luke looked up as his teenage daughter walked into the kitchen where he was cleaning.
"hey, dad?" she asked.
"yeah?" he asked, setting down the broom.
"can i go to a party tonight with zack? i'll be back by midnight.." she said, and she already knew getting luke to say yes was going to be a long shot.
"zack? the twenty three year old zack?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"yeah. i'm almost 18, and-"
"almost. not yet." luke said, and she rolled her eyes.
"can i please go?" she asked.
"absolutely not. i'm not comfortable sending you to a college party. i already made that mistake for you when i was seventeen." luke said, and she furrowed her eyebrows.
"i'm not you. i should be able to go." she argued.
"sarah, no." luke sighed.
"fine i'll just go in a few months when i turn 18." she said back.
"fine. there's not much i can do to stop you then, but i'm am not going to allow you to go to a party with older guys, drugs, and alcohol. i understand why you're mad now. i was seventeen once too, but now i'm a parent, and i'm saying no." luke said, placing his hands on the counter.
"you're the worst." she groaned, as michael walked into the kitchen.
"what's going on?" michael asked.
"can i go to a party tonight?" she asked.
"i don't see why not. i-"
"with a 23 year old boy, most likely at a frat house." luke added.
"absolutely not." michael said, and she scoffed.
"why does it matter where it's at?!" she asked.
"because. if it was a high school party where the worst they have is like one keg of beer and cheap cigarettes and weed than i would be less hesitant, even though that's just as bad, but college kids can get drugs and alcohol a lot easier without being caught. when you get college guys high, they will manipulate you, and you are not going." luke said.
"i hate you." she groaned.
"stop that. he is trying to do you a favor." michael said.
"well he's not doing a good job. my life sucks because of him!" she yelled.
"you will thank me one d-"
"i will never." she spat, and stormed out of the kitchen.
michael watched luke's face fall, and tears fill his eyes.
"don't cry. don't cry, luke. she does not hate you. she's just a teenager, and you know they say stuff they don't mean." he said, and picked luke up, setting him on the counter.
"i know. i'm just scared for her, michael." luke cried.
michael hugged luke tightly.
"what if somebody hurts her? i don't want her to go through what i did," luke sobbed.
luke went out at 17 to go to a college party. he didn't have parents that restricted what he did, and they never warned him to be careful. they didn't care. he was drugged and r aped that night, and a boy named michael clifford found him and hour later, and helped him home.
"i'm gonna go talk to her." michael said, and luke wiped his eyes, nodding.
michael sighed as he walked up the stairs.
"sarah?" he asked as he walked into her room.
he made it just in time to see her climbing out of her window.
michael crossed his arms, and walked over to sit on the bed.
"come here." he said softly, and patted the spot next to him.
she shook her head.
"you're not in trouble. i just want to tell you something, and then you can decide if you want to go or not. i will hold the door open for you if you still want to go." michael said.
she walked over, and sat down next to michael.
"we weren't planning on telling you this story tonight, but i think i have to. your dad didn't have parents that cared about where he was at. he went to a college party when he was seventeen, and he was handed a drink. i found him around midnight in a bed, and he was a mess. he could barely stay awake, but he was fully aware that he was just r aped. that was the first time i met him. i took him to the hospital, and helped him get home. he still has to live with that every single day of his life, and he is scared to death that you might end up in the same situation."
"i can defend myself, dad-"
"he thought he could too."
she looked down at her jeans, and michael saw a tear fall from her eye.
"i feel awful." she whispered.
"don't. i just want you to know that he cares for you so much, and he doesn't want you to be hurt. he's scared, so please don't go. if you want to go, i'm not going to stop you, but just know that your dad will stay up all night scared to death that someone is hurting you. i would be worried too, but he's been through it. don't do that to him." michael said softly.
she shook her head, and wiped her eyes. "i'm not going to."
michael felt relief when she said that, and he stood up, closing her window for her.
"go tell your dad you love him because you know you don't actually hate him." michael said, and she nodded.
"i'm just gonna change first." she whispered.
"take your time." michael whispered, kissing her head.
luke walked up the stairs, and michael grabbed onto his hand. he led luke to their room, and helped him change into pajamas.
"hey, i think you need to get some rest okay?" michael said softly, and luke crawled into the bed.
there was a soft knock on the door.
sarah ran over to luke, and crawled in his arms. he smiled, and held her tightly as she cried.
"dad t-told me-"
"it's okay." luke whispered, holding her close.
"i'm sorry for what i said. i don't hate you. i love you." she said.
"i love you, too, and i would die if somebody hurt you, sarah." luke said, rubbing her back.
"i love you."
