Page 104 of Ezekiel
“I have to get up in like an hour to get to the church on time. I might as well just stay up,” I argued, glancing at the clock again.
“You won’t do anyone an ounce of good if you’re dead on your feet with exhaustion. Go get at least a bit more sleep. I’ll see you at the church,” Levi insisted. With that, we ended the call, and I trudged my way back upstairs and back into the arms of my beautiful wife, who was thankfully still sleeping peacefully.
Levi was right. An extra hour of sleep would at least help. I closed my eyes and practiced the slow, even breathing exercises Talia had helped me with until sleep finally claimed me again.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
I awoke abruptly at the crashing sounds of someone’s fist on my front door.
“Zeke?” Talia asked in fear, holding the sheet to her still naked body.
“Stay here,” I whispered, throwing on my bathrobe and heading downstairs. Aw, fuck. It was my father.
With a deep breath, I unlocked the door and turned the knob, only to be flung back as Father came barreling in, straight at me.
“You pathetic, worthless, runt of a son,” he seethed, marching me backwards until my back hit the wall.
“What is it about you that makes you incapable of being an adult, Ezekiel? Did I not tell you, only days ago, to not make a mockery of me? Hmm?!” His voice sneered in my face as he crowded me into the wall. I could see the flecks of spittle gathered on his lip from his vitriolic spewing.
“Sir, I —”
“Shut the fuck up,” he growled lowly, dangerously, that same spittle spraying my face as he punctuated the curse.
I wanted to hit him. I wanted to fight back, to punch him in his motherfucking face, for daring to barge intomyhome and attack me. Not for the first time, but for the fucking second time.
I heard a shuffling upstairs.
Talia.
This was the absolute last thing she needed right now.
But hitting him wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t make the situation stop, it would only make it worse. If I were to fight back, he would attack me, and while I might be strong and young, my father was downright dangerous when he wanted to be. My brothers and I had been on the receiving end of his wrath far too many times to not know the truth of the matter. Titus Temple wasnota man you wanted to cross.
The smarter option was to just endure his outburst and let him finish. The quicker the better. Then he would leave, and Talia would be safe. If I fought him, we would end up in a physical altercation which could trigger Talia’s trauma even further. And while we wanted answers, this wasnotthe way to do it.
“You should be on your knees thanking God and myself for even getting you this job!” he screeched. “Do you have any idea how hard I had to work to get it for you? You are a disgrace to the Temple name. Your brothers, at leasttheyare fit for society, for Christ’s church. You are nothing more than a waste of space, a waste of the seed I gifted your mother. You are a retarded, worthless waste of space in this world, Ezekiel, and the only reason you still exist is because God, in His righteousness, granted you the breath of life. If it were up to me, you would have been better suited for a bloody mess in the trash heap of an abortion clinic. My seed that created you would have been better unloaded in a paper towel after a round of masturbation. Now, get dressed and get your ass to work. You are already two hours late and there is a meeting starting in thirty minutes.”
He punched the wall beside my head and thankfully, I didn’t flinch. I merely shut my eyes and clenched my jaw. I thought he would have hit me instead.
I stood there, silent and unmoving, as he marched out of the house, slamming the door behind him hard enough to rattle the windows.
I waited until I heard him slam the car door. Waited until I heard him pull out of the driveway. I waited until the puttering sound of his car faded into the distance.
Only then did I move from my spot there against the wall.
I checked the door, locking it and quietly made my way back to the bedroom to dress. I needed to get to the church. I looked at the clock as I entered our room. Fucking hell. I was two hours late. My one hour cat nap turned into a four-hour sleep.
“Zeke,” Talia spoke from the bed, her eyes wide and her tone full of pity.
“Don’t, Talia,” I begged her. I had done what needed to be done. Father was gone, and Talia was safe. That was all that mattered. If he turned that wrath on her, I could not be held responsible for the actions he would force me to take.
“Zeke, what he said to you—”
“Is nothing he hasn’t said before. It’s not new to me, love. I’m just fine,” I reassured her, but I couldn’t look at her. Not yet. Father’s words, while not new in the slightest, still rattled around my brain and tore shreds into my heart.
“Zeke, you can’t just let him do that. We have to do something,” she voiced, rising from the bed, the sheet still wrapped protectively around her nude form.
“No, Talia. We absolutely have to keep letting him act just like that,” I laughed humorlessly. “That’s the fucked up part about all of this.”
