Twists and Turns

Chapter 7

JAMES POV

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Sarah and I carefully walked down the stairs and pressed our bodies against the wall and leaned our ears into Mom and Dad's whispered conversation. Mom and Dad were being really secretive, so we had to do something we really weren't proud of. This broke a lot of rules. First, it was midnight, and second, we were not supposed to ever sneak around.

"For the last time Bruce has been fired, it's safe for the kids to go back to school, he won't jump on them during their maths test! Stop being so overprotective, they know how to fight, and they need to live a little!" Mom had started shouting. We looked at each other worriedly, and my nerves were very tingly.

"Honey, I just want to keep Sarah and James safe, and don't shout, what if they hear? I really care about them, and even though Bruce has been locked up, he is perfectly capable of a prison break. Remember what he did to you? Do you want that to happen to Sarah and James?" Dad had started to raise his voice as well, clearly not caring about us hearing him. Sarah accidentally made a scared whimper. Dad rarely shouted. I glared at her, and she made a guilty face at me.

Dad and Mom caught us immediately, but instead of being mad at us, they just glared at each other and said nothing. We went back to bed, and the shouting that ensued during the night was horrible. Dad was patient at first but eventually started to shout at Mom. Mom was swearing at Dad, and after some time, Dad started to curse at MOM.

"You are such a monster! You should burn! You don't care about the kids because you're a heartless monster that killed people in cold blood! You probably don't even care about the kids!" Things like that. 

After that, we snuck through the hallway undetected through the shouting. We walked to Wanda's, Wanda and Vision then asked us what the matter was after ringing the doorbell. When we told them, Wanda turned pale and let us sleepover at theirs. It was easy to sleep after they prepped our bed because there was no shouting and no cussing. It was peaceful, but I had this nagging feeling that the person screaming at Mom wasn't Dad, and so did Sarah. We woke up and I played with Tommy and Billy and we made LEGO sets. Sarah was probably on her phone scrolling TikTok. We played hide and seek, but at the end of the day, Sarah and I decided to go home. 

When we got home, Mom and Dad were still at each other's throats. They weren't screaming at each other, but they cursed at each other and were insulting each other the whole day. Dad ignored us the whole day, elbowing us and he didn't even look at us the whole day. Mom cooked us dinner, and while it wasn't as good as Dad's cooking, Dad didn't cook for us. Mom didn't cook for Dad and Dad left to somewhere. When he gets home, Mom is upstairs crying, so we decide to go to Wanda's place because we needed to escape this hellhole. We scribble a note on the dust of the window and go to Wanda's. Wanda isn't there though, so we decide to go to Lauren's after changing the note. Lauren and Sarah have a sleepover, and I hang out with Lauren's brother Lucas. When we get back home the next morning, We see a car pull up next to the porch. A bloody, battered, malnourished, and familiar figure exits the car. Even though he's covered in blood and thin as a stick, the happy smile was instantly recognizable. There is only one person this could be. Dad. The real Dad.