All Chapters of Overbearing Dad Is Ruining My Life: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The September sun was blazing, but as I stood at the gates of my new university with my suitcase, my blood ran cold.Dad was wearing the brand-new gray jacket he'd bought specifically for move-in day. In his other hand, he carried a folding cot.He had on that doting smile he only ever got when he looked at me, so tender it made my skin crawl."Dad, w-what did you just say?"My voice shook. The words barely made it past the lump in my throat. "We had a deal. I live on campus, and you'll stay home.""Oh, I thought about it the whole ride back, and I just couldn't stop worrying about you." He stepped forward and brushed the hair from my forehead, impossibly gentle."There are so many temptations in university. What if you fall in with the wrong crowd? What if you start slacking off and can't get into grad school?"I need to keep an eye on you. I can only relax when I know I'm right here watching.""But the dorm isn't going to let you stay." I tried one last time, my eyes already

Chapter 2

Dad had gotten his hands on a sheet of printer paper from somewhere, covered it edge to edge in neat marker, and stuck it to the back of the dorm room door where nobody could miss it. The title across the top read Tyler's University Daily Schedule.It had me up at 6:00 am to memorize vocabulary and in bed by 11:00 pm sharp, with weekends spent entirely at the library and even mealtimes planned down to the minute.It wasn't university. It was a military prep school.At 8:30 pm, Leo was lying in bed with his headphones on, watching a game. He let out a quiet laugh.Dad sat up on his cot immediately and knocked hard on the side of Leo's bed frame. He kept his voice low, though it did nothing to hide the disgust."Do you mind? Can't you see Tyler is reviewing his calculus? You think it's funny to break his concentration on purpose?""Sir, I'm wearing headphones, and it's only 8:30 pm," Leo protested."So what if it's 8:30? People who only think about having fun end up at the bottom

Chapter 3

The days dragged on like that, one after another.One afternoon, Dad went out to the grocery store to buy walnuts for me because they were supposed to be good for brain function. It was rare to have the room to myself. I'd been pulling all-nighters working through problem sets and had passed out face down on my desk.Dylan Miller came back from outside carrying a bag of fresh fried chicken, and the smell filled the entire room the second he walked in. He passed it around to everyone, and when he noticed I'd woken up, he hesitated for a moment before asking if I wanted some.I stared at that golden, crispy drumstick and swallowed hard. I wanted it, but more than that, I wanted the chance to just be normal with them for once."Thanks." I took it gratefully and bit in. The flavor burst across my tongue, and after going so long without anything like it, I nearly started crying.That was when the door slammed open. Dad stood in the doorway, a bag of walnuts in his hand. His eyes locked

Chapter 4

"Tyler!"Dad's scream tore through the air behind me, followed by the heavy thud of something hitting the floor.The wind roared past my ears. I closed my eyes, ready for the final drop.But the instant my body tipped forward, my shoulder slammed into something hard and metal. The pain was sharp enough to jolt me back to full consciousness.It was the window stopper. The university had installed limiters on all the balcony windows to prevent students from falling, so they only opened about six inches. I was thin enough that most of my body had squeezed through, but my shoulders got caught between the stopper and the window frame.I didn't die.Dad came scrambling across the room on his hands and knees, locked his arms around my legs, and hauled me back through the window by sheer force. We both crashed onto the balcony tile."Have you lost your mind? Have you completely lost your mind?" He clung to me, screaming until his voice cracked, his whole body shaking violently."If you

Chapter 5

The entire lecture hall erupted. Students around me started whispering, some covering their mouths to stifle laughter, others staring at me like I was some kind of alien."No way. A parent sitting in on university lectures?""That's insane. Is he seriously a man-child?""Tyler always seemed so normal. But it turns out he's a total daddy's boy."Every whisper cut into me like a poisoned blade, precise and deliberate.Dylan sat beside me, too stunned to know what to do with himself, and could only look at me with pity. I kept my head down so low I could have buried it inside the desk.My face burned like it was being held over an open flame, and tears pooled in my eyes, but I clenched my jaw and refused to let a single one fall.So, this was what social death felt like.From that day on, I was famous across campus. "The university kid whose daddy comes to class with him" became a label I couldn't peel off, no matter what I did.Dad didn't care what anyone thought. He followed th

Chapter 6

Wren and I started dating.It was an incredibly secretive relationship, borderline tragic in how carefully we had to hide it. We couldn't walk side by side on campus or sit across from each other in the dining hall.The only time we had together was the hour or two when Dad occasionally went to the campus clinic for physical therapy on his back.Behind the bleachers of the old abandoned athletic field, she'd hold my hand tight and let me pour out everything I'd been keeping inside.Then she'd comfort me, gentle and steady. "Tyler, don't be scared. Get through these four years, and you'll be free. When that happens, I'll take you away from all of this."That promise was the only thing keeping me alive.I started to believe that maybe I really could have a normal life, that maybe I actually deserved to be loved.One day in the fall of my sophomore year, Dad came down with a bad case of the flu and a fever and physically couldn't get out of bed, so he had no choice but to stay in t

Chapter 7

"Everybody, come look! This little tramp right here, Wren Ashby!"Dad stood there with the bullhorn, screaming himself hoarse. His hair was wild, his eyes bloodshot. He looked like he'd completely lost his mind."My son is getting into a top grad program! He's a good kid who doesn't know any better, and this shameless little seductress used her sweet talk to lure him in!"Girls in the crowd pointed and whispered. Wren's roommates tried to come out and intervene, but Dad spat on the ground at their feet."Dad! Stop it!"I shoved through the crowd and threw myself at him, grabbing for the bullhorn. "Have you lost your mind? She has nothing to do with this. I'm the one who likes her!"He froze for a second, staring at my flushed, breathless face.Then the madness drained away in an instant, replaced by that expression I knew far too well, so gentle it made me sick. He reached out and smoothed the hair that had fallen across my forehead, his voice soft as if he were soothing an infa

Chapter 8

Dad froze, and then pure, triumphant joy exploded across his face. He threw a smug glance at Wren and my roommates, like a general who'd just won a decisive battle."Good, good. That's my boy, Ty. I'll go home and make you some stew.""Tyler!" Wren stared at me in disbelief.I didn't look at her. I didn't look at my roommates. I just turned around and walked toward the academic buildings."Dad, go back to the apartment and wait for me. I'm going to grab a book from the library, and I'll be right there," I said without turning around."Okay! I'll leave the door unlocked for you!" Dad called back cheerfully.I didn't go to the library.I walked into the tallest building on campus, the science building. It was 16 floors, but I didn't take the elevator. I climbed the stairs, one step at a time.Every flight felt like a chapter of my life over the past 19 years.I thought of the best friend Dad drove away in middle school, the class rep he slapped in high school, the piece of fried

Chapter 9

Dad was called to the scene by the student advisor.He was still wearing the apron he'd put on to make stew, splattered with grease. He stumbled through the police line, tripping over his own feet.When he saw the body on the ground, covered with a white sheet, every bone in his body seemed to dissolve. He dropped straight to his knees."No... This isn't my Ty... My Ty went to the library. He said he was coming home for stew."His hands were shaking as he peeled back the corner of the sheet. The mangled face underneath shattered his world completely.A scream ripped through the night, so raw and inhuman it didn't sound like anything a person could make.Dad threw himself onto my body, shaking me frantically. "Ty! Get up! Get up and come home with me! You're supposed to get into a top school. You can't just lie here!"Wren was on her knees nearby, held back by her roommates. She was sobbing so violently that she was choking on it. My three roommates clung to each other, barely ab

Chapter 10

My death sent shockwaves through the country.The story of a helicopter parent who drove his university son to suicide dominated the news cycle for an entire week.The university, eager to contain the fallout and make things right for Wren and my roommates who'd been caught in the crossfire, offered significant compensation.Leo, Dylan, and Ryan had shown real courage throughout the whole ordeal, and their grades had always been solid. By the time graduation came around, all three of them had earned guaranteed spots in graduate programs.They had bright futures ahead of them, and I knew that was the last thing I'd ever been able to do for them.Wren took a leave of absence. She'd developed severe depression, and for a long time, all she did was lock herself in her room and stare at the photo of us together.But time, in the end, was the only real cure.Three years later, I saw her walk back onto campus with a guy beside her who smiled easily and often. He'd take her hand and run

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP