~Call Me The Meddling Lil' Sis' (Part Two) ~

Dressed up and ready to go, I am one step away from exiting my new house and going to my first musical festival with no one other than my mischievous, older brother. I just hope that, even if I don't get the answers to my questions, I don't come back home on my own covered in eggs. God, sometimes I hate him so freaking much.

Reflecting on the past month of my life, it truly seems to have changed. I went from signing a death wish to winning a singing competition to embarrassing myself in front of the judges of my future to moving across the country. I still can't figure out how or why I was accepted after that embarrassing performance. I mean, even an amateur could do better than how I did. To make matters even more perplexing, Devon clearly said no. You have to get all the judges to say yes to be permitted on the show, so how did this ever happen?

I also can't figure out what I did to upset Riley. She hasn't answered any of my calls or texts as of after the start of the plane ride to California. I don't understand at all what happened. I didn't talk to her very much before the event, so what could I have done? It seem so strange.

Hopefully, I'll figure out these mysteries of my life soon enough. Before that, though, I think I should put them off to the side and enjoy a night to myself drama-free. As I am about to head out the door to drive to my on-site camping lot that I had paid for, I feel a hand being placed on my shoulder. Instantly, I turn around to be confronted with my dad's smiling face.

"Hey, Skyler, I wanted to tell you some amazin' news," I noticed that his smile is breathtakingly huge compared to normally. I haven't seen my dad this happy in awhile now.

"What is it?"

"I heard about what you're doing. I decided that I'm coming with you and Micheal on y'all's trip to Coachella! I even paid for an expensive resort there, too. Isn't this gonna be fun?" He rants. He gesticulated with every word he says.

The only thought going through my head at that moment was: oh, crap. I can't tell Dad that he couldn't come! Although if I didn't, I will not be able to ask Micheal anything. My God, this is a mess.

"Darlin', is somethin' wrong?" He asks. I guess that he noticed my facial expression.

"No, of course not! I'm really excited and looking forward to being able to have a family bonding vacation. Heck, we haven't had one in years!"

"But?"

I quickly lie. "But what about your job? Wouldn't this affect it somehow?"

"No, I'm gonna be using my vacation days, so it won't do much to me at all,"

"That's good! I'm glad. So, when are we leaving?"

"Soon," He answers, dismissively.

"Oh, and does Micheal know?" I grimace at the mere thought.

Dad swears under his breath. "Nope, but it doesn't matter what that traitor thinks, anyways,"

I let out a long sigh and cross my arms over my chest. "Dad, can you and 'the traitor' please get along for this one trip? I'm so sick and tired of the fighting in our family,"

He places a hand on my shoulder again and looks me straight in the eyes. "Aw, darlin', I'm so sorry that my crap has been affecting you. I'll try, hun. I'll try,"

I nod my head with a sincere smile on my face. "Thank you, Dad. Can we go now?" I glance out the window towards my car.

"Yeah," He takes his hand off of my shoulder and reaches into his pocket of his cargo shorts. Out of it, comes my keys. He swiftly tosses them to me with ease. "But you're driving. You don't want this tired, old man on the road, do ya?"

"'Kay, Dad. Get your butt in the car," I race towards my car and sit in the driver's seat.

"I'm movin'. I'm movin'." He yells from the house.

By the time I'm ready to go, he is still inside, probably grabbing his wallet or something as per usual. I scoff as I roll down my window slightly so I can get a cool breeze when I am driving.

"Hurry up!" I scream. I scare away some of the birds which makes them fly off the trees into the sky.

"Patience is a virtue, child!"

"Shut up and get in here, old person!"

As Dad finally sits down in the passenger seat, he rolls his eyes at me. "Sheesh, I'm only forty-five,"

"My point," I shove him. "is made,"

"Hey!" Dad glares in protest.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

He places my hands on the wheel. "Just drive,"

I laugh. "Fine, Mr. grumpy-old-man,"

Dad simply gives me a look that says,"Shut your mouth and make use of that driver's license," and I drive, tuning out the gps being it's annoying self in the background. Around forty minutes into it, I hear my dad's loud snores echoing throughout the car. I furrow my brows and sigh. This is a disaster. Why do I always get myself into situations like this? I can't imagine how badly Micheal will react to the news. I'm sure that it will be worse than any prank that he could pull on me.

I scoff. My dad shifts in his seat, but doesn't wake up. I look down towards my phone. Texts from my older brother have barraged me with notifications. I guess I should tell him now while Dad is asleep. It's better late then never, I suppose? With that, I unlock my phone and call Micheal. Each second that passes increases my worry about this whole ordeal. What if he gets angry at me for letting him come without a fight? What if he decides that I'm not good enough to be his sister? Worst of all, what if he abandons me again?

All that has made me begin to wonder, should I just hang up now and let Dad tell him the story instead? I slowly inch my hand closer to the end call button as I then hear a familiar voice speak.

"Hey, my piece-of-crap little sis'! What are you up to?"

I sigh. "Micheal, I have to tell you something important,"

I hear static as the phone fumbles in his hands, almost dropping it. "What's wrong? Did something happen to you? Who do I need to beat up for you?"

"Yep, something terrible has happened. Please don't hate me when I tell you this,"

"I won't. I won't. What is it?"

"Do you promise not to get angry at me?"

"Yeah, just tell me what's up,"

I rub my forehead. "Dad decided on his own to come with us and he guilt-tripped me into letting him. He just seemed so excited about something for once in his life,"

Micheal swears under his breath. "I can't believe that James would try to ruin our trip. That as*hole!"

"Micheal, I-"

"Kid, I get it. I know it's not your fault and that you don't want me to get ticked off at him. Sometimes adults fight and you just have to deal with it. I know it's a crappy situation for us all, but it's simply life,"

I feel tears welling in my eyes. "I understand. I just don't want stupid arguments to ruin our trip or family,"

"I'm sorry, but you have to face the facts. Our family is broken beyond repair. You can't just sit us in a corner and expect us to suddenly get along after years of hurting,"

"I know, but can't you start to heal? Our bond was so strong before 'it' happened. I think- no, I know, that we have a chance to fix this. We just need to forgive and forget,"

"It's not that easy,"

"But it could be if you two weren't so stubborn!" My tone of voice raises. "Why- why would you sacrifice an entire relationship over crap that happened in the past? You have one father, Micheal. Why would you give up all hopes of having a happy, loving, healthy relationship with him?"

He lets out a deep sigh. "You don't understand. You're just a kid, Skye,"

I scoff. "Well, thanks for stating the obvious. Of course I don't understand why you hate your one and only father so much!" I take a deep breath, but then relax and exhale, trying to calm myself down. "Can't we be a normal family for once in our screwed up lives?"

"Skye, how do you expect me to not hate an overly traditional, overbearing, heartless, workaholic, crappy 'parent' who doesn't fight for my dreams- or yours for that matter. James doesn't care enough about both of us to accept who we are and what we want to do in life. No, all that God-awful idiot does was kick me out of the house when I was at my lowest point. What kind of father does that to their only son?"

I gasp. "Wait, he kicked you out? He told me that you just left us one night,"

"That's what that lying, manipulative piece-of-crap told you?"

"Yeah," I start to twirl my hair.

"I can't believe that guy! He lied to my own little sister-his only daughter!"

"Mickey-"

"No, Skye, don't you see? He doesn't want what's best for us. Our 'dad' just wants to make us his servants to do his bull crap for him. Heck, what type of father treats his children like that and even allows them to have thoughts like the ones we're having now?"

I feel my heart rate increase and myself slowly becoming drowsier by the second. "Dad loves us! He may be stuck in the past, but he's only doing what he feels is right!"

"Why would a father who loves us blatantly lie to you? Why would he force you to give up your dreams, for his and only his sake? Why would he disappear and become distant when mom died?"

I cringe at the mention of our mother.

He lowers his voice. "Don't you see? James isn't the person that he used to be. He's not the happy-go-lucky guy we called daddy who loved us with all his heart and soul. No, Mom's death killed that innocent persona. The darkness of reality hit him like a bullet. All that's left is a bitter, hateful shell of his former self. How could you not despise him?"

I wipe the tears from my eyes with the sleeve of my cardigan. "Beneath all that hate, is a loving dad who cares for his children. He'd put his life on the line for our well-beings. He acts out of fear, not anger. If we only search, we could get our daddy back. Can't we even try?

"Hating him won't get us anywhere. We'd be stuck in the past, just like he is right at this moment in time. Why not move forward and at least attempt to forgive what had happened in the past?"

"Skye, I just don't know, okay? It's hard to trust such a lowlife after all those years,"

"Please, Mickey, I'm begging you! Can we put forth some sort of effort into bringing daddy back? He's hurting, too, you know. Maybe even more than he's letting us think. Beneath his front, I'm confident that he's feeling just as we do now. It wouldn't hurt to try to save him from this crap we call life?"

"I-"

I cut him off. "Do it for me. I don't even care if it's only for me. It's all I ask,"

He sighs. "I'll only do this for you, kid. That doesn't mean that I'll be be nice to him, though,"

My voice raises another pitch higher. "Thank you. I love you so much!"

"Love you, too. I just hope that I don't regret giving that lowlife a chance,"

"I hope so, too,"

"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm not angry at you, it's just that I can't stand him,"

"I understand what you mean. I can't believe he slept through all of this, though," I say. I try to lighten up the situation.

I look over to my right to see my snoring, unaware dad sprawled out all over the seat. His legs are on the dash board and the chair is pulled very far back.

"James has always been a deep sleeper, hasn't he?"

"Yeah," I simply reply. I see the cars ahead in bumper-to-bumper traffic. "I'd better go. Traffic is coming up. I'll see you at the resort dad payed for instead of the on-site camping place?"

"See ya there, my meddling lil' sis',"

Notes:
Last Updated: 6/7/16
Question of the chapter: Who do you side with? Do you feel that the dad is doing the right thing, or is Micheal right that the dad is holding Skyler back?
Dedication:
Please vote, comment, and add this to your reading list if you enjoyed!