Dad Talk

Cyrus First Person Point Of View

"Cyrus, you are definitely hiding something. It shows all over your face."

He leaned in close, and I couldn't help flinching, stepping backward until my shoulders were pressed into the wall.

"I swear," I said, attempting to wipe away my eyes, which just refused to stop being all watery. "I didn't mean to—"

“Enough!” he bellowed, rattling the entire room.

"Hey, stop crying and listen for once!"

I couldn’t. I was too scared.

He clamped his hand down onto my shoulder and moved in toward my face. “Come on, tell me, or you aren't going to like what's next.”

"Cyrus, listen to this. Don't make me repeat it," my dad complained, his fists clenched tight.

I shook like mad, and tears just rolled down my face.

But before he could say anything else, the door creaked open. And my mom was standing there, scowling and sort of annoyed. She just observed the whole thing, shifting between my dad's worried expression and my sniffling, disheveled one.

"John,"she said, sounding all serious but sort of exhausted.

Relax. He's just a child, for goodness sake. He's most likely just attempting to fit in. Can you not notice that he's nervous?

My father had that fierce expression on his face, his jaw clenched. "I can't just overlook this, Lena. This is a big deal."

"I'm not gonna have my son involved in something. unsavory. Do you think I'm doing this for fun?"

"Yelling at him like that's going to help, huh?" my mother retorted, taking another step into the room.

She crossed her arms and gave him a stern glare. “He's terrified, John. See for yourself.”

My father just would not give in, his eyes brimming with frustration and anxiety.

"I'm just attempting to prevent him from becoming what both of us fear, Lena. I don't want him to become. like them."

"He's not like that," she said, slightly softer this time but very firm.

He's just a kid, trying to work things out. You ought to relax and hang out with him a little. You're just making things more difficult.

They were completely disagreeing now and both were raising their voices.

The sound of them arguing reverberated through my bedroom, making everything seem that much worse.

I plopped down beside my bed, buried my face in my hands, and for no apparent reason, just suddenly started crying.

I honestly felt utterly claustrophobic, like the walls were definitely closing in.

"Lena, you're not understanding—"

Dude, you just don't understand! He's going to lose everything 'cause of you!

The yelling grew really loud, and I had had enough.

Their words cut like daggers through me, and I was so distressed I couldn’t even speak. I rolled over, drew my knees into my chest, and sobbed silently, just wanting them to leave me alone.

My mother's voice calmed down again after a couple more tense minutes of bickering.

"Hey, just let's talk about it later, okay? Just let him cool off for a bit. Shouting at him like that's not doing any good."

There was silence for a moment, and suddenly my dad let out a deep sigh and went back to the door.

He simply walked out of the room without turning around, and my mom trailed after him, shooting this concerned, sad expression over her shoulder.

I could still hear them bickering in hushed tones down the corridor.

The room became absolutely quiet immediately after they left.

Deep inside, I completely knew I was falling apart. I bawled like a lunatic, and it became these heaving, choking sobs.

I just buried my hands over my face and thought my heart was going to burst.