Page 88 of Resting Beach Face
We climbed out of the truck, and I opened the door quietly, hoping we could sneak in and do what we needed without waking Dad.
“And just where the fuck have you two been?”
I froze in the doorway while Dad glowered from the recliner, a beer in his hand.
He was up, which meant it was one of his better days. That also meant it’d be one of ourworseones.
On Dad’s bad days, he lay on the sofa and slept a lot. But on his good days? He sat in the recliner and he spouted every toxic feeling inside him onto us.
“We’re fine, thanks for asking,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. Dad never had liked my backtalk. Admittedly, I was a little punk when I was younger.
“Don’t be a smartass and answer the question.”
“I spent the night with Jenna,” Kat said. “I told Mom.”
“Jenna called over here,” Dad said. “So you’re just a fucking liar, aren’t you? Just because you’re crying over some goddamn boy doesn’t mean you get to run out and act like a little whore.”
“Hey!” I cut in. “Don’t call her that.”
“You shut up,” he bellowed. “It was bad enough when you ran crazy, but at least you weren’t gonna come home pregnant.”
“I’m sorry,” Katelyn said in a tiny voice, sounding on the verge of tears. “I was just upset about Benny and?—”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” he growled.
“I kept Kat safe, okay? Nothing bad happened, so let’s all just stay calm.”
“Oh, you’re giving me parenting advice now?” Dad said derisively.
“Seems like you need it.”
“Watch your mouth,” Dad snarled. “I’m the goddamned man of the house here.”
My mouth was really on a roll because a jagged laugh spilled out. “You’re a man? Please. You don’t even know the meaning of the word.”
“What did you say to me?”
“Amanwouldn’t make his daughter feel like crap about her breakup,” He started blustering, and I steamrolled on. “A man would take care of his family, not make them all miserable. Amanwould stop being a goddamn drunk and?—”
“Get the fuck out of my house,” he bellowed. “You think you can stand under my roof and talk shit to me? Go do it on the streets. Go find some whore and spend the night with her. Isn’t that what you usually do?”
“Stop it!” Katelyn cried. “Please?—”
“You’re a sorry excuse for a man,” I said. “And I like men too. I’ve told you a hundred times! I’m bi.”
“Who cares where you stick your dick?” he shouted. “You’re setting a terrible example for your sister!”
“Maybe I’m not the best example.” A sense of surreal calmness came over me. “But it doesn’t take much to do a better job than you, does it?”
Dad lurched forward as if to reach for me, then stopped short, face reddening, then twisting with pain.
Katelyn choked on a sob. “I hate it here!”
She ran from the room. Shit. I probably owed her an apology for escalating the situation. I was never very good at putting up with Dad’s shit, which was exactly why I’d spent so many nights out with random hookups.
“Goddamn fucking ungrateful bitch of a whore kids,” Dad muttered as he fell back into his chair with a pained groan.
