Life's Fear

Chapter Forty-Seven

Mum came rushing into the threshold as Dad slammed the door to the study.

Suddenly it was quiet in the house and it occurred to me that everyone upstairs would be silent and sadistically eager to see what would happen next, though they know they would hate what they hear anyway. Mum recoiled at the sound of the door, but barged right into his study. He looked ready to kill at that moment when he looked at my mum, and I realised he had never looked so unloving toward Mum before. Never.

"How dare you!" she screamed at him.

Warren appeared at the top of the stairs, but before I could say anything, Kendall crept up behind him and scooped him up the best she could with her broken wrist, wincing in the process. "Shh, come with me," she murmured to him, though I could still hear her. She closed the door with such delicacy that I wondered whether Mum or Dad even heard that commotion.

"How dare me? How dare you!" Dad shouted, turning his attention to me as he smacked his fists against the table. "Remember the deal? You see him, you're out of this house! You can pack your stuff right now!"

"She's not going anywhere!" Mum interjected. "You will be the one to leave, if anyone does. How dare you behave like a child this past week! Grow up and get over yourself!"

Having been murderously glaring at me, he turned back to Mum, straightening his back as he flung several pieces of glass to the side. Not only was there glass in the hallway, I thought, but also in his study. Of course. This was just brilliant. I was in such a state of shock I could barely register what was happening. He had been spying on Jason and I from the window and he was demanding I move out because of it... because of my relationship with Jason.

"I know what this is about," Mum spoke this time, though I could see tears. "When you brought up Joseph to me – I realised then. You were jealous that I spent my senior year of high school dating him because you wanted to date me, and you've always resented me for that, because we missed out on a year."

Dad was rendered speechless for once.

"You were always friendly to Joseph in high school, and when we ended up dating, you gave him the cold shoulder for a year. Whenever he tried to reach out to you, you just ignored him from that point onwards. I can promise you, Jason is nothing like Joseph. I know what Joseph was like. That will not happen to our daughter."

"You don't know that," he protested, though his argument was weak against Mum's words.

"This is stupid!" she screamed. "Yes, I do know that, because as you've had your suspicions, I may as well confirm them. Yes, I met up with Jason and Blair for lunch and I got to know him! He is a young lad. He is a gentleman!"

That was the wrong thing to say to Dad as he banged his fists against the table again.

I hated this. I hated being the reason Mum and Dad were quarrelling and for Dad's abrupt drinking problem. He was blatantly drunk and God only knows what he would do in this state, if the last time he threw a plate at Kendall's hands and fractured a wrist.

"Well, I'm not about to find out," he declared before barging past Mum and I, tackling us to the side so he could dart freely out of the house.

Mum gasped, falling backwards as I had to do a lot of small steps to avoid standing in the larger glass shards scattered on the floor. I helped her up once I found my footing just as Dad was jogging past in front of the window. Considering his age and fitness status, he wasn't fast and that was the fastest he could go which meant even with a head start, we'd catch up to him, but depending on where Jason was would depend on whether Dad eventually reaches him or not. I could only assume he was darting after him.