"She's good. She started her job this week."
Job?Why would she get a job? My dad buys her whatever she wants.
"She's teaching yoga. She's only taught a few classes but she loves it. She's even had a few celebrities in her class."
Now I get why she took the job. She's hoping it'll help her make connections with the right people. She wants to be an actress, and apparently she's a good one because she was able to con my dad into leaving his family and moving to LA. Their house is actually in Malibu, the place where rich people live. It's on the beach because Madison insisted on having a beach house. The bitch also convinced my dad to keep the prenup he had with my mom, making sure she didn't get any of his money in the divorce.
My dad's parents died when he was in college and left him an inheritance worth millions. He makes a lot being a lawyer but it's his inheritance that made him rich. He made sure to protect it with a prenup when he married my mom. When they divorced, all she got was half of whatever equity they had in the house, which was gone after paying the real estate fees when they sold it.
My mom was left with almost nothing, while Madison, who's 25 by the way, is living her dream life with my dad and his money.
"Do you like California?" I ask.
"I do. I like it more than Chicago. No more brutal winters."
"Yeah. That'll be nice."
He doesn't care that his daughter still has to endure the brutal winters. He never even bothered to ask if I wanted to go live with him. The answer would've been no, but he still could've asked. I knew he wouldn't because of Madison. There's no way she'd let me live with them. She's trying to make him forget he even has kids.
"Have you talked to your sister lately?" he asks.
"No. She's always working."
"I talked to her last weekend but not for very long. She was on her way to meet a friend for lunch."
I'm guessing that was a lie so she could get him off the phone. Chelsea doesn't want to talk to him but she does because she doesn't like conflict or taking sides. She talked to Dad both during and right after the divorce, when I was giving him the silent treatment. I was too angry to talk to him. I still am, but I really need that college money.
"I'll call her this weekend," I tell him.
We both get quiet. I can't think of anything else to say. I feel like I don't know him anymore. He's not the dad I grew up with. Since meeting Madison, he's become someone else. Someone who doesn't care about his kids and sees us as a burden he wishes he could just forget about. I'm sure hewillforget us when he has kids with Madison. I keep waiting for him to call and tell me she's pregnant. When he does, I'll probably never hear from him again.
"Well, I should probably let you do your homework," he says.
"Yeah. Okay, well, nice talking to you."
"You too. Bye, honey."
"Bye." I end the call, tossing the phone on my bed. He doesn't even say he loves me anymore. He used to say it all the time but now it's like he can't for some reason. Madison probably told him not to. My dad used to say my mom was controlling but she's nothing like Madison. She literally tells him what to do throughout the day. The one and only time I was forced to go to dinner with them, Madison told my dad what to order, when to use his napkin, and what to leave for a tip. And he just went along with it! If my mom had done that, he would've blown up at her and they would've fought about it for the rest of the night.
Madison's really pretty but that can't be enough to make my dad not see how she controls him. Is he just afraid she'll leave him if he speaks up? If so, that's really pathetic. And yet, if I'm honest with myself, sometimes I do the same thing. Sometimes I don't speak up to Chad because I don't want him to leave. I need to work on that. Talking to Eve has made me realize my relationship with Chad isn't as great as I thought it was.
Getting my laptop out, I try to work on my homework but I'm too angry after talking to my dad. I need to calm down before I can focus again.
It's almost four and my mom won't be home until eight. She used to be home when I got home from school. She'd want to talk about my day but I'd tell her I was busy, then go out with my friends. Now my mom and my friends are the busy ones and I'm stuck here in this apartment, bored and lonely.
I call up Chad.
“Brook, why are you calling? I thought we were talking tonight."
"I can't talk to you more than once a day?"
"You can, but you should text first. See if I'm available."
"I didn't know I had to make an appointment to talk to you."
He sighs. "Brook, why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?"
