"Today, however can change things for better or worse. The outcome depends on you."
When a marriage fails the residue trickles down to everyone in the family. Sixteen-year-old Daya Nicole Johnston must fight to understand what is happening in her li...
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* Samuel Johnston *
A few minutes later, Dennis and I started looking at old photos of Dad on his phone.
"He looked so young then," I smiled at the picture of Dad holding baby me in his arms.
"This was sixteen years ago, Little Miss. You looked a lot younger then too," he jested.
"I'll be seventeen next month but these years have been so hard on my skin," I pulled the skin under my eyes.
Then, we heard a knock on the door immediately followed by another and another. I was frozen in place, unable to take my eyes off the door, not knowing what would happen next. Dennis and I exchanged looks, both knowing that it was our mother who was at the door.
Denny rolled his eyes, got out of bed, and walked over to the door before saying, "Mom, leave us alone, we won't talk to you unless it's answers about Dad."
He encountered the door and opened it expecting to see our mom and whatever plea for forgiveness she had, but got a different miracle entirely.
I stared at the man in the doorway with astonishment as I was paralyzed by shock. Every emotion I felt was staring back at me and I was unable to move in a sudden jolt of panic.
"Dad," I heard Dennis say in the softest tone I have heard with his voice cracking as his emotions took him over. I watched as our dad took his son in his arms and squeezed him with every ounce of love he had in his body before whispering to him, "Yes, I missed you, son."
My dad looked up from Dennis and made an association with my eyes. His gaze focused on me with tears rolling down his face. I felt as though he had my heart in his hands, to crush or to spark life into. I felt a tingling sensation overtake my body that forced me out of the state of mind, dragging me over to him.
I walked cautiously, not believing that who I was looking at was, in fact, my father. Wondering if I just missed him so much that I conjured up an image in my head - a mirage if you will. I stood in front of them as Denny loosened his hold on our dad, standing beside him waiting for me to move. I stared into our dad's eyes not certain of what to do next.
My father reached his arms out to me, ready to take me in his arms and transport me back into a better time, but we couldn't go back there. Gently, I touched his hand to see if this was real and it was. I felt his warm hands and stared deeply into his soft green eyes that resembled mine.
Without knowing or thinking about my actions I felt my hand erupt across his face, leaving a stunning display of emotion surrounding the both of us. With my mouth agape, I shoved past everyone and ran, trying to escape from my decision and the repercussions of my reaction.
All I could think was, "Wow, I just slapped my dad!"
It felt like it wasn't even me. My body had all the control and I didn't have time to react emotionally. As if an unknown entity took over me and suppressed who I was and what I wanted to do. This entity also forced me to run away. Or perhaps it's an inherited family trait.
