When I came home after school, neither of my parents was there. At first, this didn't bother me as my mom was usually working at this time, but then I remembered that my dad was back in town. I quickly called my mom, relieved when she picked up and told me she was alright. She hadn't seen my dad today, which was a relief. When I was younger, he threatened us a lot-mainly me, though. Sometimes they were empty threats, but they still left a mark. Seems like that didn't change, I thought to myself, remembering the previous day. My dad didn't come back after threatening me to clean his mess, though I cleaned it anyway. When I was done on the phone with my mom I locked myself in my room and started my homework.
A few hours passed and there was a knock on the front door. I got up to go answer it, then paused. At first, I thought it would be my mom, but she has a key to the house, so it couldn't be her. Plus, she has a late shift tonight. Another knock came from the front door; I tensed, realizing who it could be. I had to answer the door, or else things wouldn't go well for me. I rushed downstairs, not wanting to make my dad wait at the door any longer-that would only piss him off. I got to the door and braced myself; throwing the door open, I jumped back so he couldn't have a swing at me.
It was only when I felt no pain that I looked up; relief and a slight embarrassment flooded through me as I saw not my dad, but Brennen Taylor standing at the door. I stood up straight and sighed in relief. "Brennen," I said. "You scared the crap out of me." I let him into the house and lead him into the living room. "So, what's up?" I asked as if nothing had happened.
"If anything I should be asking you that question," he said, his tone joking. I let him into the house and followed him to the living room. Brennen sat on the couch to the left of the room and I sat on the couch opposite him. "So what was that?" He asked, his tone now serious.
I looked down before replying. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." I doubted he believed me, even before he pressed on.
"Oh, so you didn't jump away from the door when you opened it?" I looked up a bit at that. "You caught that?" I asked quietly, slightly embarrassed.
"Yes, Colby, I caught that. Now can you please just tell me what's going on?" He asked, sounding worried. I looked up at him now and saw the concern in his eyes.
"Okay, fine. I'll tell you," I say reluctantly. "My dad's back in town, Brennen."
When Brennen left my house, it was around nine o'clock. My mom would be home in about an hour. I decided to go back to my room. I had left my phone there and it was on silent, so I didn't realize how many notifications I had. They were all texts and missed phone calls. Who the hell would be so eager to talk to me? I wondered until I saw who they were from.
Sam.