With nothing left to be said, my father drags me out by my wrist, keeping an iron grip on my bones until I’m locked in his cop car.
The heat of his anger singes my skin the entire way home. It dries out my tears and replaces any of my fear with the same level of fury.
He behaved like a fucking animal in that classroom today, not only laying his hands on Theodore, but on me as well.
The bruises from his punishing grip on my biceps will undoubtedly appear later. My back screams from where it connected to the edge of the whiteboard. I can sense the welt growing under my skin as I press myself against the leather seat. The pressure it puts on my spine brings tears to my eyes, but it’s a pain I welcome. It gives me something to focus on other than my father.
We arrive home a few minutes later, and an entirely new world of stress opens before me.
This news will kill my mom. I feel bad about that but regret nothing.
“Let’s go,” my dad says, his tone dead and heartless as he exits the vehicle. I linger behind for a bit, collecting my thoughts and emotions before finding the strength to head inside.
My mom stands shocked in the doorway, head tilted to the side as she watches us walk the path to the door.
“Hey, what’s going on? Why are you guys home? Is everything okay?” she asks in quick succession, trying to capture my father's arm as he attempts to bypass her.
Moving on to me next, she takes me by the shoulders, gazing into my eyes when she asks, “Scarlett? What’s wrong, sweetie? What happened?”
“Mom, I-”
“Tell her the fucking truth, Scarlett! Look your mother in the eyes and tell her what you’ve been doing behind everybody's backs!”
His shout rings through the house, followed by the smashing of glass. My mom jumps as a vase shatters against the ground, her expression startled before it alters into disbelief.
“What the hell is the matter with you, Noah?! Why the fuck are you talking to her this way? What the fuck is going on!?”
“Tell her!”
Lowering my eyes, I slap on my most sincere frown, hoping she can’t see through my bullshit when I say, “I’m so sorry, Mommy.”
“Sorry for what, sweeti-”
“For fucking her teacher! She’s been fucking her goddamn teacher, Etta! Ellis! Theodore fucking Ellis!”
Mom drops her hands then and uses them as a shield for her gaping mouth. Her eyes, the same as mine, grow wide with shock. There’s a bit of fear in them too, but for that, I’m not sure why.
Short, bouncy curls wiggle around her soft face as she shakes her head. No, no, no, her expression screams, but my silence is louder. You can’t deny the truth when it’s a siren in your ears.
“Scarlett… wh-what is he talking about? Tell me that isn’t true. Tell me, Scarlett, that you aren’t-”
“I love him, Mommy,” I interrupt. This isn’t a lie. I do love Theodore Ellis with everything I am. How we met isn’t important. Our age is insignificant! Nothing else matters but the love we share! Why should we be penalized for that?! Why is it anyone else’s business who I love?
With tears falling down her face, my mother takes my hands in hers, squeezing them tight in a comforting embrace as she whispers, “No, sweetheart, no. You don’t love this man… you don’t even know this man! He-he took advantage of-”
“No!” I shout, ripping my hands from her grasp. “No, he didn’t take advantage of me, Mother! He didn’t force me or groom me! Everything we did, I asked for!”
Backing away from her shocked face, I stomp toward my father and look him dead in his blazing eyes as I hiss, “I pursued him. Me, Daddy!”
“You’re a fucking child, Scarlett!”
“I’m eighteen goddamn years old!” I scream, bending under the force of my tone. “I’m old enough to make those decisions! I’m old enough to decide who I want to love!”
“Not your fucking teacher, Scarlett! What the fuck are you thinking?!” my mom cries, spinning me in place with her hands on my shoulders.
I smack her off quickly, stunning her still until I utter the next few words.
“I was thinking that I wanted to fuck my teacher.”
