Finding Us (Christian Interracial Romance)

Truth and Bruises {Part One}

Jeremy

The slam of the front door still echoes in my head long after Dad disappears into the night. None of us move, as if staying frozen will bring him back. Mom's still clutching Athena and me like she can hold us all together by force of will.

But seconds turn into minutes, as minutes crawl by, then hours. And he doesn't come home.

By the time midnight rolls around, my nerves are shredded.

I pace the living room, my siblings scattered around me like exhausted soldiers. Dylan dozes on the couch, arms crossed, while Amber scrolls endlessly on her phone for distraction. Thomas mutters in his sleep on the rug. Athena's wide awake beside me, her knee bouncing nonstop. Mom's sitting in Dad's armchair, silent prayers moving across her lips.

"Lord, wherever my Dad may be, please have him come home safe," I whisper softly. My grandmother always says prayers change everything. Hopefully and faithfully, I stick to it by heart.

When headlights finally sweep across the window, I jolt like someone lit a firecracker under me.

The front door creaks open and there he is. Dad steps inside, his jacket scuffed, and knuckles scraped raw. He smells faintly of sweat and something metallic that makes my stomach drop.

"Justin," Mom breathes, standing so fast her chair nearly tips. "Where have you been?"

Dad shuts the door behind him with a long exhale. He looks at each of us, his eyes fierce but oddly satisfied.

"I was with Luis," he says simply.

Cecilia's dad.

"What?" Athena's voice cracks. "Why?"

Dad shrugs off his jacket, wincing. "Because Damien O'Brien needed to be reminded he's not untouchable."

The words hit like thunder.

"You what?" I choke out.

Dad's mouth curves into a grim line. "Luis called me. He was just as furious as I was after hearing that podcast. We knew Damien wouldn't stop unless someone made him. So... we paid him a visit. At his office."

"You fought him?" Dylan asks, half-impressed, half-horrified.

"Knocked the wind out of him to a bloody pulp," Dad admits without flinching. "Turns out Damien can't throw a punch to save his life."

Mom gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. She rushes to him, pulling his hands gently into hers. His knuckles are bruised, split in a couple places. "Justin Miller," she scolds, but her voice trembles more with relief than anger. "You could've been arrested."

"Would've been worth it," Dad says.

I stare at him, torn between admiration and shock. "Dad... you actually—"

"Defended her," he finishes for me, voice rough. "Defended our girl. I couldn't sit here knowing Cecilia carried that pain alone because of that creep. I should've done it years ago."

Mom shakes her head, fussing over him with a wet cloth from the kitchen. "You're reckless," she murmurs, dabbing at his knuckles. "But you look very attractive right now."

Dad smirks, leaning into her touch like a teenager again. "That's the best thing you've ever said to me."

"Oh, stop," she mutters, though her smile betrays her.

Athena groans. "Gross. Parents flirting."

"Mom, Dad. Stop, that's how you conceived all of us in the first place," Bradley's face contorts in uncomfortable disgust.

But even she can't hide the relief softening her features.

I sit heavily on the couch, trying to process. "So Damien's not going to press charges?"

Dad snorts. "Please. The man wouldn't dare. Not when he knows the whole industry is watching him crumble after Cecilia's podcast. He won't risk more attention."

Amber shakes her head in disbelief. "You and Luis beating him up... that sounds like some old-school mafia thing."

Dylan raises his brows. "Honestly? That's respect."

Dad chuckles low in his throat, then glances at Mom. "Funny thing is, I've known Damien longer than any of you."

We all look at him.

Mom exhales, setting the cloth aside. "It's true. That creep went to high school with us. He was in our graduating class."

My jaw drops. "Wait—what?"

"Yeah," Dad says, easing into the armchair with a sigh. "Back then, he was just as weird. Always lurking, always scribbling dark little stories in his notebook. Creepy kid. Thought he was smarter than everyone."

Athena frowns. "Why have we never heard this?"

Mom exchanges a look with Dad. Then she sighs. "Because it didn't feel important. Until now." She folds her arms. "Damien asked me out once. Sophomore year. Cornered me by the lockers with some line about how we'd make a 'power couple.'"

"Ew," Amber mutters.

Mom's eyes sparkle with mischief despite her seriousness. "I told him no. Politely, of course. I was already dating your father."

Dad's grin is boyish, proud. "Best decision she ever made."

Athena leans forward. "Wait—so he hit on you, Mom?"

"And Mariam," Dad adds. "Asked her out, too. Different day, same pathetic line. She laughed in his face and told him she was already with Luis."

The room erupts with disbelief.

"You're telling me Damien O'Brien, Hollywood's so-called genius, was just some rejected high school creep who couldn't take a hint?" Bradley says, eyes wide.

"Exactly," Dad confirms. "He's been bitter ever since. I'm not surprised he took it out on Cecilia. Or Jeremy. That kind of man holds grudges for life."

My stomach twists. The thought of Damien circling our parents as teenagers, then years later preying on us and Cecilia, makes my skin crawl. Like some shadow that's been haunting our family for decades.

Mom touches Dad's arm gently. "But tonight, you stood up to him. You and Luis. You did what we couldn't back then."

Dad meets her gaze, softened by her words. "I'd do it again."

She smiles faintly. "You're still reckless."

"And you still love me for it," he counters, leaning close.

She laughs quietly, pressing the cloth once more to his knuckles. "Unfortunately for me, yes."

The rest of the night blurs with fragments of conversation—my siblings buzzing about the revelation, Athena still fuming at Damien, Mom alternating between worry and pride, Dad looking like a man who's just exorcised a demon.

But through it all, one thought burns in me like fire.

Cecilia doesn't know.

She doesn't know Damien was part of our parents' past. She doesn't know he just got the beating of his life. She doesn't know how deep this story runs and how far back it goes.

And for the first time, I realize this isn't just about the present. It's about generations. My parents, her parents, us. The fight isn't new—it's been simmering for decades.

Now, it's finally boiling over.

And somehow, I know: this is only the beginning.