The Last Summer

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen.... Kayleb

I couldn't believe that he actually went through with it. I couldn't believe that he stood up to Paxton like that as if he actually cared. But worst of all I couldn't believe he did it all just to spite me. But, one question haunted my mind day and night. Did he actually care about her? I knew that she cared about him just from the way she looked at him. Especially that day at the fair, it was as if he was her hero. That day was torture. He kissed her, he hugged her, and he won prizes for her right in front of me all day long. It went on for weeks, and I began to grow numb. She didn't like me. She would never like me at least not the way she liked him. I couldn't feel anything anymore. It was as if my whole world stopped spinning when she made that commitment to Jaycob.

They had been going out for about three weeks when I was finally able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. One night, I went to sleep, and was woken up at three o'clock in the morning. My dad burst into my room, drunk, yelling profanities at me.

"It's all your fault!" He said.

"What?" I asked still half asleep.

"If you hadn't been born, I would be a free man now! I would've divorced that woman, and I would be rich and happy!" He slurred. "But no you were conceived, and there was no way I could dump you guys without getting a bad rep." I sat up awake now. "And then you wasted all my money on cribs and bottles and formula and toys and clothes!" He stepped towards me and took a swing. His fist connected with my left cheek. He hadn't done this in a long time. It had been almost two years since he last hit me. I guessed that it couldn't have lasted much longer. I clutched my face. I was doubled over with pain. I didn't fight back knowing that it would only get worse if I tried. Apparently having satisfied his anger, he exited my room.

After making sure that he wasn't still awake, I snuck down stairs and grabbed some ice, knowing that if I didn't it would be super swollen in the morning. I trudged back up the stairs, holding the bag filled with ice to my face. Nightmares from the past that actually happened haunted my dreams.