Chapter 10

Chapter 10


Brianna's point of view. 

Horrified, I stood still, watching the way thunderous rage tinge my father's face crimson. He wasn't screaming, but paced back and forth in the living room, both fists tightly clenched and his eyes fueled by fury.

"How could you be so stupid, Brenda?" he howled, bombarding all four corners of the house in echoes. "You're supposed to marry Logan, not get yourself pregnant by that useless Josh!"

I watched as my father's anger rose and flooded over him. Fear bloomed inside of me, for it didn't really take much provocation to set off his temper, but this was different, like an altogether darker kind of anger-consuming-within. 

Cowering, with big eyes opened out, Brenda stood at one corner of the room. "Dad, please understand," she begged. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

But my father was far beyond reason. He was like a wild animal, out-of-control and sky-high. He turned towards Brenda, his face twisted into a snarl. 

"You're a disappointment, Brenda," he spat. "You're a failure. You'll never amount to anything." 

A pang of fury gripped me as my father lashed out. How could he be so cruel to his own daughter? Didn't he care about her feelings?

And before I could pounce, he turned on me, "And you, Brianna," he snarled again."You're just as bad. You're always butting into places where you just don't need to be. You're a troublemaker, just like your sister." 

I felt siren sting from his words, but I did not back down. I stood tall, looking him straight in the eye. 

"That's not fair, Dad," I said. "I'm just trying to protect Brenda. And I'm not going to stand by and watch you bully her." 

My father's face turned even brighter red from fury. "How dare you!" he exploded. "You'll do as I say, or you'll face the consequences." 

I felt a wave of fear in those words, but I couldn't back down. I knew that I had to stand up for myself and for Brenda, no matter what.

I knew it would get much worse before it started getting any better. His anger was something akin to a ticking time bomb, ready to explode, and I could never even imagine what will happen when it explodes.

The days just continued to pass, and with each passing day, my father grew angrier and angrier to the point that he did not want to let Logan King find out about the secret pregnancy of Brenda. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure it was kept under wraps.

But it would only be a matter of time before it could come out. Logan King was a pretty brainy fellow and already began noticing something amiss.

One fine day, Logan came to the house and was looking for Brenda. My father, in an attempt to hide the fact, said Brenda was out running errands. Logan, however, was not going to fall for that easily.

He asked to speak to me, and I reluctantly obliged. We stepped outside into the garden, where Logan turned to me with a serious expression.

"Brianna, I need to ask you something," he said. "Is everything okay with Brenda? I mean, she's been acting strange lately, and I'm starting to get worried."

I was unsure what to say. I didn't want to lie to Logan, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to betray my dad's trust.

But suddenly before I could speak Logan narrowed his eyes and said, "Wait a minute-" and "I think I know what's going on-Brenda's pregnant, isn't she?"

I was starting to panic because Logan must have figured out the truth. I denied it, though, Logan just laughed.

"Don't lie to me, Brianna," he said. "I know the truth. And I'm going to make sure that everyone knows it too."

I felt the dread in me when I realized what Logan had planned. He was going to expose my father's secret, which was going to be a sensational scandal.

Logan was about to leave with some words from me to him. "Logan, please do not do this," I said in a very soft tone. "It will just hurt everyone around you."

But Logan merely shook his head. "I'm sorry, Brianna," he said. "But I have to do what's right. And what's right is telling the truth."

As Logan walked away, foreboding feelings engulfed me. This was just the start of a long and hard journey, and I had no idea what the end would be.

But it was sure my father's secret broke, and it was going to change everything.

Within a few hours, Brenda's pregnancy news spread like wildfire, and everything started to crumble for my father. He was a man who had always held control and power, but now he was met with circumstances entirely beyond his control.

He had shut himself up fully. He could talk to no one and go nowhere-most certainly, no one could drag him out of the house. It was like he had been hit in the stomach and was gasping for air.

I could not possibly go to him and offer him all the consolation and support I could muster. He just shoved me away and didn't even want to look at me.

It was tough and painful at that time, and I didn't know how to make it all something better. I had to stay, watching helplessly as my father's world crumbled around him.

Every day was getting worse with my father: more outbursts of anger and heat. For him, it was impossible not to lash out at anyone who approached him; beneath the skin, the anger was pretty potent.

I generally avoided him, but one cannot entirely shy away from him. One day, as I was walking down the hallway, I heard him shouting at someone on the phone. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but it was one of those unmistakable tones.

I heard that he was reeling private space in the study, his face all taut and red with rage. I stood there for a while, shrugging on whether to proceed. But then, I remembered the last time I had tried to talk to him, and how he had pushed me away.

I decided to let him be and go off searching for Brenda instead. She was there in her room, looking worried but pale.

"Brenda, what's happening?" I asked as I sat down next to her. "Dad is just getting worse and worse; I'm starting to become quite scared."

Her eyes glistened with tears, and she responded, "I know." "I'm frightened too," she added. "I don't know what will happen to us." I tried to comfort her by wrapping my arms around her. "We'll go through this together," I said. "We always do." But looking at Brenda, I was left with an ironic sense of impending danger. 

The unpredictability of our father's actions was becoming more pronounced, and I had no idea what he was capable of bringing along. 

As the days went by, it only got worse. The anger continued in bursts from my father, and I felt the simmering tension in the air. 

That night, I heard a loud crash from downstairs as I lay in bed. I sat up straight, my heart thudding. what was happening?