AJ’s Point of View

 Sleep did not come to me last night. I was enraged about what I found on my daughter’s phone. I extremely pissed at Leah. She complained about me being a bad parent, yet things were going on underneath her nose. Maybe if she wasn’t up Brian’s ass all the time she would know something was off with Eden.

Leah entered the room looking refreshed. Her hair and make-up were perfectly in place. She was dressed in floral sundress. Usually I would think about how hot and sexy she was, but currently I wanted to throw her in a snake pit. Sure, I was over the top and dramatic, but that was me.

“AJ you look like hell. Didn’t you get any sleep?” She sat down across from me.

“No. While you were busy moaning Brian’s name, I was reading some interesting texts and emails on our daughter’s phone.”

“You really invaded your daughter’s privacy.” She looked at me in surprise. I felt like I had three heads. I wasn’t sorry about doing it.

“Eden’s not eighteen. We have every right to check her cell. The way I see it, she has no privacy until she can pay the bills.” I said forcefully. I shoved the phone in Leah’s hand. “Go ahead and take a look.”

Leah started scrolling through text messages and emails. The look on her face showed me that she couldn’t believe her daughter was behaving in such way. It was out of character for Eden.

“Fuck.” Leah threw the phone on the table. “What are we going to do? I’m afraid she’s going to get herself into a lot of trouble.”

“She’s been doing it a while. Don’t you check her phone?” I said through gritted teeth. I couldn’t wait to hear Leah’s excuses.

“I didn’t think I needed to. Eden’s always been level headed and responsible. I trusted her.”

“She’s fourteen fucking years old. That’s not an excuse. You make me out to be the bad parent all the time. You weren’t fucking doing your job.” My voice rose.

“AJ you make me out to be perfect. I’m not. I made a mistake. Sue me.” Leah’s voice got louder.

“Your one little mistake could have gotten our daughter into some precarious situations. It’s a good thing I decided to look at her phone.” I snarled.

“Goody for you. You get the parent of the year award for the one time you’ve actually done your job. Go to hell.” Leah spat as she stood up.

“I’ve been there since I met you.”

“Would you two stop yelling? That’s all you’ve done my whole life.” Eden grabbed her phone off the coffee table.

“Put the phone down. We need to talk now.” I said forcefully.

“I don’t have to listen to you.” Eden looked at her mom. Leah glanced at me, then Eden, and then me again.

“Eden, don’t start. AJ, we need to discuss this situation first.”

Eden looked unsurely at her parents. I could tell she knew something was wrong. I wanted to talk with my daughter at that exact moment, but Leah was right, we needed to discuss what to do about the situation. I nodded my head.

“Eden, please give me your phone.” Leah said sternly, holding her hand out.

“That’s not fair.” She complained while giving her mom the phone. “You said I could have it back this morning.”

“Right now I think you need some time away from your phone.”

“That’s stupid. I can’t believe you, mom. That’s my only connection with my friends this summer. Why are you doing this?” Eden plopped on the couch and pouted like a two year old.  I stood there watching not knowing what to do or say.

“Eden, your dad and I need to talk. We’ll have a chat about your phone later.” Leah turned towards me. “Let’s go get some breakfast downstairs.”

I followed Leah out of the suite. We were silent the entire way to the hotel restaurant. I don’t know who I was madder at Leah or Eden. Leah and I took a seat in a booth at the back of the restaurant. This way no one would bother us.

“So, do you know this guy she’s sending messages to?  Do you think they’ve done more than texting?” I couldn’t use the word sexting when it came to my daughter. I still thought of her as an extremely sweet and innocent four year old.

“It took me a while, but it’s Sierra’s older brother. I hope she hasn’t done anything else.”

” She took a sip of the coffee the waitress had poured.

“How old is this guy?” I cringed knowing that I wasn’t going to happy with the answer. I played with my spoon trying to distract myself from this nightmare.

“He just turned seventeen.”

“No wonder he’s all over her like that in his texts. I want to kill the little shithead.”

“I don’t think violence is the answer, Age. We need to handle this rationally. You can’t go flying off the handle because you’re pissed.” Leah remained calm and collected.  We were total opposites when it came to handling situations. Leah would remain calm until you annoyed her enough that she would freak out on you. I on the other hand would fly off the handle in an instant. My temper was short.

“No kidding. Can’t I just be a pissed off day for a few minutes.”

“Sure. Let me know when you are ready to talk.” She tapped her fingers on the table. Damn, she was annoying.

“Fine. What are we going to do?”

“We need to find out why she thinks its okay to be sexting.” Leah paused to compose herself. I could see her starting to breakdown. “How could I have been so stupid to not see this was going on? Was I to wrapped up in my work and Brian?”

“I don’t know Lee. It’s too late. It’s already happened. We need to work on fixing the situation.”

“I just feel guilty. I would like to think I’m a good mother and know my daughter, but I was wrong.” She wiped her eyes with a napkin. It sadden me that Leah thought this way. She had grown into an excellent mother.

“Babe, you’re a wonderful mom. Eden made a mistake. Think about all the mistake we made as teenagers. She has a good head on her shoulders. You helped her become a strong, independent young woman. Everything will work out.” I placed my hand on hers. She seemed to take comfort in my touch.

“I hope so. We have to present a strong parental front for her. Eden needs to realize that she did something wrong.” Leah moved her hand away from mine. I knew it was hard for her to have me touch her.

“I think we need to take her phone away from her for a while.”

“And her computer. I want to delete any inappropriate photos of her. Do you think that we can have her do some work for you guys? I think a little hard work would do her some good.”

“I can certainly find some jobs for her on the tour. Are you planning to say for a while?” I was curious as to how long I would be graced with her presence. It wasn’t that I minded her being on tour, but the things she made me feel could kill a man. No wonder I didn’t have a woman, I was still hung up on her.

“I plan on staying for two weeks. I’ll need to get back to work. I’m in charge of the charity ball at the hospital.” I could handle being with her for two weeks. Any longer than that and I would take the bridge. God, I needed to get laid.