Daddy’s Girl

Chapter 1 RHYS

Then

They’re fighting again. I sit in the darkness of my room listening as our parents go at it. They’ve always been toxic to each other. But tonight is bad. It’s worse than any other night we’ve ever had to deal with.

There’s a knock on my door and I know who it is before she even slips inside. Pike.

She’s climbing onto my bed and curls up right next to me, invading my senses with that strong fruity scent of hers.

I press my forehead against her cheek as my sister fists her fingers in my Tshirt. I can feel the warm tears on her skin, so I wrap my arm around her and hold her closer.

“Rhys.” Her voice is soft, but I can hear the shakiness. “Do you think it’ll be okay tomorrow? I don’t want us all to break apart.”

There’s a loud thumping sound coming from downstairs. Mom is screaming and Dad is too. I’ve never heard him get this angry before. He’s screaming so loud that my own heart starts pounding hard against my chest.

What do I tell Pike, when I’m afraid too? Do I give her hope for a better tomorrow? I’d just be lying if I did because, after tonight, I know deep down in my heart that things will never be the same again. But I lie to her anyway, because I can’t tell her the bitter truth. I won’t. That’s what I’ve always done. Protected Pike from the ugly, while I absorbed the bad.

“Yeah. They’re just fighting like always,” I say. “They’ll get over it in the morning. Don’t worry about them, Rabbit.”

Pike relaxes against me, but she’s not stupid. She’s just trying to make herself feel better, rather than face the inevitable truth.

“That’s not my son sleeping up there!” I hear Dad yell downstairs. “You’re just a fucking whore, Michelle. You should take your filthy fucking bastard son and leave my house.”

He’s talking about me. Why would he say that? A lump wedges itself in my throat.

I grow still next to Pike and thankfully she’s not listening to the fight anymore, because she’s tucked into my side and falling asleep.

Mom says something unintelligible and then I hear something else getting thrashed. I should go down there. What if he’s hitting her again? It won’t be anything new.

“No!” Dad screams. “Don’t bring my daughter into this. Pike will stay here. She has me. She doesn’t need a whore bringing her up.”

The house is silent after that. I hear a door slamming and then the sound of an engine roaring. That’s probably Dad leaving.

I’m never usually scared when they have fights but tonight I’m afraid.

I try to move so that I can go and check on Mom, but Pike grabs my T-shirt as if she can sense what I want to do.

So I stay there with her in the dark, holding her until she’s softly snoring. I grab a pillow from behind me with my free hand and replace my arm that is wrapped around Pike’s neck with it before I climb out of bed.

I wait a few seconds and when Pike turns away from me to face the other side of the room, I quickly slip out and shut the door behind me.

Mom is downstairs sitting on the floor next to the couch with a bottle of vodka in her hands. Everything is a mess. Pillows are strewn. Pike’s awards from school for her volleyball competitions are thrown on the floor. My first hockey game that was framed is on the floor too. A shattered bottle of red wine sits at Mom’s feet. The blood red is sitting in a dark puddle. Her head is down as I step into the living room, but the floorboards creak underneath me and she looks up.

The black stains from her mascara left dark trails down her rosy cheeks, probably from when she was crying. Her eyes are bloodshot and her lips quiver before she gives me a quick smile. I can tell it’s forced because it doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Where’s your sister?” she asks, brushing the back of her hand across her red nose.

“Upstairs,” I say, swallowing hard.

She nods and then lifts the vodka bottle to her lips before taking a long swig. “You heard everything?”

I nod. “Not Pike though. She heard some stuff, but not everything.”

Mom looks at me, regret swimming in her red eyes. I watch as fresh tears roll down her cheeks.

“What did he mean?” I ask. My throat is thick with emotion and my heart is pounding in my ears.

“What?” Mom swipes the tears away and shoves a hand through her dark hair. “What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about, Mom.” Anger swells in my veins. Sometimes I can understand Dad’s anger towards her when she starts acting as if everyone around her is stupid.

But I try to calm myself down. She doesn’t need me getting mad at her too.

She rolls her eyes. “Please. Are you gonna cuss me out like your dad now? Go ahead, Rhys. I’m everyone’s punching bag these days.”

“Mom.” She’s trying to avoid the answer I want. I curl my hands into fists. “What he said doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“That you’re not his son?” she spits out coldly.

“Pike and I are twins. That can’t be true.”

“Fraternal is a thing, unfortunately.” She says the words so callously as the anger bubbles in my blood.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I ask her too loudly, forgetting that Pike is asleep upstairs.

“You,” she says, staggering as she tries to stand up. “You have a di erent father.”

Tears burn the back of my eyes. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” She laughs sardonically. “Jesus, I’m your mother, Rhys. I did the tests. Even he knows that it’s true. I think he’s always known.”

I turn away from her and head back upstairs, but not before her final words reach me.

“Pack your bags, dear bastard son. You heard that too, right? We are not welcome to stay here anymore.” What about Pike? I knew deep down that my mother never cared for her as much as me, but I could never leave Pike. Living without her was an impossibility.

Anger slithers its way down my spine and I have to gather every bit of calm in me to not turn around and tell her something I’ll regret later. I rush back up into my room and climb back into bed, before wrapping my arms around Pike. She reaches up so that she can slide her hands around my neck and breathes softly into the hollow base of my throat.

Oh, God. I can’t lose her. I can’t.