Finding Daddy
Upset
Matt’s P.O.V.
Danielle had moved in and has been living with us for about a week and a half now. With the guys’ help and the girls’ consultations, her room had been personalized and completed. Aaron had also kept his promise and sent over Danielle’s things, excluding her furniture. She had decided to let Aaron and Cameron sell her furniture so they had extra cash. I hadn’t minded at all, I would have wanted to buy her new furniture anyways since Danielle had told me she didn’t even remember how long she had owned everything.
I finally forced myself out of bed again, only dressed in sweatpants that hung low on my hips. I finally had a relaxing night sleep. When I wasn’t helping with Danielle’s own things, the guys and I were either at the studio or I was spending time with Val. It may just be me imagining things but in all honesty she seemed…different. I really should talk to her. I glanced at the clock to see it was eleven o’clock in the morning. I had to eat lunch so I could hurry and head out to the studio. I stepped outside the door to hear a television on somewhere in the house.
I paused, glancing at Danielle’s door. I wonder if she was up yet. I walked over, knocking lightly before pushing the door open. Empty. I left the room and headed down the stairs. I followed the sound of cartoons and ended up in the game room. Danielle was sitting on the couch watching Rugrats through my NetFlix account on XBOX. She barely glanced over and casted a small smile before returning her attention to the television. “Hey Dad.”
“How are you, sweetie?” I asked as I plopped down next to her, my arm wrapping around her shoulders as she hugged her knees to her chest. I think Danielle was still a bit awkward feeling about the nickname, but the more she heard it the more normal it sounded, right? I talked to her about it and she didn’t object, just informed she wouldn’t shrug it off as the usual anytime soon.
“Okay I guess,” she replied, shrugging slightly. I frowned. She was lying. She and Cameron had one thing in common, they were terrible liars.
“What’s wrong hun?” Danielle sighed, tucking her short hair behind her ears. The antics of Tommy Pickles and friends soon faded into the background. I frowned, sensing it was something pretty big, at least to her, if she was hesitating so long. “Danielle?”
“Dad, I don’t think Val and Charlie like me much,” Danielle murmured, continuing to concentrate on the cartoon instead of looking at me. My frown only deepened tremendously. Why would she think that? Charlie hadn’t been home much since his Summer school ended. It was only natural, him to be gone all the time and hang out with friends. Val had been busy lately with her modeling job. She had taken some time off and was pretty busy now, making up for lost time.
“Why would you think that sweetie?”
“Dad, it’s obvious. When Charlie is home he stays in different rooms from me. When Val’s home she doesn’t even look at me. What did I do?!” Danielle cried, tears pooling her eyes. I quickly took her into my chest, Danielle hugging me around the waist and pulling herself tightly to my body. I petted her hair affectionately, frowning softly. I needed to talk to Val right away. I knew she wouldn’t leave for another half an hour but I had to get things in the open, fully.
“You did nothing, dear,” I finally cooed to her as she pulled back, wiping at her eyes. She nodded weakly, still not quite believing me. I placed her gingerly on the couch before standing. I rested a hand on her cheek and smiled softly. “I need to go speak with Val real quick, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered. She instantly laid on her side and watched the flat screen as Tommy broke out of the red play fence again. I left the room, instantly heading to the backyard where I knew I would find Val. Hopefully by now she was already done with her meditating bull. I didn’t exactly believe it worked, but it calmed her just like me hitting punching bags and making my whole body ache. But Val was not the nicest person when you interrupted her meditation. As I stepped outside, I was lucky enough to see she was relaxing in a lawn chair.
“Oh, hey baby. Finally up?” She smiled at me as I walked over to her. I didn’t reply, shifting my weight between my feet and staring off to the pool. The mood suddenly changed from its easy one to a tense one. “What’s wrong, Matt?”
“Babe, how do you feel about Danielle being here?” I questioned bluntly, unwilling to tap dance around the point for a while. Val sighed as she stood to her feet also and rubbed her face with her hands.
“I knew this was going to come up, Matthew. I was just really hoping it would pass,” Val explained, shaking her head lightly. I stayed silent, staring at my wife with a blank stare. Inside I was ready to cry. Had I made a mistake of bringing Danielle here? I wouldn’t regret it in the least, but Val was a different story. She looked at me and ran a hand through her hair.
“Matthew, you didn’t even ask me or Charlie’s opinion on this matter. It’s a big change too, bringing Danielle here. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great girl, but what about Charlie? God forbid she thinks I don’t like her, I do. She’s a lovely person and I’m happy we took her in, but did we even stop to think about Charlie?” Val questioned, moving her hands in an animated way to emphasis her words.
“I’m sorry, Val. I wanted what was best for Danielle and I saw this as it. I should have confronted you two about it first, but I was in the heat of the moment. But Charlie will warm up to her, I know he will. You just gotta have faith in him.” An emotion ran through her eyes before she turned her head from me. I knew it clearly, it was the one that showed when she thought I was skipping over something obvious. “And you know that. What is this really about, Val?”
“It’s nothing else, Matt! I’m heading to work,” Val spat out, trying to quickly walk away. I grabbed her upper arm firmly but as gently as I could manage. She glared angrily at me, tears threatening to brim her eyes.
“What’s going on Val?”
“You just don’t fucking care about his feelings, do you?!” I opened my mouth to object but she continued on, giving me no time to reply. “Charlie is so upset about this whole ordeal! It’s one thing to have found out you have a half sister, but for her to move in not too long after all of us learning about it? Matt, he thinks you’re replacing him! He thinks that soon, you’ll only care for Danielle. I’ve tried explaining time and time again in the past two weeks its not true but he won’t believe me. With getting her room in order and buying her all these new things, he thinks its already starting. I love Danielle deeply Matt, I really do, but my son comes first. And he’s torn at the seams right now.”
I was placed into a stunned silence. Her words made me feel as if a brick had been slammed into my head and chest. It was then the unusual silence of Charlie was obvious. He didn’t ask to listen as I worked on music anymore, he didn’t try to be home to watch the football game with us. He was gone constantly, more so than usual, and I just shrugged it off. What kind of father was I?
“Val, I’m – ”
“No Matt,” she cut off again, lightly shaking her head. She wasn’t livid and angry like she was moments before, she seemed drained and ready to lay down and sleep the day away. “I need to head out. Charlie is staying at Chris’s tonight. I’ll be working late tonight, so don’t worry about me.”
With that she placed a soft kiss on my cheek before leaving the backyard and heading inside. As the door shut I was brought back from my daze. After a moment or two of fighting myself from crying, I headed back inside. I had to be strong. It wasn’t going to make Danielle feel better to know she had caused both of us to get upset. In reality it wasn’t her fault any of this happened, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get her to believe me. I needed to get her mind off things. And I only knew one way to do that.
“Hey Danielle,” I called happily as I strolled into the game room. The television was off again and she was toying on her iPhone, one earbud in. All I could see was the case on her phone which held the image of Mordecai from The Regular Show, a cartoon I now knew only because her and Johnny, the few times he was over, had watched it constantly.
“You don’t have to act chipper. I saw Val go by and she’s not happy.” Her gaze left her phone long enough to trail her hazel eyes over my face. “And you’re not either. Look Dad, I’m fine if Val or Charlie hates me. I can manage with hate. I’m used to Mom’s.”
“It’s not that sweetie,” I sighed, sitting down at her feet and patted one of the knees that were propped up. “She’s just…she’s angry at me. I need to talk to Charlie but it’s not your fault that Val is upset. It’s my fault.”
“I doubt that,” Danielle muttered, obviously not really wanting me to hear her since she said it so quietly. Then again, maybe she did. Either way I shrugged it off instead of commenting. I figured it would save us a lot of time and I really didn’t want to upset Danielle right now. I already had with one person more than I had wanted to today.
“I’m going to get dressed. Do you wanna get something to eat and head to the studio with me? You should get out some,” I joked, tapping her leg lightly. She studied me for a moment before nodding.
“Fine, I’m starving anyways,” Danielle announced, sitting up and stretching her arms high over her head. When a pop was heard from her back she slumped back down in her seat. “Don’t take too long.”
“I won’t.”
Danielle had moved in and has been living with us for about a week and a half now. With the guys’ help and the girls’ consultations, her room had been personalized and completed. Aaron had also kept his promise and sent over Danielle’s things, excluding her furniture. She had decided to let Aaron and Cameron sell her furniture so they had extra cash. I hadn’t minded at all, I would have wanted to buy her new furniture anyways since Danielle had told me she didn’t even remember how long she had owned everything.
I finally forced myself out of bed again, only dressed in sweatpants that hung low on my hips. I finally had a relaxing night sleep. When I wasn’t helping with Danielle’s own things, the guys and I were either at the studio or I was spending time with Val. It may just be me imagining things but in all honesty she seemed…different. I really should talk to her. I glanced at the clock to see it was eleven o’clock in the morning. I had to eat lunch so I could hurry and head out to the studio. I stepped outside the door to hear a television on somewhere in the house.
I paused, glancing at Danielle’s door. I wonder if she was up yet. I walked over, knocking lightly before pushing the door open. Empty. I left the room and headed down the stairs. I followed the sound of cartoons and ended up in the game room. Danielle was sitting on the couch watching Rugrats through my NetFlix account on XBOX. She barely glanced over and casted a small smile before returning her attention to the television. “Hey Dad.”
“How are you, sweetie?” I asked as I plopped down next to her, my arm wrapping around her shoulders as she hugged her knees to her chest. I think Danielle was still a bit awkward feeling about the nickname, but the more she heard it the more normal it sounded, right? I talked to her about it and she didn’t object, just informed she wouldn’t shrug it off as the usual anytime soon.
“Okay I guess,” she replied, shrugging slightly. I frowned. She was lying. She and Cameron had one thing in common, they were terrible liars.
“What’s wrong hun?” Danielle sighed, tucking her short hair behind her ears. The antics of Tommy Pickles and friends soon faded into the background. I frowned, sensing it was something pretty big, at least to her, if she was hesitating so long. “Danielle?”
“Dad, I don’t think Val and Charlie like me much,” Danielle murmured, continuing to concentrate on the cartoon instead of looking at me. My frown only deepened tremendously. Why would she think that? Charlie hadn’t been home much since his Summer school ended. It was only natural, him to be gone all the time and hang out with friends. Val had been busy lately with her modeling job. She had taken some time off and was pretty busy now, making up for lost time.
“Why would you think that sweetie?”
“Dad, it’s obvious. When Charlie is home he stays in different rooms from me. When Val’s home she doesn’t even look at me. What did I do?!” Danielle cried, tears pooling her eyes. I quickly took her into my chest, Danielle hugging me around the waist and pulling herself tightly to my body. I petted her hair affectionately, frowning softly. I needed to talk to Val right away. I knew she wouldn’t leave for another half an hour but I had to get things in the open, fully.
“You did nothing, dear,” I finally cooed to her as she pulled back, wiping at her eyes. She nodded weakly, still not quite believing me. I placed her gingerly on the couch before standing. I rested a hand on her cheek and smiled softly. “I need to go speak with Val real quick, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered. She instantly laid on her side and watched the flat screen as Tommy broke out of the red play fence again. I left the room, instantly heading to the backyard where I knew I would find Val. Hopefully by now she was already done with her meditating bull. I didn’t exactly believe it worked, but it calmed her just like me hitting punching bags and making my whole body ache. But Val was not the nicest person when you interrupted her meditation. As I stepped outside, I was lucky enough to see she was relaxing in a lawn chair.
“Oh, hey baby. Finally up?” She smiled at me as I walked over to her. I didn’t reply, shifting my weight between my feet and staring off to the pool. The mood suddenly changed from its easy one to a tense one. “What’s wrong, Matt?”
“Babe, how do you feel about Danielle being here?” I questioned bluntly, unwilling to tap dance around the point for a while. Val sighed as she stood to her feet also and rubbed her face with her hands.
“I knew this was going to come up, Matthew. I was just really hoping it would pass,” Val explained, shaking her head lightly. I stayed silent, staring at my wife with a blank stare. Inside I was ready to cry. Had I made a mistake of bringing Danielle here? I wouldn’t regret it in the least, but Val was a different story. She looked at me and ran a hand through her hair.
“Matthew, you didn’t even ask me or Charlie’s opinion on this matter. It’s a big change too, bringing Danielle here. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great girl, but what about Charlie? God forbid she thinks I don’t like her, I do. She’s a lovely person and I’m happy we took her in, but did we even stop to think about Charlie?” Val questioned, moving her hands in an animated way to emphasis her words.
“I’m sorry, Val. I wanted what was best for Danielle and I saw this as it. I should have confronted you two about it first, but I was in the heat of the moment. But Charlie will warm up to her, I know he will. You just gotta have faith in him.” An emotion ran through her eyes before she turned her head from me. I knew it clearly, it was the one that showed when she thought I was skipping over something obvious. “And you know that. What is this really about, Val?”
“It’s nothing else, Matt! I’m heading to work,” Val spat out, trying to quickly walk away. I grabbed her upper arm firmly but as gently as I could manage. She glared angrily at me, tears threatening to brim her eyes.
“What’s going on Val?”
“You just don’t fucking care about his feelings, do you?!” I opened my mouth to object but she continued on, giving me no time to reply. “Charlie is so upset about this whole ordeal! It’s one thing to have found out you have a half sister, but for her to move in not too long after all of us learning about it? Matt, he thinks you’re replacing him! He thinks that soon, you’ll only care for Danielle. I’ve tried explaining time and time again in the past two weeks its not true but he won’t believe me. With getting her room in order and buying her all these new things, he thinks its already starting. I love Danielle deeply Matt, I really do, but my son comes first. And he’s torn at the seams right now.”
I was placed into a stunned silence. Her words made me feel as if a brick had been slammed into my head and chest. It was then the unusual silence of Charlie was obvious. He didn’t ask to listen as I worked on music anymore, he didn’t try to be home to watch the football game with us. He was gone constantly, more so than usual, and I just shrugged it off. What kind of father was I?
“Val, I’m – ”
“No Matt,” she cut off again, lightly shaking her head. She wasn’t livid and angry like she was moments before, she seemed drained and ready to lay down and sleep the day away. “I need to head out. Charlie is staying at Chris’s tonight. I’ll be working late tonight, so don’t worry about me.”
With that she placed a soft kiss on my cheek before leaving the backyard and heading inside. As the door shut I was brought back from my daze. After a moment or two of fighting myself from crying, I headed back inside. I had to be strong. It wasn’t going to make Danielle feel better to know she had caused both of us to get upset. In reality it wasn’t her fault any of this happened, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get her to believe me. I needed to get her mind off things. And I only knew one way to do that.
“Hey Danielle,” I called happily as I strolled into the game room. The television was off again and she was toying on her iPhone, one earbud in. All I could see was the case on her phone which held the image of Mordecai from The Regular Show, a cartoon I now knew only because her and Johnny, the few times he was over, had watched it constantly.
“You don’t have to act chipper. I saw Val go by and she’s not happy.” Her gaze left her phone long enough to trail her hazel eyes over my face. “And you’re not either. Look Dad, I’m fine if Val or Charlie hates me. I can manage with hate. I’m used to Mom’s.”
“It’s not that sweetie,” I sighed, sitting down at her feet and patted one of the knees that were propped up. “She’s just…she’s angry at me. I need to talk to Charlie but it’s not your fault that Val is upset. It’s my fault.”
“I doubt that,” Danielle muttered, obviously not really wanting me to hear her since she said it so quietly. Then again, maybe she did. Either way I shrugged it off instead of commenting. I figured it would save us a lot of time and I really didn’t want to upset Danielle right now. I already had with one person more than I had wanted to today.
“I’m going to get dressed. Do you wanna get something to eat and head to the studio with me? You should get out some,” I joked, tapping her leg lightly. She studied me for a moment before nodding.
“Fine, I’m starving anyways,” Danielle announced, sitting up and stretching her arms high over her head. When a pop was heard from her back she slumped back down in her seat. “Don’t take too long.”
“I won’t.”
