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He went on with the punishments and then left the room, leaving Mom and me sitting there alone. The space felt lighter whenever my father wasn’t around.
“He’s a dick,” I muttered.
Mom moved over and placed her hands on my cheeks. She looked at me with a smile soaked in sadness and gently touched my eye. I tensed up from the pain. “We need to ice that.”
“It’s fine,” I huffed. I had so much pent-up rage inside me that I felt as if I was going to burst.
“Your father loves you,” she claimed, getting up to get an ice pack from the kitchen. When she returned, she had it wrapped in a cloth. She sat back down and held it against my face. “He just has a hard time showing that kind of love.”
“He acts like I wanted to fight.”
“Did you?” she questioned.
“No. Of course not.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Did you?”
I sighed. “He called her names.”
“Called who names?”
“Hailee.”
Mom’s face softened as she pulled the cloth away from my eye for a moment. “What did he say?” She looked horrified when I told her and shook her head. “That’s disgusting. And familiar. I once had a guy who used to get caught up in fights for my honor, too.”
“Dad?”
She nodded. “More than once. His motto back then was punch first, talk later.”
I grumbled.
Hypocrite.
Mom smiled. “It wasn’t his right to do it, either. There are more ways to stand up for a woman you love than using your fists.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. It just seemed easier at that very moment.
Later that night, after dinner, the doorbell rang. Dad answered it to find Hailee standing there.
“Samuel, hi.” Hailee’s voice was coated in sweetness, something it always seemed to be. “I wanted to stop by and tell you that what happened at school wasn’t Aiden’s fault. If anything, he was protecting me from a jerk at school.”
“Now, Hailee, I know you’re always going to try to get Aiden out of trouble, but—”
“He was calling me fat and ugly and gripped my arm hard, Samuel. He was humiliating me in front of the whole school. I know that fighting isn’t the right answer ever, and I know Aiden made a mistake, but he made it for me. At the end of the day, I know you taught your son to stand up for what he believes in, for the right side, and that’s what Aiden did today. He stood up for me when no one else would. I hope you understand that.”
She glanced toward the hallway leading to my bedroom and locked eyes with me for a second before a small smile found her lips. When she smiled, I smiled, too. Kind of a thing we did together.
“Thank you for the information, Hailee. I’ll take it into account,” Dad replied.
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll take it into account,” I quietly mocked.
Hailee kept smiling. “Of course, sir. I also made you my special chocolate-chocolate chip cookies. Your favorite ones that I make for Christmas time each year.”
Dad grumbled a bit and crossed his arms. “With the big chocolate chunks?”
“The biggest ones, sir.”
He took the bag from Hailee as he thanked her for stopping by with more details on the incident that took place. Before she left, she looked up toward me once more. When I smiled, she smiled, too.
