battle, michael clifford

► ROLLERCOASTER.

► I want to be the one you remember.

[ Sage Green,
November 2nd. 8 AM ]

My Patience was being tested as my dad sat and asked me questions about things I knew he already knew. He rambled on about how he missed me and how his home was like.

"So . . . how is home? How's mom?" He awkwardly asked.

"It's fine." I mumbled, not bothering to look at him.

"Just fine?" He asked, a hint of curiousness in his voice. "Nothing important I should know about? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?"

"No, dad." I said a bit firmly. "Nothing."

He sighed deeply. When I saw him at my plane gate, I immediately told him I didn't enjoy being here, to which he ignored me.

I hated this.

—

We arrived at his home thirty minutes later. His home was nicely sized.

His house was a tan colored home that was two stories, and had an absurd amount of windows. It had two garages in the front, and one car sitting in the driveway when we pulled in.

My dad's an awful person, but he makes a lot of money doing what he does.

I looked at the back of the car, seeing the similar family sticker I see back at home. It had a father, a mother and two children.

What? I don't have siblings . . ? I thought to myself.

"Why the fuck do you have two children stickers on the back of your car?"

[ 10 minutes later ]

"I knew you had a girlfriend." I stated, my arms crossed over my chest. "But she has two kids? Who calls you dad? What the fuck?"

He averted his gaze down to his feet, and I scoffed. "I cannot fucking believe you. You pay more attention to two kids who aren't even yours than to the child, the fifteen year old, who is actually your child."

He exhaled.

"You have completely ruined my stay. I need time to process this entire thing." I grabbed a fist full of my hair, feeling stressed. "You should have told me the second you met these children."

"Look, I'm sorry." He said, "Really I am. But I wanted to talk to you about something completely different."

"What."

"I was thinking about requesting full custody of you. I want you to move here, with me and my girlfriend with her kids. I want you to be a part of my family. Please." He begged, "We can do everything you've ever wanted. Legoland?"

"I wanted to do that when I was nine. I'm fucking fifteen." I spat, "What are you even thinking? Are you insane, like are you actually fucked in the head? How many times have I told you that I don't want you to have full custody? Dad, I want to live in New Zealand with my mom, not here in Michigan with you."

I was fuming.

"Sage, Please. Give me a chance." He pleaded, "They really want to meet you."

"Who?"

"My girlfriend and her kids. My girlfriend's name is Celeste, and her kids' names are Penny and Isabelle."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care what their names are. You need to give me time to process this whole fucking thing. This is too much for me, honestly."

"I understand."

—

After my meltdown, I showed myself to my room for now. I sat on the bed that had springs going up my ass. It was uncomfortable, and I missed home.

I heard a knock at my door and saw my dad peer his head in. "Hey, Sage." He greeted me.

"Hey." I said, turning my head to look at him.

"We um, We are making dinner if you want to join us." He shyly said.

"What are we eating?"

"Homemade Pizza."

I wanted to scoff and groan. I wanted to remind him in a rude way how I was semi-allergic to some of the stuff in pizza. I wanted him to feel bad.

"No thanks." I said bluntly. "I'm kind of allergic to the things in pizza. Remember? You were the one who saw my hives when I was five."

Guilt filled his eyes. "Oh, right. Sorry. I can order something?"

"No thanks." I shook my head, "I think I'll just sleep. Thank you, though."

He smiled and nodded, exiting my bedroom and closing the door. I fell back onto the bed.

I rubbed my eyes, feeling tired from the jetlag.

I grabbed my phone and sent my mom a text, telling her I made it and that I was safe. I felt my eyes tear up when I saw her send me a photo of her and the guys watching Frozen II.

I blinked away my tears, rolled over and tried my best to fall asleep.