10

"Wow, Gracie!" Monica said. "You look amazing!"

My dad was sitting on his recliner and he looked over when he noticed my sisters' reactions. His reaction was completely different. His eyes narrowed as he quickly took me in. I felt like I was going through a security checkpoint at the airport! When he reached my face again, his face full of disapproval, he asked, "Where the hell are you going dressed like that?"

Heat flooded my cheeks. I felt completely embarrassed. I should have expected his reaction, but it still had an instantly negative effect on my emotion. I fired back, "Dressed like what?" I was pissed.

He rolled his eyes at me, pointedly looking at my entire body. My outfit. Then he growled, "Like THAT." I felt like I had just been slapped in the face.

Fighting back tears, I grabbed my purse and pretended like I was looking for something. Then I muttered, "I'm going out with a friend."

"A male friend?" my dad asked.

What the fuck? His question pissed me off so bad that I lied immediately, "Yep. With a boy." Why did I lie? His eyes narrowed further and his lips seemed to be writhing. Angry at his judgmental assumptions, I asked, "What's wrong with me going out?"

"Nothing, Gracie," he said in his stern-dad voice. Then he added, "But dressed like that?" His disapproval was so strong it felt like the air in the room had just turned to smoke and I couldn't breathe.

"I can dress however the fuck I want!" I raised my voice.

Ally yelped at my language and Monica gasped.

"GRACIE!!!" my father bellowed, his eyebrows rising onto his forehead.

Growling in frustration, I stormed out of the room, brushing past his chair and hitting his elbow on my way. I didn't slow and I didn't apologize. He didn't say anything as I walked out the front door and slammed it behind me. I really hadn't thought this through. Checking my phone, I saw that the Uber driver was still fifteen minutes away. How was that possible? But there was no way I was going back in that house. I couldn't take another second of my father's irrational comments. Fuck him.

As I waited impatiently for the driver to show up, a part of me wanted my father to come out and confront me. Just so I could shout at him and call him an asshole. But he never showed his hate-filled face. Good. I was seething even as my driver finally rolled up in front of my dad's house and I got into his car. The club was thirty minutes away, so I had a lot of time to stew. Fortunately, the Uber driver wasn't much of a talker. I was in no mood to talk to a random dude.

Fuck I needed a drink.

[Counsel.]

Seeing Katie again was like a breath of fresh air. We had been really close in junior high but started to grow apart in high school. I told her all about my year at college and she told me how she was taking the first year off but planned to go to a local community college next semester. It was relaxing to finally have something different to think about than my dad's hatred of me.

Katie knew one of the bartenders so we were able to get some drinks while we chatted and danced. The night went on and I felt myself loosening up. We danced to I don't know how many songs. We talked about things from our childhood. I even laughed a few times! And slowly, I drank enough to the point where I started to feel tipsy. Ok, so maybe I got tipsy in the beginning. By the time ten o'clock rolled around, I had a pretty strong buzz going. I was happy about that. It had been a few months since I drank anything, so I was feeling pretty good.

Until Katie pushed me in a direction I wasn't ready to go.

"Ok dude," she said when we got back to our high-top table near the bar. The music was really loud, but I could still hear her since we were across the club from the big speakers. Sucking on a tiny straw, I gulped down another mouthful of my drink as I stared at her. When she saw she had my attention, she asked, "So what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, taking a deep breath and pausing from my drink.

"Dude," she said. "Something's bothering you."

I stared at my friend, blinking. Then I sort of deflated and said more quietly, "Is it that obvious?"

Katie nodded at me and then wrapped her lips around her straw, sucking in. I couldn't help but stare at her glass as I watched the liquid rapidly disappear. It was almost empty. Her cup made a slurping sound as she drained the rest of the alcohol and then she pulled her head back, swallowing while she stared at me. I kept staring at her empty glass. There were only a few ice cubes left at the bottom.

"Well?" she asked.

Sighing, I shook my head and then spilled the main thought swimming through my brain. "My dad hates me."

"Seriously?" she asked.

When I nodded and then leaned forward to grab my straw with my lips, she whistled softly and stood. While I drained the rest of my drink, she put a hand on my shoulder and then said, "I'm gonna get us some more drinks."

Katie disappeared and I finished my drink. A few minutes later, she returned with two more of the same drinks we had just finished. I didn't even know what they were! It tasted sweet, but was pretty strong with some kind of liquor. Vodka maybe? I didn't care. When she set my fresh glass in front of me, I immediately leaned over and took another swig through the tiny straw sticking out of it.

The music changed to something softer. Quieter. The timing was perfect, even if I didn't really feel like talking. But Katie took advantage of our newfound intimacy and prodded, "Is this like a recent thing between you and your dad?"