Page 15 of Aftershock

“Okay, now you shut up,” I glared at her with a smile on my face.

“Dori.”

Dori? Huh? Oh, her dog's name! That was right! She named them after the two fish in Finding Nemo. How could I forget? There was a whole sequel to the first movie called Finding Dori.

“Oh! I knew that!” I yelled, mentally slapping myself.

Slowly nodding while focusing her gaze on the floor, Lexi’s voice oozed with sarcasm. “Sure, you did.”

I pursed my lips and glared at her. “What's your question then?”

“Do you have any pets?”

“As much as I want to, I don’t have enough time to take care of one.”

“Yeah, I get that,” she acknowledged while nodding her head. “What are my two sisters' names?”

“Caroline and Hazel,” I recalled easily. It always seemed like Lexi and her sisters were close. It must’ve been nice having someone to lean on when you needed support, and it probably helped that they were only a few doors down the hallway.

“Do you have any siblings?” She asked, mirroring the question about herself.

“A half-sister, Camilla. But she’s dead to me,” I shrugged, numb to the sentiment.

“What happened?” She stopped and then followed up with, “If you don't mind me asking.”

For some reason, this small part of my chaotic life never phased me much. Camilla was never truly a part of my family, so her absence didn’t hurt. The real problem was that, in order to talk about Camilla, I’d also have to bring up my father. That was the actual sore subject. Still, it only seemed fair to answer Lexi’s question, seeing as how I knew so much about her and she knew nothing about me. Besides, if I dodged every question, she would, too.

With that thought in mind, I spoke, “It’s nothing crazy. She just never tried to get to know me when she had the resources to, and I lacked them.”

Camila and I had an age difference of twelve years. My father had another child with his high school girlfriend at age nineteen, which was ten years before he met my mother. I first learned that she existed because of a picture he had in his wallet when I was five. Since she didn’t live with us, I asked if they had kicked her out of the house because she was acting bad. That's when my mom had to explain that my sister lived with her mom—a different mom.

“She didn’t want to have a relationship with you?” Lexi asked, trying to understand. “Why?”

“She always blamed my mom for our dad's spiral into insanity, but her anger was misplaced. The person she should’ve blamed was our father. I mean, cool, if she wants to take out her frustration on me and my mom, that’s fine, but I can't have any kind of relationship with someone who refuses to open their eyes and see what the hell is actually going on,” I stated, my face morphing into an emotionless state.

I could understand the anger of a broken family, but it wasn’t my fault, and it certainly wasn’t my mother's fault. There was always one common denominator when it came to pain—my dad. He abandoned everyone he was supposed to love.

“Insane dads…” Lexi trailed off. “I know a thing or two about that.”

It’s true. Lexi’s relationship with her dad was one of pain and trauma. Her whole life was on display for the public to view, and because of that, it was common knowledge what happened between her and her father. He was abusive toward her mother. As far as we know, he never laid a finger on Lexi or her sisters, but that didn’t mean they didn’t witness the abuse toward their mother. Lexi always said she never had a strong relationship with him because he always chose alcohol over her family. He died in 2015 after getting into a bad car accident while under the influence. It was Lexi and her mom who heard the news first. They were at the recording studio and rushed to the scene of the accident. When they arrived, it was too late. Her dad was lying lifeless on the ground with a black tarp covering his legs. If there was anyone who could understand the pain I had with my dad, it was Lexi.

“I’m sorry,” I said apologetically, knowing of the pain she was referring to.

“I’m sorry too,” she said in connection with the trauma I had with my father.

“Hey, I was thinking of starting a club,” I suggested, lightening the mood. Raising an eyebrow, Lexi motioned for me to go on. “It will be a ‘Daddy Issues Club,’ and I think I just found the first two members,” I chuckled, pointing toward the both of us.

Lexi let out a small laugh as she smiled. “Your lame joke is just what I needed, so thank you.”

“And that's exactly why I said it.” I smiled back.

“You know I have a song called Daddy Issues.”

“Have I not just proven that I’m your number one fan? Of course, I know that.”

“Well, then I think that should be our club anthem.”

“I like the way you think. We can even meet on Saturdays in this bathroom to discuss our shitty circumstances.”

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