“You can go, but you’re not taking Aaron with you! Deborah, take the children upstairs,” he ordered.
“You’re not taking my goddamn kid!” My father pulled me, none too gently, from my Aunt Deborah’s hand, pushing both my mother and I toward the front door.
“You son of a bi–Bring him back.” Uncle Robert started for us but Aunt Deborah grabbed him.
“Robert, don’t. We’ll only make matters worse tonight.”
“Listen to your wife, Robert!” my father taunted.
“We will be calling that judge in the morning,” my aunt continued, giving my father the same look my uncle was giving him. Her eyes moved to me and I saw the water that filled her blue eyes. “Aaron, we will be there tomorrow to come get you,” she promised.
I swallowed the sadness, fear, and confusion down. I would’ve loved nothing more to go live with my aunt and uncle but I couldn’t leave my mother. I looked to Carter who stood at the middle of the staircase, continuing to watch everything. My eyes narrowed. I hated him for this. It was all his damn fault. He should’ve just listened to me and left it alone!
“You two aren’t taking my son!” my father shouted one last time, as he pushed my mother and I out the door, slamming it shut behind him. He hustled us to his Lexus, forcing my mother inside the passenger seat by her head, and then pushing me in the back. He peeled out of the driveway and sped up even more once we got to the main road.
“Jason, slow down!”
I flinched at the sound of cracking bones as my father punched my mother directly in her face.
“Don’t you ever fucking tell me what to do, bitch!” He punched her again. “How could you just stand there and let him berate me like that!”
He swerved, nearly hitting an oncoming car. He grabbed the steering wheel with both hands.
“They’re not taking my fucking son! Violent? I got his violence. You saw how he charged me. I’ll tell any fucking judge what happened. He’s lucky his kids don’t get fucking taken away!” my father continued ranting.
I dug my fingers into the leather seats, holding on for dear life every time he took a turn. Cars were honking at us left and right as he raced past them.
“Jason, you’re going to get us killed!” my mother yelled. “Please, just, slow down.” She cried and begged.
“Please, Dad!” I yelled, speaking up for the first time. My heart pounded in my chest when I heard the loud sounds of another car horn.
“Fuck that! He wants to take my kid? Over my dead body! I’ll take us all out!”
****
“Those were the last words he ever spoke. Everything went black after that. The next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital bed, Aunt Deborah and Uncle Robert by my side.”
That last part wasn’t the complete truth. I remembered more after that. It was the more that’d continued to leave me bitter and angry at the world around me. It was the rest of what happened that night that taught me, not only was my father a monster, but there were more people out there nearly as bad as him.
“Baby,” Patience whispered, pulling me into her. She cried. I could feel her tears as they coated my neck. When she pulled back, she quickly wiped her eyes before cupping my face.
“Is that why you’re closer to Joshua than Carter even though you two are closer in age?”
Furrowing my brows, I stared up at her. “I guess. We were never really close after that, even though he tried. I was too angry for years. Then he went away to join the military. We grew apart even more.”
“Until now.”
I cocked my head to the side.
“We live right next to him. I know how loyal you are to him, to all your family. You both are married fathers now. Maybe you two can grow closer.”
I shrugged and blew out a breath. “Maybe,” I murmured.
The room grew silent for a few heartbeats.
“He was a sick man,” Patience stated just above a whisper. “Your father,” she said for clarity.
“I know.”
