Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I made a mental note to take her a plate of dinner later. Her growth spurt had made it so that she was already so thin, she really couldn’t afford to skip any meals, and the last thing I wanted was for her usual crankiness to be exacerbated by hunger.
“So, how’s that going?” my dad asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Well, you can see exactly how well it’s going,” I said wryly.
“How old is she now, fifteen?” my mom asked.
“She just turned sixteen a few months ago. It seems like she’s been intent on becoming my worst nightmare ever since. She genuinely hates me, I think.”
Both of my parents looked at me knowingly. My mom responded, “Oh, she doesn’t hate you, Elio. Don’t you remember when you were a teenager? Everything we did infuriated you.”
My dad laughed. “Remember the time we tried to play a card game and you damn near flipped the table by the end?”
I took another sip of wine to hide my mortification from the memory. I had never been known to have a temper, but my parents were right. My teen years had been rough for the three of us.
I remembered struggling to feel like I belonged. My parents had always been so in love, and as a young kid I had felt like the center of their world. But as I grew older, I started worrying that I wasn’t as important to them as I had thought. Of course, I later realized I was wrong. But at the time, I had no idea what I was feeling. All I knew was that I was pissed off all the time.
“I wish I could tell Cat that someday I’ll bring up all these little moments and she’ll be humiliated about her behavior,” I joked.
“Teenagers hate being told that there’s something they don’t understand,” my mom said wisely. “They are convinced that they know everything about the world and that we just don’t get it, and there’s nothing you can say to convince them otherwise.”
“I really want to be there for her. I know she’s having a hard time with her mom working so much. But she makes it so damn hard to even be around her. I don’t know how to make her feel better when she’s so intent on yelling at me every time we’re in the same room.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Mom said. “Just remember, when she’s hurt, she’s going to lash out with anger. That’s just what kids do at that age. If you keep that in mind, you’ll have more sympathy for her, even when she’s acting like a brat.”
“Your mom had to tell me that once when I was about to head up to your room and lay into you for being disrespectful to her,” my dad said.
“Well, damn, I didn’t think I was that hard to deal with!” I laughed.
I knew it was all water under the bridge. My parents loved me dearly, and they always made sure I knew it. I wondered if that would help Caterina at all. Maybe she just needed her mom to tell her she loved her more frequently.
“You weren’t! Your dad just didn’t know how not to treat everything like you were one of his men.” My mom poked him in the side as she said it.
“I’ll be honest. I just don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to her. I’m trying my best because Tallon asked me to help take care of her, but every day I think someone else would have done a better job,” I admitted.
“You’re doing great, sweetheart,” my mom reassured me. “Nobody knows what they’re doing when it comes to dealing with teenagers, especially ones who have had to deal with the death of a parent. Just keep being there for her as best as you can, in whatever capacity she needs.”
“Thank you, Mom,” I said genuinely, reaching out to take her hand in mine and squeeze it once.
I hadn’t been realistic when I agreed to help care for Caterina. I’d thought she would just be a sweet little kid forever, always wanting to follow me around like a puppy. But I had made a promise to my family to take care of her, and I never broke a promise, no matter how difficult it became to keep.
I just hoped we would both make it out of her teenage years with our sanity intact.
*Elio*
I sighed as my phone screen lit up with Caterina’s mother’s name. Caterina had an uncanny ability to need me right when I was in the middle of important work.
I had been just about to call an important contact and press them on whether they had made the decision to deal with us. It was a phone call that had taken me over an hour to prepare for, but I never ignored Matilde’s calls.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hey, Elio, I’m sorry to call last minute, but I got stuck at work again. Can you go over and meet Cat when she gets home from school? She needs to be doing her homework. I’m really worried about her grades. I got a call from her English teacher yesterday that she’s close to failing. I just don’t know what’s gotten into her lately.” She let out a breath.
I knew she’d been stressed by her job and Caterina’s spiraling behavior. I wanted to help in any way that I could. So much for making that call today, I thought.
“Yeah, of course, no problem!” I said cheerily. “I’ll head over now.”
“Thank you so much. Elio, I know that the last thing someone your age wants to be doing is taking care of someone else’s kid. I hope you know how much I appreciate it. I don’t know where Cat and I would be without you.” Her voice tightened and it sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help. I was just finishing up my work for the day anyway,” I lied.
As Matilde’s work had kept her busier and busier, I had noticed that she’d become more prone to making tearful declarations about how grateful she was for my involvement with Caterina. It made me ridiculously uncomfortable. Caterina was definitely a little pain in my ass from time to time, but helping take care of her was the least I could do for my family.
I locked up my important documents in my desk and tidied up my office before heading to Matilde’s. It was a short drive from my office, perfect for dropping by quickly. I suspected that Cat had no idea I would be coming over, and I didn’t want her to know. She’d gotten into a bad habit of sneaking out any time she knew I was coming to watch her.
I walked in the front door, shutting it loudly behind me and yelling out, “Hello?”
Cat appeared at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed and her face twisted into a grimace.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she practically growled.
“Your mom called,” I said, purposefully ignoring her language. “I’m here to help you with your homework.”
She immediately turned on her heel and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her. I took a deep breath, working hard not to let her behavior trigger me. I’d noticed that most of the bullshit she pulled was done to get the adults around her to react, and the calmer I behaved, the more it threw her off until she would finally give up.
I found her backpack thrown carelessly on the floor by the front door, so I picked it up and headed up to her room. I mentally prepared myself for a long evening of arguing. At least her mom was supposed to be home in a few hours and then I could take the rest of the night off. The nights when her mom had to stay out of town were the worst.
I knocked on her bedroom door gently, trying to exude patience.
“Go away!” she screamed.
“Open the door now. You know I can just unlock it from out here anyway.”
I heard her stomp over to her door and unlock it before wrenching it open with all her strength. She stared up at me, the picture of fury.
It reminded me of the time when I was a kid and had accidentally found a goose’s nest in the park. The mother goose had hissed and chased me all the way back to my parents. I wondered if Cat was going to try to chase me down the stairs.
“What do you want?” she half-whined, half-yelled.
“We need to work on your homework. Your mom told me you’re failing English. What the hell is that about? You love to read.”
“I’m not failing. I have a D,” she said insolently.
I scoffed. “As if that’s much better? Seriously, what’s the deal? You’re a smart girl. There’s no reason why you should be even close to failing any of your classes.”
“I don’t care about any of it. None of it matters. I’m going to leave this shithole as soon as I can anyway.”
“You won’t get anywhere in life if you don’t get good grades. I’m serious. You think you can fail through life and nice things will just be handed to you?”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I’m just a spoiled brat who doesn’t understand how good she has it,” she muttered, looking away from me.
I wondered who in the world had told her that. It hadn’t been me, although I might have thought it a few times.
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
