Let's Do This Properly

“They’re back, it’s them again,” she started to scream, her cries echoed throughout our entire house, dad came out into the kitchen and looked terrified at the actions of his own three year old daughter.

“What’s happening Ryan? Why is she doing that?” His frightened voice was quiet in comparison to her own loud shrieks.

“Not like you’d know right?” My voice was full of malice, he’d been away for to long, “you’re her dad aren’t you, yet don’t know how to calm your own fucking daughter down?”

I scooped Surry up into my arms and stroked her back until her cries calmed and she started sucking her thumb.

“What happened baby?” I ask.

“They came back,” was all she said.

Surry’s monsters had been plaguing her for ages, she’d wake screaming in the night, fearful to go back to sleep. And once they’d come, they didn’t leave. Surry would then continue having her nightmares for weeks on end. Finally though, when the spaghetti sauce was close to boiling and the noodles were all stuck together she fell asleep.

I walked over to turn off the elements on the stove and glared at my dad, “You take her, just hold her until I get back,” I stormed out of the house stopping only to grab my mom’s coat- it was way to thin for the weather.

“Where are you going?” My father yelled at my retreating figure out the door, “You can’t leave me here with the baby, I don’t know what to do.”

Serves him right, never being around to learn how to deal with his own children, well it was time for him to learn.

I didn’t know where I was heading until I got there, about ten minutes from my house was a park. It had several swing sets, slides and a small rock-climbing wall. I silently made my way over to a red swing and slowly rocked back and forth my shoes making crunching sounds in the gravel. A figure started to walk towards me in the forthcoming darkness.

“Jamison?” I didn’t want someone I didn’t know coming close to me, my superstitions –or maybe just bad luck- peaking out.

“Mhm,” he mumbled taking a seat on the swing beside me, “You looked like you needed someone.”

I nodded brushing my bangs back from my face, “You always know where to find me,” I told him smiling.

This time he nodded. Jamison Sykes always knew when I needed him to turn me from depression and back to happiness.

“Toni has cancer,” I told him flatly, “and I pissed her off, so she won’t talk to me.”

Jamison let me stew in my own emotions for several moments before replying, “What’d you do to her?”

“She thinks I only think of myself, I told her I didn’t know how to deal with everything going on and she started yelling.”

“Well,” he paused, “don’t you think she has just as much if not more to handle then you, she’s the one with the disease, not you. And if you don’t see that you’re an asshole, or blind.”

I sighed, and looked at my dust-covered shoes, “I know, I just don’t… I don’t get all of this. Everything is happening right now and…”

He got up and stretched, “Ry I gotta’ go, got a date and don’t want to keep her waiting. But I hope you rethink what you’re doing. If you don’t do the right thing you’re going to ruin a lot for yourself." He walked away, and I heard him start to whistle.