“Look at me when I’m talking to you!” He took a few steps closer to my mom, his hand shooting out like he was going to either grab her face or slap her.
“Hold on a second,” Mom begged. “Please don’t.”
“Explain yourself then!” he screamed in her face. “I sure as hell didn’t allow this to happen, so I’d better get some answers. Otherwise, you’re not going to like what happens.” He reached out again to grab her arm, but I interrupted.
“I signed up for it. I forged the signatures on the paperwork.” The desperation in my voice seemed to get his attention as I added, “Mom didn’t know.”
After stepping away from Mom and crumpling the paper into a ball, he threw it in the trash then approached me. “I can’t think of any reason why you’d want to hang around those people. Probably just busywhoring aroundlike your sad excuse of a mother!” He was so close. The warmth of his breath tickled my face, and the scent of rancid tobacco hit my nostrils, but I stood my ground, still and unwavering as a statue.
“The only sad excuse of a parent is you,” I spat, knowing my actions would have consequences.
“Sierra, don’t…” Mom warned against talking back to my father, but her words trailed off into nothingness as he drew back his hand.
I braced myself for the hit, but nothing came. Instead, knuckles rapped against the front door.
“Gulch County Sheriff’s Office. Open up!”
My father spun around, stalking over to my mom. “You bitch!” His voice came out in a growl that rivaled the sound of his palm making contact with my mother’s face. “What the fuck did you do?”
Mom whimpered, “I didn’t do anything,” as she pressed her hand against her cheek, the skin already starting to welt.
The knock at the door grew louder and more forceful.
“Sierra,” she gasped, eyes wide with terror. “Get the door, please.” Rubbing her palm against her cheek, she put a hand on his arm. “Spencer, calm down. We have a visitor.”
He made some sort of grunting noise, and my chest burned with disdain for the sorry excuse of a man I called my father.
The two of them disappeared around the corner toward the hallway, presumably so she could get him to calm down so we’d seem like a happy, law-abiding family. I approached the door, plastering on my best fake smile.
“Good evening, officers. How may I help you?” Isweetly asked the Gulch County Sheriff’s Office deputies waiting on the front steps.
“We received a call regarding a possible domestic disturbance at this address. We need to make sure everyone is safe.”
“If someone comes to the door, no matter what, you tell them everything is all right, you hear me?”
All I could do was stand there, frozen in my spot.
“You hear me?” He raised his voice, his face mere inches from mine. “You don’t say anything that could get me in trouble, or they’ll take you away, too. You’ll never see your mother again if that happens.”
“Y-yes,” I squeaked out, squeezing my eyes shut.
“E-everything is f-fine, officer.”
His eyes softened, and he lowered his voice, not to intimidate but to soothe. “You’re not in trouble. We’re here to help. Are your parents home?”
I nodded, lowering my eyes to the floor.
“We need to speak to them, okay? It’s important so we can make sure that you and everyone else are safe.”
I took a deep breath and stepped aside so the officers could come into the house, then called out, “Mom, there are officers here that need to speak with you and…” I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Dad.” Bile rose in my throat even calling him that.
The officers ended up separating my mother and father from each other quickly. One officer took my mom into the bedroom to talk, while the other took my father outside, going across the street but still in view. The officer who went with my mom told me to stay put in the living room. I didn’t know if they’d be talking to me or not, but the thought of being questioned made my chest tighten.
Although the voices in the bedroom were muffled, I could still pick out some of the things they were saying.
“Can you describe what happened before we arrived?”
“Has your husband ever used a weapon against you or threatened you with a weapon?”
