I quietly opened the front door of our house, expecting that Dad had already gone to sleep for the night. I closed the door behind me, kicked off my shoes in the dark and flipped on the light. I almost had a heart attack when I saw Dad sitting on the couch with his arms crossed.

“Dad, what are you doing up?”

“Where have you been, Layla?” he said sternly.

“What do you mean, ‘Where have I been?’ I was at Prom.”

“Were you?” he asked. “And you’re 15 minutes past the agreed upon time.”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on Dad. It’s just 15 minutes.”

Dad stood from the couch and rounded towards me. His neck was red, and I could tell by the lines on his face that he wasn’t happy. “What’s this on your dress?” He reached for one of the slightly dirty damp spots that I had done a poor job of cleaning.

“It just got a little bit dirty. It’s no big deal.”

“Dirty?” He shook his head sarcastically. “It’s dirt.” He looked at me from several angles. “You’ve got shit all over you. Why were you on the ground?”

I could feel my face turning red with a mix of fear and anger at the questioning. I shook my head and waved a dismissive had. “I just fell is all,” I lied.

“I…” My dad stuttered and he bit his bottom lip. “You really disappointed me, Layla.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice raising in frustration.

“I know you weren’t at your Prom.”

“What? I was.”

“No, Layla. I went to the fucking prom, and you weren’t there.”

“You what?”

“I wasn’t too ecstatic about you hanging out with that older man, so I decided to go to the Prom to check on you, and guess what Layla?” He shook his head and frowned. “You were nowhere to be found. And trust me, that guy was way taller than any of the High School students. He wouldn’t have been hard to miss.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked.

Dad snapped his lips and jerked his head back. “And now you’re cursing to your father? Is that what he taught you?”

“Dad, stop, please! You fucking spied on me. I’m 18 years old, and you fucking spied on me!”

I tried to walk past him, but he moved his body in the way, blocking my path, then I went the other direction in which he blocked me again.

“That is not how you should talk to me! I raised you. I fed you. I put a roof over your head.”

I jerked a hand to the ground and stared and his chest with my teeth clenched. “And thank you for doing all of that, but I’m an adult now. I deserve a little bit of privacy.”

“You’ve proven that you’re not ready for privacy. You’re losing your way, Layla, and I won’t let it happen. I don’t want you seeing that man ever again. I won’t let anything happen to you like I let your Mo—“

“Stop!” I screamed and flung my arm out, accidently hitting the top of a standing vase near the front door, causing it to fall and shatter to the ground. It probably looked like I did it on purpose, and I was so mad that I didn’t care. “I am not a child any more, and I am NOT Mom! Stop making me suffer because of her mistakes!”

I shoved him aside and ran towards my room, tears starting to form in the corner of my eyes. I slammed my door, locked it, and threw myself on the bed.

I felt terrible.

Prom had been the best night of my life—better than I could’ve ever imagined it. I was falling in love with Mason, and we made love together. It was finally becoming clear to me that he really wanted to be with me, and it wasn’t just living in some silly dream of mine.

But Dad was a huge obstacle. I had no idea how I’d ever get him to accept Mason and I as a couple, and I hated that I had to scream at him the way that I did. But what choice did I have?

I loved my Dad more than anyone in the world, but there was no way he was going to stop me from being with Mason.

No fucking way.