Aspire

Chapter 6

   Thinking my mom could be in trouble, I ran to the front door, fumbled with my keys, and finally opened the door. I walked into the living room where I heard yelling which must have been between my mom and my dad. "I already told you you can't handle the responsibility of these kids! You couldn't even support us when we were together!" Mom yelled. "I told you-- I'm better now! Look, I just applied for a job the other day. I'm really trying, Jaelyn."

   Mom sighed and put her hand on her forehead. Finally she looked him right in the eye. "The kids are staying here." Dad seemed to fill with rage and turned abruptly to me. I didn't think they had even noticed me come in the house. "Don't you trust me, Crys? Remember all the good times we had, you and me? Don't you want to be with your dad again?" I stared at him with a glare and sighed. He sounded somewhat sincere, but I could see in his face that his aggression wasn't gone.

   "I want a dad that won't leave his family for his friends at a bar. And a dad who cares about whether or not his kids have something to eat that night. I want a dad that I can trust and will love and support me. You couldn't even do that when we were a family. I don't care if you've changed or not but I don't think I can trust you again." My voice cracked and my vision blurred as tears started to fill my eyes.

   Tyler, who had been sitting on the couch silently stood up and walked towards me. "He's changed, Crys." Tyler says quietly to me. "Why won't you give him a chance?" Tyler started to cry and hugged me tightly. I returned the hug, and I remembered seven-year-old Tyler begging Dad not to leave as he went out on his own when the divorce was finalized. "Remember those fights that Mom and Dad used to have, Tyler? Well that is exactly what is happening right now. He hasn't changed. It's all an act."

   "It's you, Jaelyn." Dad said quietly. Mom looked confused and said, "What was that, Greg?" Dad turned quickly to face my mom who flinched slightly. "You've brainwashed my kids into thinking I'm a terrible person! How could you keep my kids from me?" Mom backed away and slowly started inching her way towards us. "You're not okay, Greg. Just calm down, please." Dad seemed to laugh slightly at that. "I'm perfectly calm, Jae! I'm better now, I'm telling you!"

   Mom squeezed her eyes shut, as if anticipating a hit. "You smell like beer. You are not doing any better." Dad ran his hands through his hair and looked stressed out. "How else do you expect me to deal with you?! You won't even let me have my own kids!"

   Mom took a deep breath and responded calmly with, "I can help you, Greg. But I can't trust you with these kids yet. Crys is eighteen, so she'll be leaving soon anyway. Just please go, Greg." I nodded and Tyler looked between me and Dad. Then he went to his room and slammed the door.

   "Neither of you understand me! I'm really trying." Dad seemed to start getting a little riled up and I slowly pulled out my phone in case I needed to call for help. "Stop trying to take the kids and stop trying to make me think you've changed." Dad out a grunt and I screamed as he slapped my mom across the face. I called the police and yelled into the phone for help as Dad began to tear up the room and head for Tyler's bedroom.

   He jerked on the doorknob and yelled for Tyler to come out. Mom and I told him to stay in the room but I heard the door unlock and it cracked open slightly. "We're going, Tyler." The door started to open a little more when I yelled, "No you're not! Tyler, stay put! I called the police and this is all going to end!" I felt flustered and confused and sad, but after what I just witnessed my dad wasn't leaving here with anyone but the police.

Someone pounded on the front door and everything went in slow motion. I flung the door open and three policemen went for my dad as he struggled and punched at no one in particular. My mom and I backed away and watched with tears flowing down our faces as Dad was handcuffed and between two of the policemen. They held his arms and the third policeman stepped toward us. "So what exactly happened here?"

•

After explaining to the policeman what had happened, he nodded and they escorted my dad to the police car. The policeman told us that we would be in court in a month and that my father would be held until then. The tension seemed to ease when he said that, and we thanked them for their help. I could see my dad glaring at us from the police car as the window was rolled up. All I saw next was the blur of more tears and my brother running into my mother's arms.

•

   My mom sat with a cold pack against her cheek which was now bright red. "Does it still hurt?" I ask as I sit down next to her on the couch. "Stings a little, but I'll be fine." She sighed as Tyler joined us and sat in a chair diagonal from us. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'll never trust him again. Not after what just happened." Tyler said as a tear rolled down his face. "Oh, no. Honey, it's okay. He was toying with all of us, but he'll get what he deserves." We all nodded silently, and after a while of talking we ate dinner and then turned on the TV to get our mind off of things.

•

   "Well, goodnight guys." Tyler waved as he walked to his room. "Goodnight," my mom and I said in unison. After a few minutes, Mom eventually went to bed as well, which just left me by myself. I sighed and remembered Lilly. I just saw her today and she didn't know any of this had happened right after. I decided to call her to explain everything the best I could.

After a forty-five minute phone call with Lilly, I told her that I'll be thinking about her as she went through chemo, said goodbye, and hung up. I decided to head to my room and try to sleep, but I already knew that wouldn't happen anytime soon. What more is going to happen now? I asked myself, and finally I drifted off into a restless sleep.