My Guardian

Juniper

My father died today.

He wasn't the best father but he was still my father. I knew this day was coming but I hoped that he would stay alive for my seventeenth birthday, not that it would matter much to him anyway.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do now that he was gone. I was still too young and he was the only family I had.

The doctor broke the news to me as I stood in the cold hallway of the hospital. "We tried everything we could," he said, as if that would give me any sort of comfort.

"Is there anyone we can call for you Miss Callahan?"

My eyes were filled with tears and I couldn't think at all. My father was gone and I was all alone. I could feel my knees weakening. I was about to give in and fall to the ground when I heard a deep voice coming from behind me.

"It's okay doctor, I'll take care of everything."

The doctor pursed his lips and gave me a slight nod before he walked away. I used the sleeves of my hoodie to wipe away the tears that were falling freely down my face before I slowly turned to look for the source of the voice that promised to "take care of everything."

To my surprise, I was met by cold grey eyes with no emotion behind them at all. The man they belonged to was now facing me. He was dressed in a black suit. I wondered who he could possibly be as my eyes scanned his whole entire body, his perfectly sculpted face, and the short dark hair that sat perfectly on his head.

I carefully watched him take a few steps forward and stop right in front of me. He made me feel small as he towered over me. I was in awe of him and all I managed to do was stare into his grey eyes as words failed to leave of my mouth.

"Juniper?"

There was that voice again, but this time it said my name. I simply raised my eyebrows waiting for him to say more.

"You look just like her," he stated.

I knew exactly who he was referring to—my mother, of course. She died giving birth to me and having her face was something my father punished me for most of my life.

The man was intimidating so my voice was a bit shaky when I asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Cade. Your father was my adoptive brother. He called me about a week ago informing me of his illness and that he had made me your legal guardian."

He paused and watched my face for a second then he continued. "This was the only time I could come but I guess I was a little too late."

Every single word that came of his mouth shattered my reality. My father had always told me everyone in his family was dead. He made it a point to always remind me that my mother was all he had before I took her life.

He lied to me all my life. Not only was I finding out that my father has a brother, but also that he left me in his care. All I could think about was how he was nothing but a stranger to me.

I looked into his cold grey eyes once more as I was no longer afraid of their lack of emotion. "My father has never told me about you or any other family for that matter. I do not need you. I will take care of myself."

He sighed and responded very calmly. "I don't want to be your pretend father either. I have too many responsibilities and I wouldn't have agreed do this if it wasn't for your mother. She is the only reason I'm here."

He straightened his face and asked, "Did you say your goodbyes?"

His tone was flat and uncaring, I could tell that I had just moved from one heartless man to another. The only difference was that my father was capable of showing some sort of emotion, even if it was anger or disgust. At least it was proof that he was capable of feeling something.

I had thought about it the second the doctor informed me of my father's death. I knew that I did not want to see his lifeless body. I decided then that my last memory of him would be when I paid him a visit the previous day after school and read him 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus.

He claimed that it was my mother's favourite book and we both cherished it for that particular reason.

I chose to lie to the stranger in front of me and told him that I had already said goodbye to my father. It was obvious that was untrue but his indifference made him not bother to question me any further.

He motioned his hand to the side and a man also dressed in a suit appeared from down the hallway and made his way towards us.

"Take her to the car while I take care of this." My new guardian ordered.

My heart began to race. Everything was happening so fast. I wasn't used to change and I don't think I have ever liked it.

I looked at the man who was meant to take care of me with teary eyes, but he didn’t seem to care at all. He walked passed me and left his friend to forcefully take me to his car. I didn't mean to make things difficult for him. I just needed things to stay the same for a little bit longer.

I sat in the car for what felt like hours, all by myself in the back. I was blocked away from seeing the man in the front by a partition.

I cried thinking about my father. I loved him and I believed that deep down he loved me too. I took away the love of his life, so I couldn't blame him for being cruel to me.

I had hoped that one day he would eventually forgive me and love me just as much as he loved my mother. But now that he was dead, I knew that day would never come.

The car door opened. The sound and the sudden feeling of cold air seeping through my clothes startled me. I was abruptly pulled out of my deep thoughts.

My new guardian got in and his scent filled the whole car within seconds. He clenched his jaw and stared straight ahead. The car began to move.

I looked at him with fear of what the next year of my life would be like under his care.

He was distant and he offered me no support for my father's passing. He claimed to be his brother yet he seemed to feel nothing about him being dead. I was starting to wonder if he was capable of feeling anything at all.

Without even looking at me he said, " You will stay with me until you turn eighteen. I expect you to leave after that. You don't have to worry about money, I will give you all the money you need to take care of yourself when you're on your own."

It's funny as he said that all I could think about was how I always fell subject to being unloved. This man only needed a few minutes to know that he wanted nothing to do with me. That's all he needed to know that he couldn't even try to be nice to me.

But I didn't mind, I wanted to be alone.

We drove to a hotel outside my little town. I turned to look at him as I noticed that we were leaving Ernestine Valley. "I thought we were going back to my house," I said.

He barely glanced at me with his cold grey eyes. "We won't be staying there. We will stay in the hotel until the funeral is over then we will fly back to my house."

Why? I wondered. That was my home, and it was completely fine. There was nothing wrong with the home that my father raised me in. It wasn't fancy or anything but it's all I've ever known. His tone made it seem like it wasn't good enough for him.

I was beginning to look forward to the day I turned eighteen so I would be free from him.