AC/DC

Chapter VI

"Mark, be a sport and hug your sister properly," said my father, Evan Mangal, "You two haven't seen each other in nine months."

"Thanks to a stupid idiot named Jim," I muttered her former lover's name under my breath, forgetting to say it as softly as possible as those hurtful words pierced through Tara's ears.

"MARK!!!" yelled Tara as she burst into tears, "Stop bringing up the past!"

My eyes rolled upon hearing Tara's outburst, as my parents sighed upon seeing my nonchalant attitude.

"It's not going to be that easy for me to just forget about what you did," I told her coldly, "You swine!"

"MARK!" yelled my parents simultaneously, as they were perplexed by my immoderate choice of words. My dad took my arm violently, as his slightly-tanned face turned red, seething with anger.

"Young man, you better take back what you just said to your sister," said my dad in a deep voice full of anger and seriousness, "Don't make her relapse again."

Alas, I was in no mood to suck my already inflated ego, as I lashed out at my middle-aged, spectacle-wearing father. He normally had a relaxed face, but this time his wrinkles and white hair were clearly complimenting his angry look.

"Mollycoddling this bitch isn't going to fix anything dad," I said in a rustic voice, as my mother's face exhibited an expression of surprise, "Plus, if you can't handle her relapsing again, it just shows your failure as a parent."

Those words were the breaking point of my dad's patience. Immediately after my sentence had finished, my dad's hand cracked across my face. It snapped my face with the force of his blow, causing my head to reel sickeningly as it slammed into the wall behind me. 

My mother's scream and Tara's continuing cries continued to fill the room as my thoughts were blinded by a five-course serving of rage, stimulating me to fight back against my father.

"You son of a bitch!" I yelled at my dad as I charged at him, using all my strength to push him towards the wall. My dad hit the yellow wall in front of me with an extremely loud thud, as he fell onto the floor without breaking a sweat.

"MARK! What has gotten into you?" asked my mother, wailing.

"I fucking hate Tara for what she did," I said, vexed, as my anger turned its focus to my sister.

"That does not give you the right to lash out like that!" yelled my dad, as he stood up and walked towards me, wiping the blood flowing out profusely through his nostrils, "You're my son, not a filthy little gangster!"

I turned towards him and was about to counter my dad's words when, all of a sudden, my mother screamed in pure shock and rushed towards Tara's side. My eyes immediately flicked back to my sister, who was now holding a knife in her hand, her wrists slit. Blood trickled out of her fat-filled arm, as the knife was completely soaked in red.

"TARA!" yelled my mother once more, as she immediately ran to take a bandage. My father took the knife away from my sister, who was yelling in pain. I stared at the both of them without lifting a finger or even moving near them, carefully observing how my mother was trying her best to bandage Tara's injuries.

"I WANT TO DIE! I WANT TO DIE! I WANT TO DIE!" yelled Tara as my mother struggled to calm her down. 

"Aren't you going to help us clean the mess up you caused?" asked my dad angrily. 

I sighed in frustration, realizing that my act of nonchalance was ultimately causing more problems for my parents.

"Look, mum, dad, Tara, I'm sorry for shouting and losing my cool," I admitted to the three of them, as Tara began to calm down upon hearing my apology, "But I'm not going to clean up a mess that you dragged me into."