1 I burn my thighs

ADORA'S POV

Growing up, I thought my family was perfect, like super perfect then boom! Life isn't a fair square and neither was my so called Dad. Remembering all those thanksgiving holidays before turning seventeen, I got sentimental. Dad only got home on holidays like spending Christmas time with the family and new year's eve. I never got tired of decorating the Christmas tree, definitely doing it with Dad, Mum and Teagan, my elder sister, seemed a lot of fun. I was made to understand that Dad was always busy at work providing for the family little did I know that it was all a pathological lie. He was never busy like really busy, he was jumping from one woman to another, whether old or young, my Dad didn't give a damn about it.

Sitting his ass all day in his office and then treating his one-week side pieces to a fine restaurant before they could show him their sexy lingeries. And there was my mum, silent and knitting all day in the house like it never crossed her mind to bring the family together. I was so angry at her that sometimes we didn't talk about any stuff like we used to do before. A series of frustrations made me to burn my thighs every night and it hurt so good....so much good that I could forget my family drama for once. The tendency of harming myself got so much worse when mum came to find out about it. She took away all the lighters in the house and that didn't stop me from doing what I wanted.

I knew my elder sister smoked weed, so every time she went out partying on the middle of the night, I could rummage through her things and use her lighter. However, my sister too sold me out and I was forced to go to therapy on a daily basis after school.

****

"Miss Waters, I'm glad that you showed up today. I know it has not been easy...."

"And it will be never be any easy and you're just wasting your precious time, just get over it. You have been so engrossed in solving people's psychic behaviors that you hardly do your nails. They need a nice nail polish...pink perhaps." I plastered a smile on my face wanting to annoy Dr. Baker.

"This is a safe space for you and everything stays between us. Burning your thighs to get rid of your pain is unhealthy behavior that has got to stop." She continued with her usual unending life coaching lessons.

"Do you have kids?" I asked her.

"Yeah I do. I have two adorable kids, a boy and a girl." She marveled.

"What if they found out that their daddy likes every woman's thigh? It could be so devastating, so traumatic, couldn't it?"

"This isn't about me Adora, it's about you..."

"Yeah sure, it is about me. That's why you practically can't comprehend what it feels like to have a broken family because your kids haven't experienced that yet. You don't know what it is like..." I sighed heavily.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I'm just here to help you out, okay?" Dr. Baker took off her glasses.

"Your rational explanations won't bring my family together, Dad is out there kissing every call girl in the streets. He forgot all about us, you get that? I'm not just gonna sit in here and wait for a miracle to happen out of the blues, goodbye Dr. Baker." I sauntered to the door slamming it hard on my way out.

"Holy shit! Watch where you're going kiddo!" A guy hissed back at me after we almost collided on my way downstairs.

"What did you just call me?" I suddenly grabbed his collar.

"Kiddo, why?" He squinted his ocean blue eyes. Damn! He was hot.

"Asshole!" I pushed him to the wall and let go of his collar, he was too way hot to handle.

"Hey baby, can who was that girl?" I heard a woman's voice as I climbed down.

"A lost puppy. Let's get the hell out of here. I'm starving to death." The guy muttered and from the ground floor, I could see the two climbing up the staircase, holding hands like children.

It was too early to get home since my therapy took two hours and I had barely stayed for thirty minutes or so. I spotted Jillian, my best friend at the pizzeria across the streets.

"Hey Julian!" I called after her.

"Hey, I'm heading home. See you tomorrow at school." She hoped into her mom's car who didn't hesitate to pull away immediately. Her mother hated me so much because of my father's scandal. She even went as far as restricting me from seeing Jillian every time I ran away from home. I was bad influence to her own daughter who she pampered so much. Jillian had been avoiding me for the past one week in school and I certainly knew where I belonged. A child who had a womanizing Dad. It sure sucked for having to be humiliated and despised by the neighbors.

I walked into the pizzeria and ordered a large pizza with cocktail so long as I had enough savings to last me a week. I barely ate what mom cooked and she didn't hesitate to punish me. Taking away all the food stuffs from the fridge and dumping them in that garbage outside the house.

Just when I was about to have a bite...the devil incarnate walked in with a woman in his bosom. A skinny blonde for a side piece, Dad had bad taste in women and I wondered where he got all those weird women from. I believe some were from the shanties, having an opportunity to dine with Mister Know it all before cracking his bed.

I looked away and finished my pizza before I could make a move on my prey.

"Excuse me? You haven't paid...." The waiter stopped me in my tracks.

"I believe you're not blind enough to see that man over there. He's my father and he'll pay for it." I sneered and walked up to him, pulling a chair and sitting beside the blonde.

"Whoa! Who are you?" The blonde asked.

"Dad, is that how you teach these mannerless women from the ghettos to talk back at your own daughter? Jeez! I knew she's from the gutters, the cheap baby cologne. Dad, upgrade your women." I glared at her and stood up to leave.

"That was uncalled for, apologize! Now!" Dad hissed back at me.

"Oh Dad, when will you ever grow up...you completely deserted us remember? What do you expect me to do? Be nice to her? You barely give me my allowance when your bank accounts are bursting with money! And for the record, I just had one pizza and you'll pay for it and anything I'll order."

I banged the table drawing the attention and walked to the counter.

"What are you all looking at? Never seen toxic daddy-daughter moment!" I shrilled at everyone who peered at me. "Two packages and a bottle champagne. Make it quick."

"Feisty huh?" The pizza girl chuckled as she packed the pizza and the champagne in a carrier bag.

"I resemble that man over there, the bill goes to him." I grabbed the bag and walked out majestically. If My Dad couldn't give me my daily allowances or the credit card, I'll stand to lose nothing if I showed up everywhere he went. If he wasn't going to man up, he could as well as forget having seen the last of me.

***

"What's all that?" Mom asked.

"When will you stop asking me questions? As you can see, I'm reaping where you find it hard to sow." I never had patience for anyone even mom new how skeptical I was becoming. In a few months, I would turn eighteen and she won't have me grounded ever again. I'll go partying like Teagan and everybody else.

"What's the heck Adora! When did you learn to disobey your mother huh?" Mom yelled at me.

"No I'm not. Open your eyes mother, I'm finally growing, if you don't have the guts to bring your husband home to us, then I'll do it." I retorted back.

"Since when..."

"Mom stop! Please stop playing the good guy here. Maybe Teagan is fine without Dad but I am not! Jillian stopped being friends with me just because her mother told her not to. You know why is that? I'm a bad influence, of course Dad can date whoever he wants but who gets blamed for it? Me!" I swallowed hard and hurried up the staircase.