What Makes a Family

13-Confrontation

IF YOU WOULD PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO LEAVE AN ASTERIX* ON ANY OF MY GRAMMAR/SPELLING MISTAKES

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It felt like a mere ten minutes before Aldric was bursting through the bathroom door at the sound of my sobs. I tried to get out what had happened through my cries, but he was too angry to even let me calm down long enough to explain. His eyebrows were drawn together, and his fists were clenched into white knuckles. Aldrics eyes were drawn in on my reddened cheek, and I knew he'd pieced together what transpired while he'd been at work.

With a surprising gentle touch he picked my shaking body up off the tile floor and carried me out. It wasn't until we'd reached the front door and he walked out to put me into the passenger seat of his truck did I know where we were going. "Please, Aldric, don't go over there. It's only going to make everything worse!" I cried, but my pleases were all heard on deaf ears. He was determined, and nothing was going to change his mind about it then.

"Come into my home and harm the ones I care about. Won't get away with this shit." He kept rambling on under his breath, talking to himself. For several long minutes I let him have his time to himself, figuring then wasn't the best time to bring up the fact I'd decided to leave. No matter the outcome to this confrontation he was staging I would be leaving. He wasn't going to lose someone so meaningful in his life like his father over someone so meaningless as myself.

The tense drive to our parents house was definitely too short for my liking. We pulled up at the mailbox, Aldric nearly taking it out in his angry state. "Hey!" I called out at him, huffing through my tears when he ignored me. "Hey!" I called again, chasing after him as he stomped up to the front door with a purpose.

"Open the damn door, dad!" He screamed, banging against the hard wood with his fists. When he didn't get an immediate answer he repeated his banging and yelling. "I know you're in there, asshole! Open the fucking door! We need to talk!" I panicked when the neighbors across the street opened up their front door to see what all the noise was about. The last thing he needed was a nosey neighbor calling the cops on a noise complaint.

"Aldric, baby, calm-" before I could finish my pleading his father opened the front door, his face turning into an instant scowl when he witnessed my arms around his sons neck as I'd tried to get his to look at me. He wasn't pleased, that much was for sure. Without a word he stepped to the side to let us through, never taking his angry eyes off of me. I'd been right. He was blaming everything on me, that much I was for sure.

It wasn't two seconds after we got into the living room where my mother sat curled up on the couch that he stormed over to her and ripped her up to stare her in the eyes. "Who the hell do you think you are!" He screamed, his grip looking nearly too tight.

"Let my wife go, William!" Darius yelled his middle name at his son, rushing over to Reneas' aid, but his attempts to free her from his vise like grip were futile. He was too enraged to give a shit if he was hurting anyone at that point. I watched with teary eyes as he pointed a finger right in her face.

"Who do you think you are to come into my home and hit the woman I love?" And that was when things got bad. My jaw fell to the floor, my eyes brimming with sad yet happy tears, and our parents were both stunned into silence; I watched silently, not sure any input from me would help or harm the situation.

"Love?" His father scoffed, clearly disgusted with the idea. "That's your step sister you're talking about being in love with! Do you not see how wrong that is?" His voice was dripping in venom, dangerously low from his normal chipper self.

Aldric turned to look at me for the first time since he'd stormed out of the bathroom with me in his arms, a small smile playing at the edges of his lips. "I could care less if we were related by marriage, dad. I love her." And then his next thought put that scowl right back on his handsome face. "But her mother thinks it's okay to beat her for no reason! Who are you to abuse your own daughter for something you aren't involved in!" That last part was directed at my mother.