Killing In The Name

one

JULY 22ND, 2024

Collingsworth was a quiant little town in Northern Texas. I had only been here a handful of times in my life, and that had always been to go to my dad's. The few times was to know fault of his own. He couldn't stand my mother in the period after the cheating, always bringing men around while dropping me off. The rare few times he did get me, I was usually placed directly in front of the television for the duration of my visit. Sometimes, we'd go down and get ice cream at Junie's before we arrived. He didn't know how to deal with a child. It was like he couldn't understand them, how they worked or thought or anything.

So I was shocked when he stepped up to take me in after my mom passed. Maybe he felt guilty for all of those years, or maybe he just wanted to piss off what little family my mom had. Ultimately, it was up to me being seventeen and all. I chose my dad to everyone's surprise. So now, here I was getting out of my dad's Tacoma to where I would be living out my senior year.

My dad's sheriff car was parked out front with the words, 'Armstrong County Police' on the side. That's where he met my mom and where I moved from. Before she went and cheated on him when I was just a few years old, we were a big, happy family. At least, that's how my dad would talk after the fight, I guess it was delusion.

Walking into his house, you could tell just by looking around that a single man resided. The couch had two worn out recliners, a round coffee table in the middle of the two with an unfashionable lamp in the middle, and in front of it was a small TV that sat on an old desk. The kitchen wasn't any better with dishes stacked a mile high in the sink. I could already tell that the fridge probably had 'Only Essential: Grown Man Edition' food, snacks, and drinks. By the kitchen was a small table with two chairs, which was where I ate McDonalds too many times as a child.

Back between them was a room on one side and the other, followed by a bathroom at the end of the hallway. He had liminal decoration on the walls, but one particular item that stuck out to me was on the table between the recliners. By the lamp was two things. It was a coaster that wasn't ever used, and a photo of our family in our youth. My moms golden wavy hair with sky eyes to match and a beautiful smile on her face. Beside her was my dad, who had dark curls with ebony eyes and a thick mustache that was transcending on his face. Holding me was my mom, and out of all the shots, I had been told it was the only one where I was looking at the camera happily.

Although it had a big crack in it from where one of my dad's only girlfriends threw it at a wall after an argument. That was his one and only after my mom, and since then, he never got back out there. It was all rushed anyway, a way to get back at mom, but he hadn't ever gotten over her. The picture beside his chair said everything you needed to know.

"I know it's not... amazing, but I've been working real hard on your bedroom. I think you'll like it." The nights as a child I'd stay over, he'd be on the recliner, and I'd get the bed. He led me into where I would be sleeping.

He was right. He had worked hard on it. A beautiful lavender bed, my favorite color, with decorative pillows and blankets. Two bookshelves on either side, a dresser, closest, and my very own TV, which had another compartment to store clothes.

"It looks amazing. Thank you!" I gleamed, putting my bags in the floor. We made several more trips, and with that, he left me to unpack. Around seven, I got a text from my aunt, who was on my mom's side about how I was settling in. She just let me know if I needed anything to tell her. People on my moms side of the family hated my dad, and I never really understood to the fullest extent on why. I think it was just because he was her ex-husband, so by default, they had pitchforks and fire on their minds about him. Except for my uncle, who would always let him know what my mom was up to.