Fuck it I'm on a 5 hour car trip I have time for this story.

It was summer time in Michigan and school was coming up. I had been fighting off a cough that my mother was worried might turn into something more serious. My father calls up and asks my mother if I can come with him on a fishing trip in Traverse City. My mother declined saying I was ill and unfit for the trip. He proceeded to scream at my mother over the phone and proclaimed he was divorcing her (all because I was sick and could go fishing, bullshit.).

The following years were absolute hell. All throughout middle school I had to repress my guilt for not doing as my father asked and spent many many months going to the court with my mother who had custody of me (and shouldn't have). She was a housewife, not a provider. She relied on hand outs from church and what small child support she got from my father(initially). Her refusal to work made me resentful towards her and caused major anxiety on my part. Some days, after sitting in court, I would go back to school and throw up in the restroom before returning to class worried about what the others would ask. I lived in constant fear people would find out. My mother was very public about her situation however and it left many parents baffled and soon other kids began to poke fun. Pokes turned to jabs which then turned to stabs and they got more vicious.

Because she was so public about her situation she was given a scarlet L for lazy as she refused to work. She felt that she was entitled to help from everyone because she was going through a divorce (one which she prolonged far past its expiration date). It wasn't until 8th grade the divorce was finalized. However she continued to harass and demand more money from my father (who was by no means innocent in this whole endeavor). Every time she asked for more money, the court said yes. They fed her bullshit and it just got worse. My siblings ( three) were all at different stages of development, myself being the oldest. When I turned 18 I was kicked out because I no longer "paid the bills" with my existence.

TL;DR mother used me to get entitlement money from father.