Make Me Better

Thanksgiving was just like every other time, only now my dad wasn't here and my mom and I weren't really talking. By the end of the night my grandma sort of forced us to talk. She pushed us into the living room and left us there. I decided that we couldn't be awkward around each other forever. At first we talked about random things but then we talked about the baby. She looked uncomfortable but I didn't blame her.

"Are you going to talk to dad?" I asked.

"What for?"

I shrugged, "Well, shouldn't you be talking to him? Since the baby might be his..." She sighed loudly and I felt a bit bad for being so straight forward.

"I don't know yet, honey," She looked away from me, "I'll talk to him when the time is right, and I'm pretty sure he wants nothing to do with me."

"Don't say that." mumbled, she raised and eyebrow and let out a tiny laugh, "What? You think he wants to talk to me? If I was him, I wouldn't talk to me." With that she stood up and made her way out of the living room. I couldn't help and feel bad for her, sure she should be feeling that way because she screwed us over. For some reason I wasn't as mad at her as I was before, even if we weren't talking much.

My grandma drove me home, since I didn't want to sleep over and her and my mother both refused me to catch the bus.

"What did your mom say to you?" She asked as I reached over to unbuckle my seatbelt.

"Nothing, really. Just how she though dad didn't want to talk to her."

"Is he really mad?" She asked softly.

"I'm not very sure, he was but that was when she moved. I know he's sad about it but I don't know if he's actually mad at her." I explained.

"Maybe you should ask him." She reached over to kiss my cheek, I nodded and opened the car door. I waved at her before opening the front door. I could hear the tv in the living room.

"Dad?" I asked. I walked further into the room to see him passed out on the couch. I smiled a bit and went over to turn off the tv.

"Olive?" I turned to look at him, he sat up and rubbed his tired eyes, "How did it go?"

"Fine. Not the same since you weren't there."

"Sorry, kiddo." He shot me a crooked smile. I was about to walk to my room when I remembered what my grandma said.

"Dad?" I asked, he looked over at me slowly, "Are you mad at mom?" He didn't answer me right away, he seemed to be thinking about what I asked him. I could tell by the way his eyebrow furrowed and he looked away from me in thought.

"Why are you asking this?" He met my eyes, and I stared at them for a while. He looked sad and tired.

"I was just wondering. I'm not mad at her anymore, or at least I think I'm not. " he looked away from me once more, "The last thing she needs is her family being mad at her."

"She cheated on me, Olive." He stated in a tight voice.

"I know she did. I just.. I don't know. It would be good if you tried to make peace with her since she might be having your baby and all."

"We don't know if that baby is mine." His mouth was pressed into a tight line, he had a serious look of anger on his face.

"Look, Olive. I love your mother, I still do. I just can't bring myself to talk to her after what she did to me. I just need time, kid." With that he stood up and walked over to me, he leaned down to kiss my cheek.

"Goodnight, Olive." I heard him say softly as he passed me.

"Night, dad." I responded.

It was Saturday, which meant my mini vacation was coming to an end. I made sure to talk to my mom after Thanksgiving, our conversations were usually meaningless but I felt that with talking to her everyday would bring us closer together, the way we used to be. The last time I saw Frank was on Thanksgiving, sure we talked on the phone but he was busy with family and I had homework to do.

I walked into the living room, my dad was on the couch. I smiled at him and hoped to the heavens that he wouldn't be mad at what I was about to tell him.

"I have to tell you something." We both said in perfect harmony. We laughed quietly and I waited patiently for him to speak.

"You go first." He suggested. I nodded, I didn't know why I was so nervous. It isn't like I was going to tell him I got married or anything.

"Frank and I are dating." I said, I made sure to be loud and clear because I didn't want to repeat myself.

He raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Frank is my boyfriend." I stated with a smile.

"Frank Iero?" He questioned, he didn't sound too happy. I nodded quickly and swayed in my spot as he stared at me intently.

"How long have you been together?"

"Hmm, maybe almost a month." My voice was much quieter now.

"That boy is always over here, if I would have known that he was your boyfriend-" I knew he was angry by the way he trying to stay calm.

"But there isn't anything wrong with Frank." I interjected, I didn't want him to hate Frank.

"That's what you said about that Cooke guy."

" Frank is different." He made an annoyed sound. He wanted to say more, I could see it. I made sure to change the subject quickly.

"What were you going to tell me?" I asked, almost too quickly.

He answered in a tight voice, "My buddy, George. He's having a bachelor party up in New York, he asked me to come. I would leave today and come back Monday. You should go stay with your mother and grandma."

"Why? I'm totally capable of taking care of myself when you're not around." I scoffed playfully.

He let out a sarcastic laugh, "My daughter just told me she had a boyfriend, who's over here all the time. You really think I'm going to let you stay here alone? I don't want you and Iero all alone."

"Dad," I sighed, "I don't see what your getting so worked up about."

"He's a boy, Olive. Boys only want one thing. "

"Frank isn't like that." I defended.

"Every single boy is like that."

I shook my head, "No, Frank isn't. We don't even... All we do is watch tv."

"Really now?" He looked up at me curiously. He stood up and stretched, he turned to face me once more. He was smiling.

"Call Iero, invite him over. I need to have a talk with him." His voice sounded oddly cheerful. It scared me to say the least.

"Dad." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What? I promise to be nice." He pushed the house phone across the coffee table. I watched him for a moment, I reached for the phone and dialed Frank's number, I was sort of hoping that he wouldn't answer.

"Hey." Frank said smoothly.

"Hi, um. My dad wants you to come over." I spoke quickly.

"Your dad?" He asked.

"Yeah, I told him you were my boyfriend and now he wants to talk to you. Sorry." I could hear him laughing.

"I'll be over in a while, see you."

"Bye." I fought the urge to tell him that I loved him because I knew it would only bring up another conversation with my dad. I hung up and put the phone back down.

"What did he say?" My dad had a huge smile in his face.

"He said he'll be over in a while," I nodded slowly, "What are you going to say, dad?"

"I'm just going to explain to him that if he hurts you any way I'll cut his-" He stopped mid-sentence, " I'll kick his ass." I rolled my eyes.

"Dad, please. Don't" I didn't mean to sound like I was whining.

"It'll be fine, kiddo. " He came over to ruffle my hair.

"Don't be mean." I said, while pulling away and trying to fix my hair. He laughed loudly, "I'm not promising anything, my little Olive."

"When did you start calling me that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're just a kid, kid. Why do you need a boyfriend?" He questioned, he was looking down at me.

I shrugged shyly, "I don't know. I lo-. I live Frank and I don't want anyone else to have him." that sounded weird, I sounded overly jealous.

"Ugh, teenagers." With that he walked passed me and went into his room. I stayed in the living room, hoping Frank wouldn't come.