Sweet Revenge
Chapter Fourteen
“Absolutely not. We’re not going to allow this, Sarah. You have no idea of the consequences of what you want to do.”
Sarah’s father wasn’t normally a scary man. He wasn’t particularly tall, standing at five foot ten, and his build wasn’t stocky or muscular. He was quite thin, due to the care he took when it came to his diet. He was dressed down in a short sleeved shirt,which was open at the neck, a pair of slacks and a pair of runners. He was far from terrifying, and Sarah had never had any cause to fear her father. She had grown up in a loving home, and other than the fact that her parents had high expectations of her academically, they had always been good to her, and they rarely fought. Right then, sitting on the couch in the house she shared with her college friends, with both her parents breathing heavily and angry as hell at her, as they sat on the two seater couch, she was beyond petrified.
She had called them the night before, informing them that she was moving with Michael to Minnesota. She was giving up college, and everything she had worked for, to move away with a ‘boy they’d never met’. There had been shouting, and tears, and accusations thrown around during that phone call. It had been one of the hardest things Sarah had had to do, and Michael had been by her side as she made the call. He had rubbed her back and kept her calm, and wiped her tears away.
“Don’t be sad. If they don’t understand, it’s their problem, not ours. We know what’s best for us. Nothing else matters, as long as we’re together. We can get through anything, as long as we’re together.”
His words had lulled her into a fitful sleep that night, where she dreamt of her parents' faces, looking at her with disappointment and anger. She dreamt about them not speaking to her again, and never seeing them again. Her plan had been to call them in a couple of days, when they'd calmed down, and try to make them see sense. Michael had stayed with her that night, and left her early in the morning, with a sweet kiss, and a promise that he would see her later. She hadn’t expected her parents to get on the first flight out, and show up at her door at 11 am, their faces set harder than stone as they barged their way into the house, and forced a face-to-face confrontation she wasn’t prepared for.
Her father told her she was throwing her future away. Sarah tried to explain that without Michael, she didn’t have a future. Her mother told her that she was too young to fully know what love was – what she was feeling was infatuation, and it wasn’t something that was worth giving up her life for, not when it was only the difference of a year. Sarah pointed out that she was twenty, not sixteen, and was fully capable of understanding her own emotions.
“You realise you can’t actually stop me, right? I’m twenty years old – if I want to move to Minnesota, I can!”
Looking back, Sarah could see just how immature her reaction that day had been. She would later imagine herself in her mother’s position, and Charlotte standing in front of her, all grown up but completely clueless about the reality of life, and the hardships of being an adult, and completely immature and inexperienced. She could imagine the pain her parents went through in that moment, knowing their daughter was about to make the biggest mistake of her life, and failing to prevent it from happening.
“Sarah, just listen to what I have to say for a minute! You say that he loves you. Well, if that’s true, then he would want what’s best for you, by default. That’s what love is; it’s about wanting the person you care about to be happy, even if it means them having to do something you can’t be a part of. You have one year left, Sarah. One year. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a lot. Why can’t he wait for you? He could get things sorted for when you finally graduate. You could get a good job then. If you leave school now, you’ll be left with nothing to fall back on. You’ll be stuck in a job that you hate, earning low money. Is that what Michael really wants for you?”Her mother sounded desperate and pained, and in the years to come, it would haunt Sarah in the dead of night in her dreams.
“He wants us to be together, just like I do. He has a good job, I don’t need to earn a lot of money. I need to be with him. I can always go back later. I’m technically deferring the year.It’s not like I can’t finish later, if it comes to it. Why can’t you just support me?”Sarah countered, her mother’s words unable to permeate her stubbornness.
“Because we can see what you can’t, Sarah. The Sarah we raised would never choose to give up college for a guy she’s known for a few months. Yes, maybe it is ‘true love’, but true love waits, and gets over all kinds of obstacles. You have to ask yourself why he doesn’t want you to do the best thing for you, and have a good degree to fall back on, should you need it.”
“Because I trust him enough to know I don’t need it right now. This is just something I need to do.”
Sarah felt bad for her housemates, who were hiding in their respective rooms while the heated exchange of opinion was taking place in the common space living room. The place was actually clean for once, since it was only a matter of days before they all left for the summer break. All three of them were breathing heavily, the tension crackling in the air. Sarah couldn’t look them in the eyes, could barely even focus on their faces. Sarah had never defied her parents before, or even so much as contradicted them. She had always been a good child; she did what she was told, when she was told. She never snuck out, or let her grades slip. She never had her parents look at her with such anger, such bitterness, such disappointment. It cut her deep, unnaturally sharp and painful. Her chest hurt, her skin was prickling and her eyes stung.
“We can’t support you in this, Sarah,” her father broke the silence that had filled the room when they had all said their piece.“We won’t. You’re making a mistake, and we can’t stand by and let it happen. You either come home with us now, or you go with Michael to Minnesota and live in whatever juvenile fantasy life you think you two will live. If you choose him, that’s it. We won’t be there when things go sour. We won’t be supporting you when you realise the mistake you’ve made, and believe me, you will see it, and soon. You’re young, and you think nothing bad will come your way. Bills mean nothing to you.Being an adult, and taking on responsibility is an abstract concept to you, but it won’t always be that way. Real life will set in, and when it does, it’s gonna be hard. The lust fades fast, and the excitement goes when reality kicks in, and believe me, it will. Sooner than you expect. And when it does, we won’t be there to pick up the pieces. You say you need to do this, then you can do this without us. You’ve led a privileged life, Sarah, with no hardships. You’ve had everything handed to you, and all we asked is that you did your best. We wanted you to do well for yourself, so that one day, when the time came, you could support yourself, and live a good, happy life. We did everything we could to steer you on the right course. Maybe we were wrong to hand you everything like that.”
“Or maybe you’re wrong to doubt my choices. I have to live my life for myself, and maybe I’m making a mistake, but I have to make them myself. You’re my parents – you’re supposed to be there for me, not giving me ultimatums. I’m your only child, and you’re telling me to choose between you and the man I love. How can you ask me that?”
Her father shook his head, and her mother started sobbing silently. Sarah stood up, angry, hurt and confused. She had never seen this side to her parents before, and never in a million years, did she think her parents would effectively disown her.
“I want you to leave. If you want me out of your lives, then that’s your choice. I’m not the one that will live in regret.”
“Sarah, think about-“
“Get. Out!” she cut her mother off.
She stormed to the front door, and with a vicious pull, she opened it wide open, gesturing for her parents to leave.
“We love you, Sarah. We just want what’s best for you,” Her mother whispered, her voice choked with emotion.
Sarah shut the door, feeling a calm numbness envelope her.
When Michael came by later, he didn’t show much emotion when Sarah broke down and told him what had transpired.
“Parent’s aren’t infallible. Sometimes they make the wrong choices. You’re better off without them, Sarah. They don’t know us, and they don’t deserve to be a part of our lives, if they can’t respect our love. One day, we’ll have our own family, and that’s all we’ll need.”
Sarah wondered about Michael’s family. She was reluctant to ask the questions that were bubbling under the surface. Would she ever meet them? Where did they live? Did he have any contact with them?
“Are your parents like mine?”
She felt his anger radiate the second the question left her mouth. His eyes narrowed, his muscles tensed and he didn’t look pleased. Sarah tensed up, afraid he would get angry.
“They weren’t the best parents in the world. They’re gone now, so I don’t have to worry about them anymore.”
“Michael, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t. I don’t like to talk about it very much.”
“Of course.”
Sarah wrapped her arms around him, feeling guilty that she had brought it up. She was distracted from the pain she felt over her own parents.
“That’s why I can’t lose you, Sarah. I know things are moving fast, but…I can’t go through being alone again.”
“You won’t be. Like you said, it’s me and you, from now on,” she promised, tightening her hug, and certain that she had made the right choice.
Sarah’s father wasn’t normally a scary man. He wasn’t particularly tall, standing at five foot ten, and his build wasn’t stocky or muscular. He was quite thin, due to the care he took when it came to his diet. He was dressed down in a short sleeved shirt,which was open at the neck, a pair of slacks and a pair of runners. He was far from terrifying, and Sarah had never had any cause to fear her father. She had grown up in a loving home, and other than the fact that her parents had high expectations of her academically, they had always been good to her, and they rarely fought. Right then, sitting on the couch in the house she shared with her college friends, with both her parents breathing heavily and angry as hell at her, as they sat on the two seater couch, she was beyond petrified.
She had called them the night before, informing them that she was moving with Michael to Minnesota. She was giving up college, and everything she had worked for, to move away with a ‘boy they’d never met’. There had been shouting, and tears, and accusations thrown around during that phone call. It had been one of the hardest things Sarah had had to do, and Michael had been by her side as she made the call. He had rubbed her back and kept her calm, and wiped her tears away.
“Don’t be sad. If they don’t understand, it’s their problem, not ours. We know what’s best for us. Nothing else matters, as long as we’re together. We can get through anything, as long as we’re together.”
His words had lulled her into a fitful sleep that night, where she dreamt of her parents' faces, looking at her with disappointment and anger. She dreamt about them not speaking to her again, and never seeing them again. Her plan had been to call them in a couple of days, when they'd calmed down, and try to make them see sense. Michael had stayed with her that night, and left her early in the morning, with a sweet kiss, and a promise that he would see her later. She hadn’t expected her parents to get on the first flight out, and show up at her door at 11 am, their faces set harder than stone as they barged their way into the house, and forced a face-to-face confrontation she wasn’t prepared for.
Her father told her she was throwing her future away. Sarah tried to explain that without Michael, she didn’t have a future. Her mother told her that she was too young to fully know what love was – what she was feeling was infatuation, and it wasn’t something that was worth giving up her life for, not when it was only the difference of a year. Sarah pointed out that she was twenty, not sixteen, and was fully capable of understanding her own emotions.
“You realise you can’t actually stop me, right? I’m twenty years old – if I want to move to Minnesota, I can!”
Looking back, Sarah could see just how immature her reaction that day had been. She would later imagine herself in her mother’s position, and Charlotte standing in front of her, all grown up but completely clueless about the reality of life, and the hardships of being an adult, and completely immature and inexperienced. She could imagine the pain her parents went through in that moment, knowing their daughter was about to make the biggest mistake of her life, and failing to prevent it from happening.
“Sarah, just listen to what I have to say for a minute! You say that he loves you. Well, if that’s true, then he would want what’s best for you, by default. That’s what love is; it’s about wanting the person you care about to be happy, even if it means them having to do something you can’t be a part of. You have one year left, Sarah. One year. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a lot. Why can’t he wait for you? He could get things sorted for when you finally graduate. You could get a good job then. If you leave school now, you’ll be left with nothing to fall back on. You’ll be stuck in a job that you hate, earning low money. Is that what Michael really wants for you?”Her mother sounded desperate and pained, and in the years to come, it would haunt Sarah in the dead of night in her dreams.
“He wants us to be together, just like I do. He has a good job, I don’t need to earn a lot of money. I need to be with him. I can always go back later. I’m technically deferring the year.It’s not like I can’t finish later, if it comes to it. Why can’t you just support me?”Sarah countered, her mother’s words unable to permeate her stubbornness.
“Because we can see what you can’t, Sarah. The Sarah we raised would never choose to give up college for a guy she’s known for a few months. Yes, maybe it is ‘true love’, but true love waits, and gets over all kinds of obstacles. You have to ask yourself why he doesn’t want you to do the best thing for you, and have a good degree to fall back on, should you need it.”
“Because I trust him enough to know I don’t need it right now. This is just something I need to do.”
Sarah felt bad for her housemates, who were hiding in their respective rooms while the heated exchange of opinion was taking place in the common space living room. The place was actually clean for once, since it was only a matter of days before they all left for the summer break. All three of them were breathing heavily, the tension crackling in the air. Sarah couldn’t look them in the eyes, could barely even focus on their faces. Sarah had never defied her parents before, or even so much as contradicted them. She had always been a good child; she did what she was told, when she was told. She never snuck out, or let her grades slip. She never had her parents look at her with such anger, such bitterness, such disappointment. It cut her deep, unnaturally sharp and painful. Her chest hurt, her skin was prickling and her eyes stung.
“We can’t support you in this, Sarah,” her father broke the silence that had filled the room when they had all said their piece.“We won’t. You’re making a mistake, and we can’t stand by and let it happen. You either come home with us now, or you go with Michael to Minnesota and live in whatever juvenile fantasy life you think you two will live. If you choose him, that’s it. We won’t be there when things go sour. We won’t be supporting you when you realise the mistake you’ve made, and believe me, you will see it, and soon. You’re young, and you think nothing bad will come your way. Bills mean nothing to you.Being an adult, and taking on responsibility is an abstract concept to you, but it won’t always be that way. Real life will set in, and when it does, it’s gonna be hard. The lust fades fast, and the excitement goes when reality kicks in, and believe me, it will. Sooner than you expect. And when it does, we won’t be there to pick up the pieces. You say you need to do this, then you can do this without us. You’ve led a privileged life, Sarah, with no hardships. You’ve had everything handed to you, and all we asked is that you did your best. We wanted you to do well for yourself, so that one day, when the time came, you could support yourself, and live a good, happy life. We did everything we could to steer you on the right course. Maybe we were wrong to hand you everything like that.”
“Or maybe you’re wrong to doubt my choices. I have to live my life for myself, and maybe I’m making a mistake, but I have to make them myself. You’re my parents – you’re supposed to be there for me, not giving me ultimatums. I’m your only child, and you’re telling me to choose between you and the man I love. How can you ask me that?”
Her father shook his head, and her mother started sobbing silently. Sarah stood up, angry, hurt and confused. She had never seen this side to her parents before, and never in a million years, did she think her parents would effectively disown her.
“I want you to leave. If you want me out of your lives, then that’s your choice. I’m not the one that will live in regret.”
“Sarah, think about-“
“Get. Out!” she cut her mother off.
She stormed to the front door, and with a vicious pull, she opened it wide open, gesturing for her parents to leave.
“We love you, Sarah. We just want what’s best for you,” Her mother whispered, her voice choked with emotion.
Sarah shut the door, feeling a calm numbness envelope her.
When Michael came by later, he didn’t show much emotion when Sarah broke down and told him what had transpired.
“Parent’s aren’t infallible. Sometimes they make the wrong choices. You’re better off without them, Sarah. They don’t know us, and they don’t deserve to be a part of our lives, if they can’t respect our love. One day, we’ll have our own family, and that’s all we’ll need.”
Sarah wondered about Michael’s family. She was reluctant to ask the questions that were bubbling under the surface. Would she ever meet them? Where did they live? Did he have any contact with them?
“Are your parents like mine?”
She felt his anger radiate the second the question left her mouth. His eyes narrowed, his muscles tensed and he didn’t look pleased. Sarah tensed up, afraid he would get angry.
“They weren’t the best parents in the world. They’re gone now, so I don’t have to worry about them anymore.”
“Michael, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t. I don’t like to talk about it very much.”
“Of course.”
Sarah wrapped her arms around him, feeling guilty that she had brought it up. She was distracted from the pain she felt over her own parents.
“That’s why I can’t lose you, Sarah. I know things are moving fast, but…I can’t go through being alone again.”
“You won’t be. Like you said, it’s me and you, from now on,” she promised, tightening her hug, and certain that she had made the right choice.
Notes
So so sorry for the delay in updating. I'm going to be starting a new job soon, I begin in September in fact. I'm hoping that once I'm back in a routine, that my updates my be more regular. It may not happen, but having restricted time to write will hopefully force me to write in the evenings.
So, any thoughts or comments on this chapter? I always love to hear them, they make me wanna write!
Lyra xxx
I always fall inlove with thr storys that havent been updated in years :(
11/23/18