Kelly was standing in front of her front door. She took her keys out, and opened the door quietly. She had been told by her mother from a very young age that there was no need to announce herself to the world by doing things obnoxiously. So, she never stomped, trampled, or noisily did anything. She was a quiet timid girl. She had never even heard her parents making love. That's how quiet things were at her house. Today was different, though.
She walked in to the living room, through the hallway past the kitchen. She headed up the carpeted stairs and towards her room. She heard noises coming from her mom's room, and the door was wide open. Her mom was moaning, and screaming as someone was on top of her. The lights weren't on, and Kelly wanted to make sure it wasn't her daddy. She wasn't prepared for what came next, though.
"You're a wild woman, Mrs. Davis."
Her heart froze in her rib cage. That sounded like her boyfriend, Mark. Mark? What was Mark doing in bed with her mother? She almost ran into the room, but she just went quietly up to her door, opened it, and went inside her room. She closed her door, locked it, and cried for the longest time. She didn't hear them leave, or go down to the first floor. She just remembered crying for what felt like hours.
Her cell phone rang, and it was Mark. She clicked it on.
"Hello?" she asked bitterly.
"Kelly, hey. I called to let you know that I can't make our date tonight." He explained softly. "I got held up with some other errands, and I can't make it. I have to take a shower, and go meet with my boss about work."
"Fine with me." She said bitterly.
"Something wrong, dearest?" Mark asked.
"I don't want to go out with you anymore." Kelly explained.
"But I gave you a ring."
"Flushed it down the toilet." She lied. She would do that as soon as she got off the phone.
"Kelly, what happened to you?" he asked.
"I found you, Mark, like some bestial wild pig fucking my mother!" she shouted. "I want nothing to do with you!" she shrieked.
"But, my gradesβ"
"-I never want to see you again. You can find someone else to help you with your homework. Since that's all I ever was to you anyway."
"Kelly, let me explain!" Mark begged.
"I will." Kelly shot back at him. "Not because I want to take you back. I just want to see what kind of excuse you'll lead me to believe. I want to see what you've had time to come up with in this amount of time." She said bitterly.
"Kelly, your mom was naked when I came over. I was looking for you, and your mom was walking around the house, naked. She asked if I liked what I saw, and I did. Then, all of a sudden, I'm kissing her andβ"
"-Mark, I don't want to hear it. I am dumping you. You can tell the coach, and your father, that you will be needing a new tutor for your work. I want to have nothing to do with you." She shouted.
"Fine. I never loved you, anyway. And I want my ring back. That's fourteen karat gold." He explained.
"Find it from the sewage company. I flushed it." She said as she hung up the call. There was a knock at the door.
She froze. She didn't know who that could be. Her mom ready to yell at her? Or her dad? She waited.
"Kelly, open the door." It was her father. She just stared. "Open the door, Kelly, please." He begged. "I have to talk to you."
Kelly opened the door. He stepped in. He turned on the light.
"I'm kind of getting ready to go to bed." Kelly said softly. "I'm not feeling well today, dad."
"I know." Said her dad softly. "Your feelings were heard all over the house, and maybe out of your open window, too." He said softly.
"Oh daddy, no!" Kelly gasped. "You weren't supposed to hear me! I was going to tell you, but I didn't know how." She whispered.
"I wondered why you were in here for three whole hours crying." He said as he walked over to her. "Can I do anything for you?" he asked.
"No. I'm not the one you should be tending to." Kelly said softly. "I want to know if I can do anything for you. Does mom know I know?" she asked. "Or that you know?"
"No, she doesn't. She's been down in her office all this time. I made dinner, and I was about to come get you, and I heard what you said." Sean said softly.
"What are you going to do?" Kelly asked. "You're not going to hit her, are you?"
"Kelly, listen to me." He said as he leaned in and took her face in his hands. "Under no circumstance is it ever..., ever..., okay to hit a woman." He said as he looked her in the eye. "I am not going to hit your mother, I am going to ask her about this. I am going to get a divorce from her. But honey, I would never lay hands on a woman." He explained.
"I hate her. She's a slut." Kelly said softly. "And Mark is a pig."
"Yes, they are." He said softly. He kissed her forehead, and hugged her. "Want some dinner? We can eat it in the dining room, and I won't call your mom until you're out of the room if you want." He said softly.
"I'll come eat with you, daddy." She said softly. "But you don't have to hide anything. I want you to tell mom whenever you're ready." She muttered.
That night, they both ate with Sydney. She was sitting there, as if nothing had happened. She was smiling and everything.
"What's up with you two, you look like you've seen a ghost." She remarked.
"Nothing much." Sean said softly.
"I love your food, dad. You really outdid yourself this time." Kelly said grinning.
"Thanks, Kells. I thought it was pretty good myself." He said smiling.
"It beats Panda Express." Sydney said with a grimace. "That place is terrible."
"Dad, do you want me to help with the dishes?" Kelly asked smiling politely at him.
"If you want. You don't have to, if you have homework or something."
"I can help him, dear." Sydney explained.
"No, it's all right. You go down to your office, and do whatever it is you do." Sean said noting that Kelly was ignoring her mother for sure.
"All right. I guess you two could use some bonding time. You don't spend nearly enough time with your daughter." Her mom said softly.
"You all right, honey?" Sean asked after all the dishes were done.
"I feel better. It's kind of depressing, that my boyfriend hit on and screwed my mother." Kelly said bitterly. "But I'll be okay."
"If you need anything, you know where to find me." He said softly.
"You really going to go in and sleep with that?" Kelly asked bitterly.
"Got to. I need to straighten out the situation." He explained softly.
"All right, well. Hope everything works out." Kelly said softly.
Within a month the divorce papers were signed. Turns out she really didn't like him, and he didn't like her. The marriage was a sham, and they both knew it. He had always been faithful, but she'd been doing all kinds of things behind his back. She wanted custody of Kelly, since she was still a minor. But Kelly fought hard and got to stay with her dad. She didn't want to be a part of any of her mother's next adventures in life. Wherever that took her. Sydney was disappointed, because she felt Kelly should go with her. She also held a grudge because she got nothing out of the divorce. When she finally moved out that night, Kelly regretted her choice. She found her dad sitting in the living room, and she sat down beside him.
"You know, my birthday is in six months." She muttered. "I can get an apartment and be out of here in no time."
"What?" Sean asked as he turned off the TV. "Where did that come from?" he asked.
"I don't know." Kelly said softly. "I guess, I feel like a trapped deer. I mean, I should've gone with mom. I don't want to intrude on anything you might have." She explained.
"Like what, doll face?" Sean asked making her blush.
"Well, like, you know..., a new wife, or dating, or guy time with the buddies from your work."
"Kelly, you're my daughter." Sean said laughing. "I want you with me as long as you want to be. I can do all the guy stuff with guys even if you do stay with me." He explained. "I don't think I want to date for quite a while." He muttered.
"Why, daddy?" she asked as she snuggled up to him.
"Well, your mom doing what she did turned me off from women. Don't get me wrong, I'm straight. I love tits." He said smiling. "But I just don't want to jump into anything for a bit. I'm not heart broken, either. I truly hated your mom. That's why we never had sex except to make you." He said sighing.
"Whoa. You hated her all this time?" she asked.
"Yes. I didn't like her attitude, her habits. Living with her was a strain on my life. Why am I telling you this? I should be consoling you." He said softly as he hugged her. "I'm sorry about what Mark did to you." He said sadly.
"Men are worms." Kelly said bitterly. "They are all sexist pigs, who don't care about themselves." She muttered.
"Well, all right then." Sean said as he went red in the face.
"You have nothing to worry about, daddy. You're not a man." She said laughing as she hugged him tightly now.
"Something down between my legs says I am." Her dad said grinning at her.
"No. You're not a man. You're daddy." She said smiling at him. "I love you, and you'd never hurt me. Or any other women." She said as she laid her head against his chest.
Six months flew by pretty quick. Sean and Kelly often had friends over for dinner, or just to relax and do things. But over all, it wasn't a bad living arrangement. Kelly was allowed more breathing room, and her curfew was lifted. She was a growing woman, and her father felt she was trust worthy enough to merit a curfew lift.
For her birthday, they had some of Kelly's friends over, and they had some pizza cake and ice-cream. It was awesome. No boys. They were very adamant about that. They allowed Sean to stay, because Sean was a father.
"I don't know what you girls were taught in school, but as far as I know, dads are still men." He said as he ate at the table with them.