Daddy Dearest

Mom stormed into the house and the rest of us followed, with me and Kendall tagging along last in line, feeling sheepish. Once we got into the house, all hell broke loose.

Mom shouted and screamed at Levi, accusing him of shit I knew for a fact he’d never done. She was losing it, screaming like a banshee, threatening to hit him, threatening to hurt herself. It was a nightmare to watch, especially because she kept involving my sister and me, trying to blame us and make Levi feel inferior.

I sneaked a look at Kenny, finding her with tears in her eyes. God, this whole fucking thing was a royal mess.

“I want you out of the house, Levi,” Mom snarled. “We’re fucking done.”

“Good,” he said calmly. “You sure you can kiss the money goodbye, Barb? We both know you’re a stickler for those dollar bills.”

“Fuck you!” she cried out, grabbing a vase from the hallway and hurling it at his head.

Kendall screeched and Levi pulled her aside. The vase missed her narrowly. If he hadn’t pulled her to safety, Mom’s misjudged throw would’ve hurt her, and badly so.

We stared at each other incredulously.

“Kenny, baby,” Mom said, her voice trembling. “You know I didn’t mean that, you know it was meant for him, don’t you baby? I’m so sorry, Kendall, I’m so sorry.”

Kendall stared at her with a stoic expression and Levi’s arms around her. This upset Mom even more, and she glared at Levi, throwing her hands in the air.

“What in the hell are you still doing here?” she shouted. “Can’t you just fucking leave?”

“And leave them with you when you’re like this?” Levi asked, shaking his head. “Not until you calm the fuck down, woman.”

“Fuck you!” Mom shouted, and Kendall’s bottom lip trembled.

“You can’t kick him out, Mom,” I begged her. “Please. Let’s just talk about this calmly, like adults.”

“You’re fucking eighteen,” Mom threw at me. “In no world are you a fucking adult, Amanda.”

“Don’t kick him out,” I begged again. “Mom, please. Don’t do this.”

“Watch me,” she snarled, giving Levi a threatening look.

“If you’re throwing him out, I’m going with him,” Kendall piped up. “I’m not staying behind.”

“Baby,” Mom said, looking outraged. “He’s not your fucking father.”

“He’s all I want,” Kendall said simply. “And I’m not staying here. I don’t feel safe.”

Levi’s arms tightened around her and I watched Mom staring at them, fury and hatred turning her eyes black her pupils were so dilated.

“You want to fucking leave?” she asked slowly, her voice menacing. “Fine, get the fuck out of my house, both of you. I don’t want either of you here. Levi, you’re a fucking perverted piece of trash. And Kendall… What do you want me to say? You were always his favorite. So get the fuck out if that’s your choice.”

“Goodbye, Mom,” Kendall said pointedly, turning on her heel.

She gave me one desperate glance that made me feel so fucking guilty I felt tears pricking at my eyes.

“Mandy?” she asked in that voice I knew so well, her little girl voice, the one she always used when she wanted my permission to do something.

It never hurt as much as it did right then and there.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, staring at the floor.

And then Levi was pulling my sister away and Mom was shouting obscenities at the door as it shut behind them.

And then we were alone.

Maybe it was the way it was meant to be.“I never should have trusted that bastard,” Mom muttered in a drunken slur.

There was a half-empty bottle of Scotch on the table. I sat on one of the dining room chairs with my legs curled up on it, and she sat chain-smoking across from me. I’d never seen her this angry, or this desperate. It was a really depressing sight, and I couldn’t even bear to look at her properly.

“At least I know you’ll never leave, Mandy,” she slurred again. “You’re my favorite, always have been.”

I wanted to speak up, but I swallowed my words instead. What was there to say anyway? It was all ruined, everything taken away from me before I’d had a chance to make things right.

“I knew you were always on my side,” she told me. “Always knew it. And we could have had all that money.”

“Mom, money isn’t everything,” I said lamely.

She rewarded me with a bitter laugh, knocking back another glass of Scotch.

“What the fuck do you know, anyway,” she told me. “You haven’t raised two girls on your own. You’re fucking nothing without your mother, always remember that, Mandy.”

I set my lips in a thin line. I wouldn’t give her the pleasure of seeing she’d hurt me.

“I had it all worked out,” she muttered. “The plan was airtight. It was supposed to work perfectly. Oh, of course I knew about Levi fucking around. And I remember when you told me, baby, the first time you saw him. You were crying. And the plan was put into motion.”