Worse for Better- Book #1 in the WF Series

Chapter 21: Dad

♡  Alaiya's POV:  ♡

Fear instantly takes over me so I look around the room to see what I can fight this person off with just in case.

And this is when I wish I would've taken self-defense classes.

What if they have a gun? Or a knife? Or they're gonna take me away and put me in a cage? I can't stay in a cage. How will I watch my favorite TV shows? I'm gonna die.

I run to the corner where no one can see me because I'm not dumb and I'm not gonna go exploring. I never understood that concept in movies anyway. How do you hear or see a scary person, and then go after it to 'find out what it is'? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. There's one option that everyone has and should only have because it has the most common sense, and that's to run.

"Fuck you," I hear the voice of my dad rumble.

I let out a breath in relief when I realize that I'm not going to die and that there isn't a murderer inside my parent's house.

Wait?
Did my dad just slur his words?

I step out of hiding and my mom makes eye contact with me the minute I do. Her entire body posture goes stiff and my dad looks at her and follows to where her eyes are looking.

"Mom." My voice comes out weak from what I'm seeing before me.

I thought he said he had it under control. My mom told me that. He said he could control it. He said he wouldn't do that to me and my mom again.

"I didn't know you would get here until tomorrow." My mom holds my dad up as she tries to change the subject.

The subject is standing right in front of me and having trouble standing up straight. The subject is slurring his way through to whatever he's saying under his breath. The subject broke his promise.

"Let go of me." My dad pushes my mom away from holding his arm.

She takes a deep breath and stands back.

His eyes lay on me and instantly he's marching over here.

I completely freeze like I'm supposed to with Carson. My stomach gets the same nervous butterflies I used to get when I was little, and my mouth feels dry because my breathing is increasing and taking out all the saliva. It's like my body has shut down and already given up since it knows I'm trapped.

"Max," my mom calls in a warning tone, but she's too late.

His huge hand hits me straight across the face and makes tears flood my eyes almost at the same time. I fold my lips to hide the sob from seeing him like this escape out of me. I could care less that he slapped me. What I care about is him relapsing and turning back into this person again. Or him doing this to my mom while I'm away.

"We never should've had you in the first place," he growls something I've gotten used to being said towards me.

"Max." My mom pulls him away from being so close to me by his hand.

She sets him down on the couch and yanks my arm to follow her. We walk up the stairs, more like she creates a bruise on my wrist, and make it to my bedroom.