Chapter 2 - The Aftermath of the Table
Megan scrambled to pick Tyler up, her eyes wide with a terror that no ten-year-old should ever possess. As she tried to pull him away from the chaos, my mother, Elaine, didn't offer a hand to help or a word of apology. Instead, she slapped Megan across the face with such cold, practiced precision that it left the mark of her rings on my daughter’s cheek.
"Don't you dare raise your voice in this house," Elaine hissed, smoothing her skirt as if she had just finished swatting a fly.
The room was filled with the sounds of my children sobbing, but the adults—my uncles, my aunt, my cousin—sat in a vacuum of silence. Uncle Warren took a sip of his beer. Cousin Michael didn't even look up from his phone. They were watching, waiting to see who would 'win' the argument, as if this were just another boring disagreement over politics or sports.
My vision was blurred by tears and the searing pain in my neck, but I scrambled up from the floor, my only instinct to form a barrier between my children and the people who were supposed to love them.
"Get up," I rasped, grabbing Megan and Tyler’s hands.
Richard didn't move to stop me this time. He stood by the turkey, looking at his shaking hands as if he were surprised by the violence, while Natalie hovered in the background, her face twisted in a mask of indignation.
"You're making a scene," Natalie said, her voice dripping with venom. "You're ruining Thanksgiving for everyone, just like you always do."
I didn't answer. I didn't look at them. I pulled my children toward the door, their little feet tripping over each other as we rushed out into the cold November air.
As I bundled them into the backseat of my car, I could hear the muffled sound of my mother’s voice through the open window, complaining about how the turkey was getting cold.
May you like
I didn't head home. I drove straight to the nearest emergency room, my hands shaking so violently I nearly missed the exit. I needed the bruises documented. I needed the doctor to see the welt on Megan’s face and the bruising starting to bloom on Tyler’s side.
I needed a record of the night the "family" died.
