Darla's Games Day 13

Miss King touched my shoulder softly. "There is this." She said and handed Mrs Lane the wrinkled paper from art class. "Carrie, you would be surprised at what a mother will do and I think it is a big mistake for you to think her incapable of dealing with your issues. She loves you, she has to, she's your mother." And she squeezed my shoulder gently and excused herself from the room as I watched Mrs. Lane's eyes widen at the image on the page.

"It doesn't mean anything." I whispered in the long silence that followed the closing of the door. "It's just a drawing."

Three hours later, my mother was driving me home. I had begged. I had pleaded. I had cried. It didn't matter one bit to that bitch who needed to "help" me.

"What's going on Carrie?" She asked as soon as she got my silent ass in the car.

"Nothing mom. I swear." I answered quietly.

"Give me one good reason not to send you to your father."

"He hates me." I said.

"Oh my God Carrie, your father does not hate you. He loves you. I know I complain about him and 'her', but he is a good man. Well, except for leaving us for 'her'."

Yeah, 'her' had a name, but don't try to get my mom to use it. "Mom. Please, all my friends are here. I don't want to go to live with Dad." I figured it best not to even mention 'her'.

"Well, I am thinking maybe you need to get away from your friends for awhile. All of a sudden you have these new friends and you are going out every weekend and not doing well in school. You are dressing like a tramp. You have those disgusting hennas on your wrists. I think it is time for a change." She knew about the tats? Damn. She never said anything.

"Please mom!" I begged and the silent treatment was over. "Please, if you love me, don't send me away. I'll be better. I'll be good I swear. Please give me another chance!"

She looked at me sadly. "Carrie. I love you, you have no idea how much I am going to miss you. You are the best thing in my life. But you are going to stay with your dad for awhile. How long is up to you. I already talked to him and he is coming over tonight to take you back with him. We are going to leave you at your school for now, but if things don't change, you are going to have to change schools."

"We both love you very much. You are a great kid and you are going through something that I can't fix right now for whatever reason. You are going to spend your weekends at home and come straight home after school. If your grades and your attitude get back on track, then we will start letting you go out again with friends that we meet. You have been lying to me. You have been far too liberal with my lenience lately and changes need to be made or you will end up failing out of school and doing God knows what with your life."

"I am not going to let you throw away your life for whatever phase you are going through." She finished.

Phase? Laughable. What was going to happen now? I guess, at least, this would get me away from Darla. Maybe.

"Mom, please don't do this. I love you. I want to stay with you. I swear I'll be better." Broken record? Well, I was desperate.

"Sorry Carrie, it's done." She said with a sob. I could tell she didn't really want to do this. I'm guessing dear old Dad came to the rescue and convinced her it was the right thing to do.

"Why does everyone hate me?" I whispered, not really for her ears, but based on her sob, I know she heard me.

The rest of the ride home was a monologue on how I was to be respectful to my father and 'her' and spend my time improving my grades. I really didn't think my grades could have dropped that much in two weeks. A quiz here and there, a few projects maybe, but no major tests. Great thing my school was so proactive, if sarcasm translates into that last statement.

I just cried until I had no more tears and went back to being angry at the world. Once home, I stomped into the house and up the stairs and slammed the door shut. I looked into the camera as I entered the room, my face a red blotchy mess and screamed "I hope you are happy!"

I threw myself on the bed, without undressing and found those tear ducts had refilled. At some point, I sobbed myself to sleep.

I was awakened by a soft knock at the door. "Carrie? Can I come in?" It was Dad.

I mumbled, "It's not locked."

The door opened and my father walked in and sat on the bed next to me. "Pumpkin, it's going to be okay. I know you don't want to come with me. I wish I had been a better father through the divorce, but I'm hoping you'll change your mind when we get there."

"I have a surprise waiting for you when we get there." He added when I didn't respond.

"You broke up with Kelly?" I asked hopefully, though I knew this wasn't the case. It had the desired effect of making my dad uncomfortable though.

"Carrie. Please don't make this harder than it has to be. I love Kelly very much. I know that probably doesn't make a lot of sense to you, how I could leave you and your mom for her, but sometimes people fall out of love and then find new love with someone else. I never stopped loving you. It just seemed better to let your mom keep you."

"Whatever." Great word, all time favorite right now. "I need boxes."

"Carrie, we need to talk."

Great. Let's bring you up to date on the last six years of my life while you were busy with 'her'. I thought it, I didn't say it.

"Dad, this is stupid." I sat up next to him. "My whole life is here. Why are you going to take me now?"

"I know pumpkin. I understand this is very rough on you. Believe me, a part of me agrees with you that this is not the right time to uproot your life. But, sweetheart, you are into something bad, I can tell. I don't know Carrie, are you doing drugs? It isn't the end of the world, but I never thought you would be one to give into peer pressure."

"Oh my God Dad. I'm NOT doing drugs! I'm just having a hard time with some things and it will be over soon, I promise. Please just let me stay here and work it out."

"Sorry Carrie, that is not going to happen. Maybe we should talk back at your new home." He got up and started for the closet.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he started pulling an arm load of clothes on the hangars and carrying them downstairs.

"I'll bring up some boxes." He said. And he left with the first of many trips to his SUV.

I helped. I didn't want him packing my underwear for one thing, especially since I had none. I slipped some secret things in under stacks of clothes and helped him and my mom move me out of my home. My home. Not my house, but the only home I had known for as long as I could remember. I cried more tears as I left. I hugged my mom and begged her again not to make me leave, but they had decided and she wasn't changing her mind. She was crying too.

"Carrie," my Dad started in when we got in the car and started driving to his house. "I know you think this is terrible, but give it a chance please. Give me a chance. I know I haven't been there for you and that is my fault and my greatest regret. You are an adult now. You are a strong and wonderful young woman now and it is all due to your mom. I'd like to get to know you. I want to help you through whatever it is you are going through. I know I'm your dad, but believe it or not, I was young once and went through a lot of things. So did your mom. High school is tough, and I'm sure more so for a girl."

"Dad. I'm having sex! Okay?! It isn't the end of the world! I'm still a virgin, but I'm having sex and it has changed things. I'm not being bad. I'm not stealing or doing drugs. I'm just having ..."

This made my dad quite uncomfortable. I knew it would. "Sweetheart, it's okay to have sex. I had sex in high school. So did your mom. We aren't judging you. We just think you are in over your head or maybe you have questions that you are afraid to ask. Just look at this as a break, a chance to get to know me and Kelly for awhile. You might actually enjoy yourself."

Silence. Parents don't seem to understand that sometimes it is a good thing.

"And maybe you should spend some time with Kelly. She is closer to your age than your mom and maybe you can open up to her easier."

I groaned. It did not go unnoticed and really wasn't intended to go unnoticed.

"Carrie, please give her a chance. She isn't going to try to replace your mom."

I cut him off. "Good, because she is NOT my mother."

"Carrie, please don't give her a hard time. She isn't the bad one here, it was me that left. Kelly is very smart and very fun. You will like her if you give her a chance."

"Dad, she is your girlfriend. Of course you think she is smart and fun. And she is the reason I haven't seen you more than a few times a year for the past six years, so don't expect me to be best friends all of a sudden."

"Princess..." My father was trying to stay calm, but I could sense that I was going to push him too far soon, so I decided to let up a bit. "Are you hungry?"

I suddenly realized that I was. We pulled into a chain that I will not advertise since it wasn't my first choice. Still, the food was pretty good and the server was very nice.

"So, you want to tell me what is going on?" My dad asked after we ordered our dinner.

I looked into his eyes. He looked so old now. I mean I have seen my Dad at least once a month for the past six years and even went on a week of vacation three times with just me and him. Kelly had to stay home those times, not that it bothered me in the least. "Dad, I'm a lesbian."

His eyes widened a bit at that. I'm sure it's nothing that any parent ever wants to hear. I'm sure from the day we are born, our parents picture this perfect future of spouse and children and happily ever after.

Silence. Golden silence.

"Well, I guess that would explain a lot then." He took a sip of his iced tea. "Does your mother know?"

"I don't think so. At least, well, yeah, she probably knows, but we haven't discussed it." I answered.

"Carrie, it's okay. There is really nothing wrong with being a ... lesbian." He practically whispered the word lesbian and I laughed.

"I guess it is a bit of a shock." My dad laughed with me.

"So, did you just find this out a couple weeks ago?" He asked.

"Yeah, I never really had any inclinations in that direction before. But I guess it makes sense. Most of my guy relationships never worked out or lasted very long." I shared. Why was I sharing with the deserter?

"Anyway..." I pushed on, the door being open now. "I think I love this one girl. I don't know. It's difficult since we can't really be open and monogamous." Damn, that probably wasn't a good thing to say.

His eyes widened again. "Why can't you be open and monogamous?" He was trying to reserve judgment, but it was written on his face. Yeah, Dad, by the way, I'm a lesbian slut.

"Well, it's complicated. I'm not ready to come out to the whole school and she isn't able to be the only one in my life because of some other girls that we are involved with, but I think we love each other, it just isn't easy right now."

"Umm, Carrie, how many girls are you involved with?" My dad asked with a slightly redder face.

"Oh, well, I guess just two of them really, I mean kind of with a few others, but I guess it is primarily just my girlfriend and the other girl, but she is bisexual." Well, there is Jill, Sue, Darla, Rachel, Jacki, and the entire cheerleading squad, but that does sound a bit like a slut. I giggled at what my dad would think of that. This was not funny, but messing with my dad was pretty hilarious.

"Well, why can't the two of you be exclusive? Is she in a relationship with this other girl?" My dad followed up. I guess it was rather confusing.

Well, you see Dad, I'm being blackmailed into being this lesbo slut to about fifteen girls, some of whom are significantly older than me. And, oh yeah, forgot to mention, I'm going to be sucking dicks through a glory hole Friday night if that is okay. Can I borrow your car? Once again, in my head, not out of my lips.

"Well, sort of. Like I said, it's complicated." I answered, hoping he could accept that complicated meant I wasn't willing to go into the details.

"I'm not stupid and I do have time." My father pressed.

"I'll give you the time thing." I laughed. And was glad that he laughed with me and didn't take it as though I was being mean.

"Well, it's this rather ..." How the hell do you describe Courtney? "There is this girl and she is really gorgeous and rich and I kind of broke her nose so I owe her. And there is still Farin, who knows about it and she is kind of okay with it, but then she has had this secret crush on me for ages and told me about it and things kind of happened the first time, I mean it was my first time..."

He looked utterly and completely lost. "You broke a girl's nose?"

"Yeah, well, she kind of deserved it. Well, that isn't exactly fair... She didn't deserve it so much as I took it out on her some of my frustrations at the time. So, I apologized and I'm kind of making it up to her while her nose heals up." I laughed.

I thought, yeah, I'm going down on her every day, fingering her every day in class, getting spanked by her maid. You know, whatever it takes. I'm so glad my dad can't read minds.

"So, I'm kind of in a relationship with two girls, which makes it hard to really get the one girl relationship off the ground." I finally wrapped up just as the appetizers arrived.

I suddenly remembered something. I hadn't checked my phone in ages. I bet there were messages, if not phone calls. "Umm, excuse me for a second Dad, be right back." I got up and departed for the bathroom.

Sure enough, I had messages from Farin and Darla. Far more surprising were the ones from Jill and Julie. I didn't recall either of them having the number.

I HEARD YOU GOT DRUG INTO THE SCHOOL SHRINK TODAY CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS AND DON'T SAY A WORD -- Darla

CARRIE, YOU MISSED PRACTICE REBECCA IS PISSED EVEN MORE THAN USUAL -- Farin

CARRIE, YOU HAVE MY NUMBER NOW HANDLE THIS HOWEVER YOU FEEL IS BEST CALL ME IF YOU NEED ANYTHING -- Jill

MISSED YOU TONIGHT TOMORROW NIGHT THEN? -- Courtney

LITTLE GIRL YOU NEED TO CALL ME NOW -- Darla

And then there were voice messages and missed calls. Five from Darla, two from Rebecca, one from Courtney and seven from Julie. I didn't want to cry in the restaurant. As much as I needed to talk to Julie, this was not the place for that call. The rest of them could go to hell. Well, except Jill.

JILL, PLEASE LET THE POSSE KNOW I AM ALIVE AND WELL MY FATHER HAS TAKEN ME AWAY I'LL LET YOU KNOW MORE LATER PLEASE DON'T SAY ANYTHING TO JULIE I WOULD RATHER TELL HER MYSELF BUT I'M IN A RESTAURANT WITH MY DAD RIGHT NOW AND IT ISN'T THE RIGHT PLACE FOR TEARS - CARRIE

I sent the message and decided to go ahead and use the bathroom while I was in here. The reply, though, was immediate.

CARRIE, FOLLOW YOUR HEART AND DO WHAT MAKES THINGS RIGHT BY YOU DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE REST OF US BITCHES WE WILL DEAL WITH THE FALLOUT TAKE CARE OF YOU AND ONLY YOU CALL ME IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND INCLINATION TO DO SO -- JILL P.S. CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NINE DAYS YOU WON BACK TODAY DARLA IS A TERRIBLE GAMBLER

I laughed my ass off. I couldn't help it.

ALL GAMES ARE ON HOLD DEAL WITH YOUR LIFE -- JILL

Now that was a relief.

I looked in the mirror and wished I had some make up because I looked like crap. One more thing.

THANKS FOR THE BREAK HOW LONG IS IT? -- CARRIE

YOU CAN HAVE TOMORROW OFF BUT IT DOESN'T COUNT TOWARDS YOUR TIME -- JILL

CALL ME IF YOU NEED MORE THAN A DAY BUT YOU WILL NEED TO CONVINCE ME -- JILL

Whatever!

I joined my dad and we finished our meal and conversation with him probably more confused than ever and me well fed. We finished the drive to my dad's house. In total, he lived about an hour away from my... erm... mom's house. Which meant he lived an hour away from my school and most importantly Julie. When we arrived at his larger home, I got out and we both grabbed an arm full of clothes and headed to the door.

Oh joy of joys, Kelly was waiting to greet us. She gave my dad a big kiss and me an unwanted hug, but I couldn't push her away because my arms were full. "Oh Carrie! We are so glad you are coming to stay with us for awhile."

I guess I should describe Kelly. Kelly is 'chipper'. I know, that isn't a term you EVER use, but it describes her very well. Happy little girl all the time, so perky and cheerful, you just want to strangle her. She is gorgeous. I don't know how the hell my dad ended up with her to be honest. I mean he's a good looking guy I guess, but between the age gap and the fact that she is just so... 'chipper'.

You would think she would have settled down with her high school quarterback. She was 28 now, but at the time she started boinking my dad, she was only like 21 or 22. Neither mom nor I know exactly when they began their affair. We only know she was 22 when he left us for her. Anyway, she is not on my list of favorite people in the world.

"Come on, you are going to love your room!" She chirped and led the way upstairs. For whatever wasteful reason, they had a pretty big house for just the two of them. I followed upstairs, my father offering a reproachful glare at my bubbly impersonation of his girlfriend as I bounced up the stairs, exaggeratedly swinging my head and ass.

She led me to the largest of the bedrooms, besides the master suite of course, and dramatically paused at the door, with her hand on the knob. "Ready?" She smiled at me.

I rolled my eyes. Did she think I was still 12?

She pushed the door open and I did actually gasp. It was horrible. It was horrendous. It was... perfect.

I had a HUGE bed. It was a big king size four poster and it had these semi-transparent drapes all around it. There was a huge mirrored dresser, a night stand, a roll top desk and chair and an entertainment center. This was not mismatched stuff either. It was gorgeous. My eyes were wide as they have been since I was a kid at Christmas. This was too much!

"Oh my God!" I shouted and dropped the clothes and dove onto the bed like a little kid.

Kelly laughed at me and my dad was laughing too.

"Dad this is insane! Why would you do this?" I exclaimed.

"Tell her the best part John." Kelly smiled at me and God help me I couldn't hate her right then. "It was your idea Kelly, take her down and show her yourself." John, err Dad replied as he headed to the closet to hang up the clothes he was carrying.

Kelly came over to the bed and took my hand. "You ready for the surprise of a lifetime?" She giggled.

"I doubt it." I laughed.

She pulled me to my feet and half ran with me down the stairs. I followed her to the kitchen and thought they were going to give me a cake or something stupid and she started opening the door to the garage and she put her hand over my eyes and I felt ridiculous and I heard her flip the light switch on and she said "Surprise!" and took her hand away to reveal a brand new, bright red Mustang convertible.

"You are shitting me." I said.

Kelly laughed. "I'm glad your dad didn't hear you say that." She handed me the keys. "Mind if I ride with you?"

I think I was having a minor heart attack. This did not happen to me. I could not believe my dad had the money to buy me a car, much less a brand new convertible Mustang. "I don't know what to say." I gasped.

"Say you love it." Kelly laughed.

"I do." I stammered. "I love it." Maybe I was selling my soul to the devil here. Maybe this was a huge betrayal of my mom. But, wow, I would NEVER ride the bus again.

And then I did it. I gave the ultimate betrayal of my own mother and I hugged 'her'.

I yelled back through the door. "DAD! I LOVE IT!"

My dad appeared in the kitchen and smiled at me. "Consider it an advance of your graduation present."