Page 40 of The Other Half

I keep my mouth shut, but a silent tear threatens to spill out of my eye.

“I will find you a suitable boy to date if you want a boyfriend that bad. One that comes from a respectable family.” He shakes his head frantically, “I couldn’t be more disappointed in you. Being such a slut you’d give it up to someone like him. I can’t even look at you.” My stomach curls at his cruel words. He finally releases my arm and I pull it away from him instinctively.

I remain silent but he continues, “You’re grounded. Until further notice, and I WILL know if you leave this house. I’ve already hired someone to install a security system and your phone service has been cut off.”

“Fine,” I say defeatedly. I know it doesn’t matter that I’m an adult, he doesn’t see me as one anyway.

“If anything like this happens again I will not hesitate to pull you out of that school.”

I shake my head somberly. “There’s no reason to do that, I like my new school. My grades are finally getting better.”

He continues talking, ignoring me, “I knew I shouldn’t have ever agreed to let you transfer there. Your mother and her bright fucking ideas.” He scoffs. “I didn’t want you around those lowlife hillbillies in the first place.”

I suddenly feel my face turning red, not from embarrassment but anger. “What are you talking about? They’re just regular people.”

“They’re NOT, Oakley. They’re trash. All of them, just like your little boyfriend. He and his whole family are hillbilly trash.”

“You don’t even know them! They’re good people.” I’m yelling now, but I don’t care.

He laughs incredulously, not even angry about my outburst. “They’re everything that’s wrong with this world. Have your mother and I not taught you a damn thing? They’re nothing but lazy, freeloading bums. Living off of OUR tax dollars.”

Finally I understand. I understand Oliver’s contempt towards people like my father. I understand why he looked at me the way he did when he saw my house for the first time.

I always thought people like my parents were good people, maybe a little pretentious, but good deep down. But I was wrong. He truly believes that Oliver and his family are worthless just because of where they live.

“They were employees at the mill. They’re hardworking people, they aren’t lazy. They got laid off for no reason.”

“Well I’m sure as hell glad they aren’t there any more. I’m sure those rubes weren’t doing anything to help our bottom line.”

I feel the anger swimming through my veins, bubbling up in my gut, and I can’t control it. “And what do you do for the bottom line? I bet they did more work in one day than you have in a whole year.”

I hear the cracking sound of his open hand connecting with my cheek before I feel the pain explode through my face. I guess I should have been expecting that.

“You don’t know shit, you little brat! I will not be talked to that way in my home. Get in your room and you can come out when I’m ready to see you again.”

I feel utterly disgusted, my face is wet from tears and my hands are balled into fists. At that moment I make a decision, I’m leaving. I’m an adult, I don’t have to live here anymore if I don’t want to.

Chapter 34

Oakley

A few hours later I hear a light tapping on my bedroom door. I don’t know how much time has passed, but my pillow is soaked with tears and I’m hungry from not eating since breakfast. I’ve been laying here on my stomach sobbing for what feels like an eternity.

“Yes?” I say as loud as I can manage through my hoarse throat.

My mom pushes my door open halfway and peeks her head through the crack. “Hey,” she utters sadly, pursing her lips together.

I don’t say anything, I just stare at her. She’s not the one I’m really mad at, but I’m not happy with her either. This is her fault too for not leaving my father years ago. The first time he hit her, she should have left. The first time he got too drunk and couldn’t calm down, she should have left. But she didn’t, and now I have to endure his abuse as well.

She closes the door softly behind her and walks over to my bed, staring at me pityingly. “I’m sorry,” she chokes out. She sits next to me and rubs her hand on my back in a soothing motion, over and over. I watch her study my face and her eyes grow wide, “My God,” she says, she softly touches my face with her fingertips and I flinch from the pain. “He hit you?”

“Of course he hit me,” I spit, turning my head the opposite direction so she’ll stop touching it.

“I-” she starts, “I’m so sorry, Oakley.”

“And? What are you going to do about it? You’ve been apologizing for him for years. What are you going to do to change it?”

She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “It’s not that simple,” she utters.

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