The Past Doesn't Change the Future

Chapter 2

"Damn, what a nice ass house you got here." Matt found himself in the middle of my dad's living room. The owner, was nowhere to be found. The open windows let in a soft cozy breeze that flew throughout the room. Everything in the room was collecting dust. There were two couches and one love seat, all matching. A 50 inch, flat screen television sat on top a self-built TV stand made from red wood. A small coffee table sat in the middle of it all, covered my photos: one of my mom, one of me, and one of the day my parents got married. I brought them to the house to help me pack some things to complete the process of moving out.

"Yeah, well, it would be nicer if there wasn't so much dust around." Kealeni remarks next to Matt.

"Stay here a sec, kay?" I leave them to wander around the living and dining room as I made my way up the stair case. I walked past my old bed room to a room with a shut door. Making sure no one was following me, I pushed the door open. The smell of alcohol and depression hit me instantly. Huddled under three comforters sat an older man with squares glasses, clearly engaged on whatever was on TV. Paper plates, some still occupied with moldy food, were making a home in corners or on the floor. Beer bottles were broken all over the floor and a bottle of cheap whiskey was opened and half-empty. "Hi, Dad."

He grunted in response and took a sip of beer from the bottle in his hand. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school right now? That damn high school lets you leave whenever you want, don't they? What, because your old dad fucking drinks?! It's bullshit!" He chugs everything in the bottle and throws it to the ground. I'm sure Matt and Kealeni heard everything just now. Shit! They weren't supposed to know he was here!

"Dad," I start calmly, "I graduated from high school already. Earlier this year." He turns towards me with a scowl on his face. "And I'm in college now. Harvard. I told you that last week."

"Your mother went to Harvard. The school made your mother the person she is." He grabbed another bottle from under his bed and snapped the cap off. I resisted to correct him, saying that it's not 'is" but 'was.'

"It's a lovely school. Anyway, I came to see if you had any laundry you needed done since I won't be home for a while." Silence. "Or anything you need to buy. . ."

"Buy me six 6-packs of beer at Marely's. And some Cheetos."

Uh-oh! "Dad, I'm not old enough to buy alcohol. I'm only 19."

He turned around towards me fully and stared, wide-eyed at me. "Buy the fucking alcohol, Kayleigh! I don't care if you get arrested or not, just buy it!" He leapt from his bed and grabbed my neck. He squeezed it hard, only tightening his grip when I tried to pry myself away from him. "Do you understand me, young lady?!" His breath smelled like booze and misery and pain.

"Yes. I understand." I whizzed and started to cough when he released me. He muttered profanity under his breath and went back to being the asshole groundhog he is, hiding in is little room. It wasn't until after I closed the door, I realized there was a shattered frame with a picture of my mother on the ground. I felt weak and I missed my mom so bad.

"Hey." A low voice startled me out of my pain. Matt was next to my bedroom door, hands in pockets, giving me a concerned look. "What was all that?"

"Oh, nothing. It was just my dad. Yeah, he asked me to go pick something up for him at the corner store down the street." I kept my head low and walked past him. His hand caught my arm.