“How could you!” I screamed into my father’s ears. “How dare you say that about my mother! Just because you two are divorced it does not give you the right to say such horrible things about her!” It was time I started standing up for my mom. I’ve always kept quiet while he ranted lies about her. I still can’t believe he would still try and convince me that my mom is evil. It's been almost ten years since they split up. That's right. Not ten months. Years. She has always been there for me. Never once has she not have my back through tough times. She is always there when i'm down without fail. I have no clue what I’d do without her. I tell her almost everything that's going on in my life. The only thing I hide from her is the hate my father shows towards her. I guess I was trying to protect her in a way. What she didn’t know, couldn’t hurt her.
“I can’t believe you would stand up for her. She ruined this family.” My father hissed. His words scarred me as he stormed out of my room. All I could do was sit on my bed helplessly, wondering when my life turned upside down. I went to bed early that night. The next day I returned to my mother’s house without saying a word about the night before. The car ride was silent. I didn’t know what my next move was. Do I tell my mother about what's happening? Or do I ignore it and keep it inside like a normally do?
“Mom. I have something to tell you.” I was already tearing up. I started to explain what my father has told my over the years. Of how she is supposedly corrupting me into a bad person, her being a “bad parent”, and so on. By the end we were both sobbing and hugging each other. “I’m so sorry. I wish I knew what was happening. We can make this better.” She cried as she squeezed my hand. At that moment I knew that this toxic relationship between my father and I had to come to an end. The only was that custody was going to change was if we went to court. I needed proof that my father was a terrible influence on me.
The next weekend when I saw my dad, I gave him a warm hug hello and pretended everything was fine. We had a nice dinner, talked about school, and watched a movie. Right before I knew my father was about to rant, I started recording a video on my phone. I tucked it in my waistband and put on my baggy hoodie. I could always tell when my father was about to start spewing crap about my mom. He got the glimmer of hate in his eye and his corners of his lips quivered. Ten minutes later, I got what I needed; proof. Later that night, when he was snoring and sound asleep, I listened to the recording. Clear as day, you can hear him dissing my mother left and right. This is more than enough evidence to take him to court. I fell asleep that night thinking if I was making the right decision. I could just delete the recording right now if I wanted to. Do I really want to loose my father forever?
The answer is yes. I can’t stand another night of listening to him trying to convince me he is the good guy and my mom is the villain. I showed my mom the recording the next night. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?” She asked “I don’t want to pressure you to do anything you don’t think is right.”
“Mom. I want to go to court. I need to end this once and for all.”
Two weeks later, we had a court date. That's when my fate will be decided. I can only hope for the best and that the judge will make the right decision. Until we go to court, I choose not to go to my father’s house. All he would do is yell at me for being a fool. That I was stupid for taking my moms side. Of how I was going to end up just like her. I would not take any more of his lies. I will not listen to him anymore, and I'm sure i’ll never see him again.