Why I never want to bring anyone over to my house
A typical night at my house is where my dad is laying on the couch, drinking beer and yelling at me. But it’s not like I didn’t try a million times before to change this scene and try to help him. I tried to get him to see a doctor and he kept cancelling the appointment and saying he felt fine. I tried to buy him his favorite foods (which are NOT cheap) in exchange for his crummy, cheap-ass beer, but dinner always ended with him finishing off a 6-pack of beer. This is what I came to know as “normal”. I never wanted my girlfriend (Amy) to know what my home life was like, it was too damn embarrassing, so I did everything in my power to keep her away from my house. We always hung out at her house, because her parents were cool.
One Friday night we were going to the movies and I remembered I forgot my wallet at home. When we pulled into my driveway, I asked her to stay in the car, but she said she had to use the bathroom. I lied and told her that my dad usually naps on the couch at night because he works long days at the shop and that the slightest noise would wake him up. But she really had to go, and I figured if I took her in the back way and we were quiet, she wouldn’t see him if he was home. No such luck. The second the screen door slammed and we walked in I could hear the empty beer cans fall onto the floor. I saw his figure approaching from the living room so I quickly pointed to where the bathroom was. I was trying to run interference so she wouldn’t have to see him in his drunken state, but it was no use. You can’t stop the inevitable.
Male, 17, Benedictine High School