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“Do you see that?” I ask, wondering if someone is trying to break into the house. But as we get closer, I realize one of the men is Brendan. And once we’re parked, I can see the other guy is Theo. “Why is he here again!?” I groan.
“I don’t know,” she murmurs. “What are they doing?”
Just as soon as she asks the question, I see Brendan lunge towards Theo and clock him right in the face.
“Hooolyy shiiit!” I exclaim, unable to hold in a little bit of laughter. I hear the painful smacking sound against his jaw and feel an instant sense of satisfaction. But it doesn’t erase the shock or confusion of why the hell the two of them are fighting on the lawn.
“Hey!” my mom shouts as she bounds out of the car. She rushes over to Brendan and tries to hold him back, but he’s like a charging bull and is quick to rush forward again just as Theo is stumbling back to his feet with a mouth full of bloody teeth.
She puts herself in front of him and forces him to look her in the eye. “Stop it!” she demands. His nostrils flare with rage, but the longer she stares him down, the more I see him relax.
“What the hell is going on here!?” she fumes once Brendan seems somewhat diffused.
“I just came back to get my jacket,” Theo defends before spitting out a mouthful of blood. “Then this idiot attacked me…like a madman!”
Brendan growls and starts to run for him again, but my mom pushes him back. “Go in the house!” she orders before turning back to Theo. “And you! Just go home!”
I follow Mom and Brendan inside, shooting a quick pleased smile over to Theo as he stumbles pitifully back to his car. Ha, serves him right, I think.
I’m completely shocked as I walk into the house, realizing I’ve never once seen Brendan lose his shit like that. But if it had to happen, nothing makes me happier than knowing he unleashed it on Theo. Maybe I’m not so alone in my hatred of him after all.
As my mom starts grilling Brendan, demanding to know what happened, part of me thinks I should go upstairs to my room and give them some privacy. But then I think there’s no way in hell I can go to sleep without knowing the juicy details of what caused him to snap like that. I linger in the doorway, wishing I had a bag of popcorn. Or even better, some kind of medal to award Brendan with as a thank you.
“He came knocking on the door like he has a right just to stop by anytime he likes,” Brendan snarls, still looking riled up. “He started talking about some jacket he left here earlier today. Why was he here!?”
“To talk about Ophelia’s college fund!” Mom cries. “What did you think!? That I was having an affair with him!?”
Brendan looks ashamed, giving away that it’s exactly what he thought, even though he feels stupid for it now. “I tried asking him what he was here for,” he explains, hanging his head. “But he just laughed and said, ‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’ I just lost it.”
“Oh goodness sakes,” my mom huffs. “Is that it!? I swear…what a ridiculous reason to punch someone for.”
By this point, I am itching to chime in, even though I know she’ll probably banish me for it. But too much is building up for me to hold it in.
“It’s not so ridiculous,” I suggest. “In fact…that’s probably why Theo showed up and said that in the first place. To get Brendan to attack him just as we were pulling up. How do you know he wasn’t stalking us to time it all just perfectly?”
“Are you kidding me!?” she whips around to burn her eyes into me. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Do you hear yourself? Stalking us!?”
“He could’ve asked for his jacket back later,” I reply. “He was trying to push Brendan’s buttons. And he’s right…He doesn’t have a right to just show up whenever he wants.”
“Go to your room, Ophelia!” she shouts, pointing her finger as if suddenly I’m ten years old all over again. “Stay out of this!”
“But you said I’m practically an adult now…so can’t we talk about adult things?” I remind her.
She closes her eyes with a big groan. She hates having her own words used against her, but I couldn’t resist. Sooner or later, everyone has to start understanding Theo the way I do.
“Your mom’s right,” Brendan caves. “You shouldn’t have had to see that. I’m sorry. We’ve all been trying really hard to let your father be a part of your life, and I shouldn’t have done anything to mess that up.”
“Yes, you should have!” I cry. “I don’t want him to be a part of my life! You’re a better father to me than he’ll ever be! I’m glad you punched him in the face!”
“Well, that doesn’t sound very adult,” my mom says condescendingly.
“Being an adult means understanding that not everyone is who they claim to be,” I argue. “Why can no one else see what a loser he is!? He’s done nothing but cause trouble from the moment he popped up.”
“Giving you a new car? Your phone? Offering to help with college?” she rants. “All of that…You think that’s trouble?”
“It’s all just a part of his game to win us over!” I shout, feeling more desperate than ever to make them see. “Nothing he does is innocent or accidental. It’s all planned out. We’re just like little puppets in his game. Don’t forget this is the man that got you both run out of town and then beat you.”
“That’s enough,” she hisses, her jaw clenched tight. “I’m tired. We’re not discussing this anymore tonight.”
