Dance to This Beat
Sweetie, You Had Me
"Princess?!"
I choked on my apple juice.
"Man, that's nasty!" Spencer exclaimed with a disgusted look in his face.
I ran from my room to the top of the stairs and saw my dad looking around. He had bags in both hands and his beard had grown much longer since the last time I had seen him.
Kaity, Hanna, Josh, Brendon, Ryan, Spencer, and Jon followed me and stared at my dad like he was a six-headed deer.
I motioned for them to follow me and started down the stairs.
"There you are!" dad exclaimed.
"Here I am."
"Your mother said you might be here, but she didn't mention you'd be with five boys. Why are
there only three girls and five boys?"
I rolled my eyes. "These are my friends dad."
"Would you care to introduce me to your so-called friends?"
Gesturing to everyone, I stated their name. "This is Josh, Ryan, Brendon, Spencer, Kaity, and Hanna. And this is Jon, my boyfriend."
"Nice to meet you," dad said in a mock-formal tone.
"Why are you here?" I asked dad.
"Because I'd like to see my son," he said strongly.
"What makes Conner any different from Charlie, David, Jason, or, hell, even me?"
"Princess, please--"
"Don't 'princess' me dad. I'm not eight anymore. I hate you, and you clearly don't like me too much anymore, so cut the bullshit. As soon as Conner's two, you're gonna leave again. You don't care about us you just care about your namesake."
"Claire Bear, I had no idea you felt like that."
"Yeah, because I've been making so much of an effort to stay in touch with you since we
moved out here. Mom told me the reason you divorced and actually, I would've been a lot happier growing up out here instead of in Mississippi."
"Don't you dare take that tone with me!"
"Or what? You'll finally decide to be a parent?"
"Ever since your mother decided to bring you out here, you've turned into a little bitch."
"That may be true, but at least there are people out here that actually care about me and love me. You know, like my boyfriend. We've been together for seven months now. But if you cared enough about me you'd already know that."
"Se--Seven months?! You're far too young to have a relationship like that. You're not even eighteen yet!"
"What? A serious one? Just because you can't stay with one person, doesn't mean I can't. And for the reference--I'll be eighteen in two months. Then I can do whatever the hell I want."
"How dare--Wait. How old is he?!"
"Eighteen," I said with a smirk.
"Your mother's letting you date him?! How much--"
"Mom likes Jon. A lot. He's nice and sweet and good to me. And also, we love each other. We love each other a lot more than you've ever loved any woman you've been with. Now if you'll excuse me, we were just about to leave. And don't worry about me, everyone I'm with is an adult."
And with that, I walked out the front door. And you'd bet your ass that all seven of my friends followed me out that door.
------
"What was that all about?" Hanna asked as we reached her house. It was the first thing anyone had said since I choked on my apple juice.
"All my hostility I've been botiling up since I found out about the divorce. Well, you know, except writing on the boxes. 'Kitchen Shit,' 'Claire's Shit,' 'Jenna's Shit.' And so on, and so forth," I laughed.
"You're crazy," Josh commented.
"Duh." Ryan, Brendon, Kaity, and Spencer all said at the same time.
Jon was being unusually quiet. He looked sad, standing there stairing at the floor with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Hanna pulled a pitcher of Kool-Aid out of the refrigerator. "Kool-Aid anyone?"
"We'll be back." I said, grabbing Jon's arm and pulling him into the living room. "What's wrong with you?" I asked flat-out. "You're being really weird and quiet and awkward. What gives?"
"You shouldn't have pulled me into the fight like that," he said angrily.
"Like what?"
"You totally put me on the spot. Like, 'this is my boyfriend' and talking about how much we love each other and everything."
"You can't honestly be mad about that."
"Well I am. I felt like you were using me to get back at your dad. I don't know if I can be with someone who does that to me."
"I'm not--Are ... are you breaking up with me?"
"You said it, not me."
Tears stung my eyes. "Jon, please...."
"I can't Claire. And believe me, this is the hardest decision I've had to make in a long time." He walked out of the living room door and tears spilled from my eyes. After I was sure he was gone, I walked to the kitchen. Everyone looked up at me, but no one said anything.
"I'm going home," I croaked.
------
I walked home from Hanna's slowly. I had a lot to think about and plenty of time to do it in.
Why did everyone I love end up leaving me? First Charle moved to Chicago, next Jason moved to England, David moved to New York, dad left me and mom, now Jon.
I opened the front door and found dad sitting on the couch eating spagetti and watching football with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
"I hope you're happy!" I screamed. Then I ran up the stairs with a fresh batch of tears streaming down my face.
I choked on my apple juice.
"Man, that's nasty!" Spencer exclaimed with a disgusted look in his face.
I ran from my room to the top of the stairs and saw my dad looking around. He had bags in both hands and his beard had grown much longer since the last time I had seen him.
Kaity, Hanna, Josh, Brendon, Ryan, Spencer, and Jon followed me and stared at my dad like he was a six-headed deer.
I motioned for them to follow me and started down the stairs.
"There you are!" dad exclaimed.
"Here I am."
"Your mother said you might be here, but she didn't mention you'd be with five boys. Why are
there only three girls and five boys?"
I rolled my eyes. "These are my friends dad."
"Would you care to introduce me to your so-called friends?"
Gesturing to everyone, I stated their name. "This is Josh, Ryan, Brendon, Spencer, Kaity, and Hanna. And this is Jon, my boyfriend."
"Nice to meet you," dad said in a mock-formal tone.
"Why are you here?" I asked dad.
"Because I'd like to see my son," he said strongly.
"What makes Conner any different from Charlie, David, Jason, or, hell, even me?"
"Princess, please--"
"Don't 'princess' me dad. I'm not eight anymore. I hate you, and you clearly don't like me too much anymore, so cut the bullshit. As soon as Conner's two, you're gonna leave again. You don't care about us you just care about your namesake."
"Claire Bear, I had no idea you felt like that."
"Yeah, because I've been making so much of an effort to stay in touch with you since we
moved out here. Mom told me the reason you divorced and actually, I would've been a lot happier growing up out here instead of in Mississippi."
"Don't you dare take that tone with me!"
"Or what? You'll finally decide to be a parent?"
"Ever since your mother decided to bring you out here, you've turned into a little bitch."
"That may be true, but at least there are people out here that actually care about me and love me. You know, like my boyfriend. We've been together for seven months now. But if you cared enough about me you'd already know that."
"Se--Seven months?! You're far too young to have a relationship like that. You're not even eighteen yet!"
"What? A serious one? Just because you can't stay with one person, doesn't mean I can't. And for the reference--I'll be eighteen in two months. Then I can do whatever the hell I want."
"How dare--Wait. How old is he?!"
"Eighteen," I said with a smirk.
"Your mother's letting you date him?! How much--"
"Mom likes Jon. A lot. He's nice and sweet and good to me. And also, we love each other. We love each other a lot more than you've ever loved any woman you've been with. Now if you'll excuse me, we were just about to leave. And don't worry about me, everyone I'm with is an adult."
And with that, I walked out the front door. And you'd bet your ass that all seven of my friends followed me out that door.
------
"What was that all about?" Hanna asked as we reached her house. It was the first thing anyone had said since I choked on my apple juice.
"All my hostility I've been botiling up since I found out about the divorce. Well, you know, except writing on the boxes. 'Kitchen Shit,' 'Claire's Shit,' 'Jenna's Shit.' And so on, and so forth," I laughed.
"You're crazy," Josh commented.
"Duh." Ryan, Brendon, Kaity, and Spencer all said at the same time.
Jon was being unusually quiet. He looked sad, standing there stairing at the floor with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Hanna pulled a pitcher of Kool-Aid out of the refrigerator. "Kool-Aid anyone?"
"We'll be back." I said, grabbing Jon's arm and pulling him into the living room. "What's wrong with you?" I asked flat-out. "You're being really weird and quiet and awkward. What gives?"
"You shouldn't have pulled me into the fight like that," he said angrily.
"Like what?"
"You totally put me on the spot. Like, 'this is my boyfriend' and talking about how much we love each other and everything."
"You can't honestly be mad about that."
"Well I am. I felt like you were using me to get back at your dad. I don't know if I can be with someone who does that to me."
"I'm not--Are ... are you breaking up with me?"
"You said it, not me."
Tears stung my eyes. "Jon, please...."
"I can't Claire. And believe me, this is the hardest decision I've had to make in a long time." He walked out of the living room door and tears spilled from my eyes. After I was sure he was gone, I walked to the kitchen. Everyone looked up at me, but no one said anything.
"I'm going home," I croaked.
------
I walked home from Hanna's slowly. I had a lot to think about and plenty of time to do it in.
Why did everyone I love end up leaving me? First Charle moved to Chicago, next Jason moved to England, David moved to New York, dad left me and mom, now Jon.
I opened the front door and found dad sitting on the couch eating spagetti and watching football with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
"I hope you're happy!" I screamed. Then I ran up the stairs with a fresh batch of tears streaming down my face.