Sid's POV - Sidney vs. Troy

My phone rang again as I was pulling away from Bekah's. 'It's now or never,' I thought to myself before flipping open the phone.
"Hi Dad."
"Where the fuck have you been?"
"There's really no need to curse at me dad."
"I've been trying to get in touch with you since last night. Where do you get off hanging up on me? I am your father and that was completely disrespectful. I will not tolerate disrespect Sidney."
"I am aware of your expectations dad. You were being unreasonable," I said in the calmest voice I could manage. "I'm on my way home. We'll talk when I get there."
I hung up the phone and tried to push the thought of the conversation I was going to have with my dad out of my mind. All I really wanted to think about was Bekah and how everything was going to be now that our feelings were out in the open. I had imagined what it would be like to hear those three words come out of her mouth a thousand times, but nothing compared to the reality. I could have never imagined how I would feel when she said I love you. It felt like fireworks were going off inside me, I was completely exhilarated! She has been fighting it for so long; I'm pretty sure she was as surprised as I was when she said it.
I drove back to Mario's lost in my own euphoria. I honestly don't know how I made it back, I remember nothing about the short trip.
My euphoria was certainly plunged into darkness when I pulled in the driveway at home. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to collect my thoughts before going inside. Taylor was the first one to greet me when I entered the house.
"Sidneeeeeeeeeeey!" she squealed running towards me full tilt. I scooped her up in a bear hug and swung her around in a circle.
"Where did you go last night? You promised to be my date for the party. I was supposed to get the first kiss at midnight. Mom and dad let me stay up and everything," she said with the disappointment evident in her voice.
"Sorry Tay," I said giving her a big squeeze. "I wasn't in the mood for a party last night last night. I would have been horrible company. I needed to be by myself for a while."
"Girl problems huh?"
"Why would you say that?"
"Cause there are only two things that ever make you sad. You had a good game yesterday, so it has to be a girl."
"You're pretty smart, you know that?"
"I know. So who is it? Is it Alex's mom?"
"Why would you...
"Hello? Smart remember. I know that you like her."
"Yes I do."
"Does she like you back?"
"I'm not sure."
"I think she does."
"Oh really, and why would you think that?"
"Alex told me."
"He did did he? When did that happen?"
"After Christmas when I told him we were coming to Pittsburgh to visit you."
"How did you talk to him?"
"Duh! On MSN! I talk to him like all the time. So why were you sad, did you have a fight?"
"I think this conversation is over! I'm not going to talk about this with my little sister."
"Hey! I'm not a baby ya know!"
"Oh I'm aware of that! I have to pack for the road trip. I'll see you before I leave."
"Fine," she said stomping out of the room.

********************************

I was just about done packing when there was a knock at my door.
"Come in," I hollered.
"I'm here. Let's talk," he said very matter of factly sitting in a chair across from me.
"Okay," I replied while trying to compose myself. "Dad; I can't even tell you how furious I am at you right now."
"Furious? For what? Trying to find out where you took off to in the middle of a party? Sue me, I'm your father!"
"Please don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about."
"Well Sidney, I'm afraid I don't."
"I know what you did Dad. You can't deny it."
"Deny what? I don't have the foggiest idea what you're talking about."
"How could you do it Dad?"
"Oh for Christ sake Sidney..."
"Did you really think you could intimidate her into staying away from me?"
All the colour drained from his face.
"I don't know what she told you, but girls like that are trouble Sidney. They'll say anything to get what they want."
"STOP IT!" I shouted unable to contain my anger anymore.
"You don't even know her! If you did, you sure wouldn't be saying such ugly things about her."
"I know girls like her. Troubled pasts, living in anything but ideal circumstances, and along you come and bingo! That's her ticket! She latches on to you and rides the wave, getting herself famous along the way no doubt, all the while reaping the benefits of your money. And she's probably worse than most girls, with two kids to support."
"WOW!" I said shaking my head in disbelief. "When did you become so...so jaded towards people?"
"It's not jaded, it's reality. You are so naive when it comes to real life matters Sidney. You only want to see the good in people and in this business, that can be suicide. I'm your father and it's my job to protect you."
"I've been away from home since I was 15. Yes, I have had the last three years mapped out for me and have had great people around to 'protect' me, but I am not as naive as you think I am. One of the first things you taught me is to be a good judge of character because that was the only way I'd know if I was surrounding myself with good people. It's a skill I pride myself on. Bekah is nothing like the image you have of her. Far from it actually. She the type of girl I need to be with; beautiful, humble, generous, loyal, gracious, successful in her career, independent to a fault, committed to helping other people, and deeply committed to her family. But because of you, I will not have that opportunity."
"Sidney, she may be all those things, but if she were truly a quality girl, she wouldn't have been so easily swayed by me."
"You threatened her! You scared her half to death, telling her my career would tank if I was with her! She put me before herself! She gave up a chance at being happy for me, so nothing would happen to me or my precious career!" I yelled. "God, you are fucking unbelievable! You couldn't control me so you went after her! I don't know what's more despicable; using such harsh and ugly words to intimidate an innocent girl or the fact that you would think it was okay to do it at all!"
"Sidney I will not tolerate this kind of disrespect from my own son!" he said raising his voice to me for the first time in a long time.
"What about the disrespect you showed Bekah?" I yelled back. "You have to give respect to get it! You are my father and I love you, but I lost all respect that I had for you. I cannot forgive what you did Dad; not only to Bekah, but to me too. You had no right to interfere in our lives the way you did. Whether you like it or not, I am an adult and am capable of making my own decisions without your input and that includes who I date. If you can't respect my personal life, then you will have no place in it. We'll maintain a business relationship and that's it."
"That's absurd! You're overreacting because you're still angry. Give it a few days. Once we spend this time together on the road trip, it'll all be forgotten."
"The girl I love is no longer part of my life because of you; it will not be forgotten in a few days. I don't want you on this road trip with me. I don't want to look at you or even talk to you right now. This road trip will give me time to hopefully cool down some; then maybe I'll at least be able to tolerate being in the same room with you."
Just then there was a knock at the door and my mom peeked her head in.
"There's my two boys. Are you both ready to go to the airport?"
I gave her a hug and kiss and told her I loved her. I picked up my bag and said, "Dad's not coming with me on the trip."
"Not going? Why?"
"I'll let him explain it to you. I call you when we get to Toronto."