Parker hanging on him like a baby koala.
"No, Daddy, you can't make me go." Parker continued. He was starting to cry, which was just perfect, because Beth was right there in the other room and she was going to think that Michael did something wrong. Again.
Michael went and stood in front of Beth, who was still on the couch and mindlessly looking through her phone. He tossed Parker's bag towards her and it landed on the couch next to her, finally making her look up.
"Hi." She said, failing to notice that Parker was being a little baby once again and crying for no reason.
"Can you talk to him?" Michael asked, somehow prying Parker off of him and setting him down on the floor.
