"Home," I muttered as I closed the front door behind me, my eyes glued to the screen of my phone as I scrolled through the flooded group chat.

And because I was so focused on the task at hand, I didn't notice that my darling step-dad was staring down at me as he stood like a big ass wall that's blocking my way.

I bumped into his body and I slowly looked up, raising a brow when I noticed this steel-hard look on his face, "Hello?"

"You and I need to talk," he told me, his tone was formal and serious, as if he was about to close a business deal. I tilted my head to the side as I sip through the straw of my drink, shrugging at his sudden request.

Then again, this was the only time we were left alone. Usually, my mom would come home from work first but maybe something happened at the office, hence he's here to potentially talk about hell knows what.

He led me into the living room and I sat down on the couch, refusing to speak first. He was the one who initiated this, he might as well be the one who gives the wagon a starting to push. I already have a good idea of what he wants to say to me.

It was about my mother, about their marriage, and about Mrs. Matthews.

He plopped down a shiny new credit card on the coffee table, "The credit limit is higher than those you already have."

"Are you bribing me?" I questioned, giving him a cold hard look.

He crossed his arms over his chest as he went around my accusation, "I just don't want your mother to get heartbroken over this."

"You're so fucking sick!" I yelled at him, shooting up, "If you didn't want her to get hurt then you shouldn't have cheated on her in the first place."

"Don't talk to me with that tone," he warned, pointing up a finger towards me, "I could throw you out of this house any minute I want."

No he can't. My mom would definitely be against that, whether she likes it or not, she doesn't want to surrender to the thought that my father has won over my affections. She wouldn't be able to digest the fact that my dad was better than her when raising me.

She was prideful, she wanted it all. That's the same woman I turned into.

Jokes on her because just because I chose to stay with her doesn't mean that I like her more.

"You're still a child, Clara," he told me, "And don't look at me like that. You're doing the same thing."

I tried to comprehend his statement, but I couldn't. I was no bastard so how in the world am I doing the same thing as him, "What?"

"The minute I met you, I already knew," he said, "Times may have changed, but it's the same thing. You're the girl who sleeps around with whoever she wants."

So even this asshole thinks of me as a stereotype.

"I'm not made of money," I said as I took the credit card and flicked it towards him.

He shook his head before chuckling, as if he already won the argument, "Then why did you choose to stay with me and your mother instead of going with your cheap father?"

Because I wanted the high school here. I wanted the cheer team here. If I had a choice between parents, I'll be in favor of my dad in a heartbeat.

But my love of cheering came through.

I slowly approached him, my stilettos clacking on the tiled floor. With a smile, I lifted foot and jabbed my sharp hell on the edge of his shoe, making it hit the toes.

Just saying, women in heels are very dangerous.

He yelped before lifting his foot up and grabbing the inflicted part. Glaring at him, I walked around him and towards the door, snatching my bag on the way out. Getting out of the house, I noticed mom's car pulling up into its spot.

With huff, I took out my car keys as I marched to my car, my stance obviously annoyed and frustrated. Mom saw this and she quickly got out, calling out my name in the process.

"Clara?" she asked but I didn't stop, "Where are you going?"

To the place where I know I can clear my head in, "Dad's."

Her eyes widened at my answer as she closed her car door and rushed to follow me, "Why? It's the middle of the week."

"Because I'm starting to regret my decision," I told her truthfully as I slid into the vehicle.

She held onto my door and stared down at me with a questioning look, "What decision?"

I started the car and replied, "To stay with you instead of with him."

She was shocked at this, her jaw slightly dropping. Reaching out, I closed my car door when her grip on it loosened. I slowly reversed out of the parking spot as she stayed there, trying to let my words sink in. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Will emerge from the house and my anger was fueled again.

I don't even care if I miss school tomorrow, I don't care if my mom will spend a sleepless night wondering whatever she did wrong, I don't care if Wil and her will have a divorce, I don't care anymore.

Just one day, that's all I need.

Also, I need my daddy by my side.

I was smacked by the rush hour so the five hour drive just got added by another sixty minutes. It was already dark when I arrived by the farm. The gate of the compound was now closed, which they always do when nighttime arrives.

Honking my horn, I probably woke up the whole neighborhood as the lights inside the houses turned on one by one. The metal gate rattled up a bit before it got open, revealing one of my relatives. He squinted his eyes a bit to view who was in the car so I rolled down my window, "Only me, uncle."

He nodded his head before completely opening the gate so my car would fit in. Driving forward, I rounded up the lot before doing a stop in front of my dad's house. My uncle closed the gate and some of my other relatives went out of their houses to investigate the surprise visitor.

As I exited the vehicle, dad came out. He blinked his eyes when he saw me, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, "Clara, is that you?"

Ah yes, it's the immaculate Clara.

"Can I stay the night?"

Perhaps he guessed from my tone that I was in no happy mood. He just nodded as I walked into the house, my eyes casted downwards.

He waved goodnight to our relatives as he closed the door behind me, locking it for security reasons. Turning to me, he noticed my unwavering silence and he sighed, heading to the fridge after grabbing a glass from the cupboard.

"You know where to go," he told me as he poured me a glass of juice, "Have you eaten yet?"

Nodding, I took the drink from his hand, "I got some take out on the way here."

"Knock on my door if you need anything else," he said as he started to walk towards the stairs.

Turning around, I asked, "Aren't you wondering why I'm here?"

"I am," he answered truthfully, "But I'm going to wait until you're ready to speak about it."

When I didn't say anything more, he gave me a warm smile, "Goodnight, Clara."

Looking down on the juice he gave me, I exhaled loudly before taking a sip. My mind has been in a tug-of-war recently and I don't know which side is winning. And worse, I don't know which side I want to win.

Although my troubled self was prepared for a night without any rest, I was surprised by the fact that I slept like a baby. When I woke up, it was already nine in the morning. Sitting up, I pulled the sheets closer to my body as I felt a slight shiver coming from the wind blowing through the windows.

The clothes I wore yesterday was neatly folded at the end of the bed, and yes, I slept in nothing but my underwear. I left so abruptly yesterday that I didn't get a chance to prepare anything.

I'm just lucky that dad keeps a spare toothbrush for me in the bathroom so I have one less thing to worry about.

Turning to my side, I spot my phone on the bedside table. Reaching out for it, I frowned at the amount of text messages and missed calls that I got, some were from the team, some from my mom, surprisingly, some from Will, others came from Gray, and one from Evan.

All were asking where in the world I am.

In my evil lair, thinking of ways to calm down or maybe thinking of ways on how to murder someone without getting caught.

Is this a freaking How to Get Away with Murder episode?

As I stood up to get ready for the day, I dialed up Vivian to make sure my girls are still kept in order while I'm not there. The moment she picked up her phone, I was shot by a question, "Where are you?"

"At the haystack," I informed as I zipped up my skirt, "Just calling up to make sure you get the team to practice later even though I'm gone."

She blew a heavy sigh before speaking, "And may I ask, why are you in the haystack?"

"That's between me and myself," I told her, putting on my top before stooping down to grab my shoes, "I'll be back by tomorrow, remember to practice."

"Even when you disappear out of nowhere, your priorities are still frustratingly straight."

With a smirk, I headed to the bathroom as I stated, "And that's why I'm in charge."

I could practically see her rolling her eyes as she muttered, "Sure, capt."

Next agenda, I replied to Evan's text and assured him everything was alright before doing the same to Gray. The moment I did, my phone started ringing and I made a move to answer it, "Hello?"

"What's happening?" I heard Gray's gruff voice question.

Grabbing the toothbrush and balancing the phone in-between my shoulder and ear, I replied, "Just needed to get out."

"Did I do something wrong again?" he questioned, his tone uneasy.

"No," I reassured as I turned on the tap, "Just something with my mom and Will."

He was silent for a while and I was afraid he was going to press for more question. But I heard him take a deep breath before speaking, "Alright, take care over there."

"Thank you, Gray," I smiled softly before hanging up.

Evan managed to send me a text, saying he was glad that I didn't get rolled on by a truck or something. I know that it was his attempt of lightening up the situation, being the smartass who practically knows everything before I even tell him.

Mom and Will? Well, the whole reason why I was here was because I needed some time off away from them so I'm going to ignore them for now.

Because this stress is not good for my gorgeous skin.

Pocketing my phone, I went downstairs and just like I suspected, dad already left. It was a weekday and it's already nine, so of course he wouldn't stick around in the house to wait for me to wake up.

I made myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast before heading out of the door. In front of the house opposite to my dad's, my aunt was there, sweeping away all the stray leaves that has managed to fall in front of their porch. When she noticed me watching her, she showed me a warm smile, "Your father's by the barn, loading up the truck."

"The truck?" I inquired as I slowly went down the creaky steps.

She nodded, "He's about to drop off by the market."

"Market?" I shot another question.

Her posture fell by she was still calm and understanding as ever, "Just go to him and join him for the day, you might learn a thing or two of how we do things around here."

So I did what I was told, I headed to the barn and just like what she said, my dad was loading cartons of chicken eggs at the back of his truck with the help of one of my cousins, "I think that's the last one."

I cleared my throat loudly and they whipped their heads to face my direction, "Can I join?"

Dad's eyes lit up with my request and he gestured to the passenger side of the truck. As I went to climb into my seat, he said goodbye to my cousin before hopping into the vehicle, "It's rare for you to voluntarily join me in work."

Strapping my seatbelt on, I mumbled, "It's rare for me to go here without any particular reason."

Once again, dad wasn't fazed by my attitude. He just kept his eyes on the road and his hands on the steering wheel, not even bothering to give me a reaction. Groaning, I suddenly dropped my head on the headboard, making him jump a little.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly turned to my side, "Dad, can I ask you something?"

He hummed as a response and I took it as a yes. Sitting back up straight, I clutched my seatbelt before talking, "What did you feel when you found out that mom was with Will?"

Even if I knew what was going on, I wasn't present when the actual decision to separate was made. All I knew was that they had shared custody over me and I could choose to stay with whomever I want.

Though I saw it, dad's teary eyes as he packed up his things to move back here. He was heartbroken, he tried to fight for mom again, but she was already adamant on staying with Will and his fortune.

They sold the house and mom dragged me with her to Will's home. Dad came back to his family house and the rest was history.

"I didn't want to accept it," he answered swiftly, "Even though I knew it was true, I denied the idea every time it popped into my mind."

"Why?" I asked, my voice getting higher, "You knew it was going to hurt you in the end."

He shifted gears before explaining, "I was prepared to get hurt the moment I fell in love with your mother."

My eyes knitted together in confusion, "What?"

He sighed before he continued to elaborate, "Your mother was just like you, the head cheerleader in our high school. I was that average boy who she usually doesn't associate herself with."

My mom was a cheerleader? How come I never knew about this before?

"But I held onto that small chance that we may be together," he said, recalling the memory, "We were friends, actually. We met after some circumstances and I've come to like her, even though her attention was completely on someone else."

Now this scene sounds all too familiar.

Casting my eyes downwards on my lap, I predicted who my mom has fallen in love with before dad, "The head of the football team?"

Dad nodded, "Correct."

I flinched at his answer. With my grip on the seatbelt tightening, I tried not to let my thoughts wander. If all the cards were right, I might just end up like my mother. I don't want that, I want to be someone better than her.

I want to fall in love and stay in love.

"But I won her," surprisingly, he grinned with pride and happiness, as if he was taken back to the time he and mom got together, "I worked so hard, I never left her side. I was ready to accept her rejection, but she came to me crying after one of the football games because of the boy."

Closing my eyes, I prayed to the heavens. Please don't let history repeat itself.

I can see myself in mom's position, I could see Evan's accepting behavior in my dad's, and even though I have never met the third party in their love story, I could relate him to Gray.

But I don't want that, I've made my decision. I already shattered Evan's hopes, I shouldn't make him go through it again because of my indecisiveness.

When I opened my eyes, my vision was now blurry with tears. Gnawing on my lip, I kept my attention out of the window – I can't look at my dad right now.

The guilt was eating me up, this might be the same feelings Evan is currently carrying around.

"Why are you so upset?" dad question as he reached out a hand to place it on my shoulder as a way of comforting me, "You can choose not to answer me."

Just like what Evan said when he confessed.

"Because I just broke the heart of a boy who took care of me as much as you took care of mom," I admitted, my voice wavering.

I was wrong, my mom and I were more similar than I thought.

"I'm horrible, dad," I told him, snapping my head to face him, "I'm just like mom and look how you are right now."

He stopped the truck in front of the huge lot that has the sign 'Market' in the entrance. Stall after stall was lined up as buyers went in and out, carrying what they acquired from the sellers inside.

"How I am right now?" he repeated my statement in a form of a question, "I'm the happiest man I live because I have a daughter like you."

And thus, more tears started to flow out, "I'm awful."

"No you're not," he stated, "You're just doing what you want to do and you're sticking to it. That's your specialty and that's what I like about my daughter, she's not a coward who goes the other way because it causes her troubles."

This is so unlike me. I don't weep around, I fucking face things head on.

"You insisted on continuing your gymnast lessons when you were a child even though you would complain everyday how much your body was hurting, you decided to stay with your mom because you wanted to continue cheering, even if it meant staying with a step-father you've shown distaste time and time again," he reminded, "And you chose a boy who I guess is not really the best option, but still, you like him. You didn't go for the easy and safe way out."

He gave me one soft smile before he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door, "Now come on, the costumers are waiting for their eggs."

My confidence was starting to go down and I have to get it back again. The queen's crown was falling, and I should not allow that.

"Keep your head high, Clara," he encouraged as he got down from the vehicle.

Dad was right, I never chose the easy way out. I may have sat down and took some time to clear my head, but I'm no quitter.

Will a good queen step down because a war has erupted? No, she will lead her army and win the battle like the strong woman she is.

Getting out of the truck, I grabbed some of the cartons and followed him inside the market, cringing at the smell inside, "How can anyone get their food from here?"

"Fresher than any supermarket," he informed, "All straight from the farms."

He stopped by one of the stalls where an old man, wearing the classic plaid shirt and some loose jeans. He looked up and showed a friendly grin towards my dad, "About time."

"Sorry, the hens weren't as cooperative today," dad chuckled as he laid the eggs on the table behind the man, "This is my daughter, Clara, by the way."

"Hello," I greeted politely, setting down the eggs besides the cartons my dad laid out.

"I've heard many stories about you," he smiled, "Nice to finally meet you, how's everything going in the city."

Shrugging, I replied, "Great, everything's so busy and fast."

"Must be a big contrast from here," he chuckled, "But the life here is good."

I nodded, "I agree, but I'm afraid I have to go back to the big city soon."

Dad turned his attention away from organizing the produce as the old man questioned, "And why's that?"

With the same old Clara emerging again, I smirked, "Because I have to shine my shotgun and use it again, because this hunter needs to shoot down some nuisances."

The man looked horrified at the metaphor I used, clearly taking it seriously. My father, on the other hand, showed me a proud smile, nodding his head approvingly.

Turning to him, I tilted my head to the side, "Opinions, dad?"

"I raised a queen," he beamed.

---------------------

Just a little breather and because this is another aspect of our plot that I needed to touch. I really love Clara's relationship with her dad, it balances out her frustrations with her mom and Will. I'm not bad enough to make her hate both of her parents.

By the way, check out the trailer that I made. It's actually my first time creating a trailer so fingers crossed that you guys like it (because let's be real, your opinions terrifies me most of the time).

For those asking and still haven't noticed the pattern, I update every Friday between 6pm-12am Philippine time. I usually tweet when I can't update on time and I put out a preview of some sort on any of my social media a day or a few hours before I post the chapter.

Question: Next chapter is the reveal of the endgame. For one last time, let me ask this question: Which ship do you support?

Dedicated to FirefliesAndStars_ for the cover.

That's it, I think. Don't forgot to comment, vote, and follow. I love you all so much and I shall see you next chapter.