Chapter 1 - The Look on Mom’s Face
Gary already had the belt raised when I ran into the kitchen.
Ethan was wedged beside the lower cabinets, crying so hard his shoulders kept jerking. One of the wooden chairs had been knocked onto its side. A drinking glass lay shattered near the table, water spreading through a mess of crayons and a streak of bright green paint.
Gary stood over my nine-year-old brother like the mess on the floor had given him permission to become somebody else.
I didn’t think.
I grabbed Ethan by the arm and pulled him behind me.
“Let him go, you bastard!”
Gary turned.
The belt stayed in his hand.
Ethan pressed himself against my back and grabbed the bottom of my denim jacket.
“I’m scared! Make him stop!”
That was when I saw Mom.
She was standing in the kitchen doorway in her cream sweater and jeans.
Watching.
Not screaming.
Not trying to take the belt.
Not even moving toward Ethan.
Gary lunged.
I shoved Ethan behind the counter, away from the broken glass, and kicked Gary hard in the torso.
He crashed backward across the kitchen table. A bowl bounced to the floor.
“I’m teaching that brat a lesson!” he shouted.
He pushed himself upright and came at me again.
I stepped between him and the counter.
Then I looked at Mom.
Really looked at her.
“You knew he was doing this?”
She didn’t answer.
That frightened me more than anything Gary had said.
Because she didn’t look shocked.
She looked relieved.
Gary grabbed the front of my jacket.
Before he could drag me toward him, the phone on the table began vibrating so hard it rattled against the wood.
Mom’s expression changed instantly.
Gary froze.
I twisted out of his grip and snatched up the phone.
Three hard knocks struck the front door.
Mom went white.
The doorknob began to turn.
Gary backed away from me.
I answered the call.
A calm male voice said, “Stay away from the children.”
The front door opened only a few inches.
Mom stared at it.
Gary stared at her.
And the look they exchanged told me something I couldn’t yet explain.
They weren’t afraid someone had discovered what Gary had done.
May you like
They were afraid of one specific person discovering it.
My father.
