Waste Away With Me

When my dad came home that night I had the strangest feeling he was going to be in a weird mood, he came in and started rambling on and on about California. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but it was only the alcohol talking.

I laid Olive back down on her pallet I made on the floor in the living room and I lay beside her and begin my homework. I started scribbling down the rough draft for my report on some long poem written by one of the puritans. It didn’t even make sense to me at all, but I was trying my best.

Dad stomped around in the bedroom before stomping back out. “Damn it Lana listen to me!” He yells, he grabbed my books off the floor and threw them across the room. I picked Olive up off the floor and walk away from him, not wanting to fight with him tonight. Since mom left he’s been drinking like a fish and taking out all of his frustrations on me. Tonight though I wasn’t in the mood for it, I had to focus on that report.

“Lana, get your little ass back here!” He yells, I put Olive in the crib.

“Dad can I please work on my schooling right now for at least an hour before Olive wakes up.” I begin gathering my books and papers.

He throws a vase at me, I dodge it just in time. He begins screaming and cussing at me, he throws random objects all around the house. He chases me into the bedroom, he pins me on the bed and I became scared. I started kicking and screaming until suddenly a cop slams through the front door, he pulls my dad off of me and arrests him. Another cop gets Olive and takes us outside.

He wraps me in a blanket, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine, I’m just scared.” I say honestly, he nods.

“Do you want to press charges?”

I look up into the officers eyes, throwing the question around in my mind. It seemed like forever until I finally answered, “Yes.”