Strings Attached

~Chapter 16~

But I'm standing my ground. I won't back out, even if my dad tries shoving a case of abuse down my throat. He won't do that though. I have scars that he wouldn't ever escape explaining if things went south.

I take Molly's hand to keep her with me. "I don't have to explain. You very well know what happened there," I announce, addressing the woman I hate even looking at.

"But I swear woman, if you touch even a strand of her hair, you won't leave the encounter unscathed, I promise you that! Next time you think of hitting her, be sure to get your life insured, beforehand," I tell her menacingly, and I think I succeed in frightening her as her eyes widen in shock as she backs a little.

"Come on, Molly." And with that, I pull the woman along with me. She struggles a bit, probably thinking about the consequences, but I don't give any f**k anymore. Nobody dares hitting my mother's last memory left to me, and gets away with it.

Even dad hasn't directly hit her, ever, from what I have seen. Yes, he has shoved her into tables, chairs and dressers... you name it. But he has never lifted a hand to strike her, and that's saying something.

"Don't you see what he's just done?!" Rebecca's shrill cry of annoyance and anger catches up with us, but I don't turn around. Instead, I keep walking in the direction of the kitchen, a.k.a., Molly's haven.

"He just hit your wife! Will you keep standing there like the coward that you are?" Rebecca appeals to dad. And I know this time, and judging by their relationship right now, that she has crossed a line.

"I've never seen a dumber man in my life."

What in the world??

"What did you just say?" I spy my dad practically snarling at her now. Probably he's just as surprised as I am, if not more. But astonishingly enough, Rebecca isn't fazed. Or maybe, she's faking it. Because my father is a pretty scary man when his buttons are pushed the wrong way.

"You heard me. Too bad it's true," she takes another dig at dad, inspecting her nails and appearing cool as a cucumber.

But this isn't what surprises me the most. It's the way my dad is looking at her, with all the venom in his eyes; yet, he doesn't retaliate. Neither physically, nor verbally. And that's when I realize something is terribly wrong here.

Either 'daddy dearest' is getting old and all his fierceness is reserved for me, or the tables have turned somehow, and someone else is pulling the strings in this house now. And for mum's sake, I pity the man.

_____

After I've gotten Molly from the battlefield and delivered her to safety, I get back to my room to continue with whatever I was doing before.

Only, I don't feel like it anymore. I don't feel the blood that I felt rushing through me before, by thinking of that small encounter. My thoughts aren't getting hazy and I'm not getting high on the feeling of her touch. She's left me as soon as she came.