In Trouble

Cyrus First Person Point of View

The door hit the wall loudly, waking me completely. My heart started racing as I attempted to roll out of bed, and my phone fell out of my hand.

My dad had just appeared in the doorway and he seemed really angry.

"Hi, who took you home?" he asked in a soft voice.

I squirmed uncomfortably, my mouth dry, not quite knowing what to say. "Uh. I—"

"Get up," he said, advancing.

I sort of dragged myself out of bed, staring at the ground the entire time.

I could feel his presence towering over me, his frustration radiating like heat.

I could feel my heart pounding, just waiting for those nasty words I knew were coming my way.

But they haven't yet. Not yet.

"what's going on with you?" he asked, his voice slightly softer, though you could still pick out that edge.

I swallowed hard, but nothing seemed to be happening.

Nothing seemed quite right in that moment, just this crushing sensation of foreboding for what lay ahead.

"Why?" he questioned, still not understanding anything from me.

He grasped my chin and rotated my head so that I might gaze into his frozen eyes before even realizing what I needed to say.

"You had the audacity to let someone disrespect me on your phone," he told him, "so now man up and let them know."

I almost wept and my voice just broke when I said, "I. I waited too long. I got afraid."

that's all it took. My dad's expression twisted in fury and he screamed so loudly that everything became a blur.

He was just rambling, completely distraught, angry, and supremely frustrated all simultaneously.

My chest heaved as I sobbed uncontrollably, unable to catch my breath.

My father's voice sounded very frosty, and in each sentence, I got smaller and smaller.

"Who was it, Cyrus?" he asked, towering above me and waiting for me to give something away.

I simply couldn't look at him.

My heart started to constrict, my hands shaking as I simply stared down at the ground, praying and hoping he'd let it go.

But he didn’t.

"Who brought you here?" He became more intense and ran out of patience.

I attempted to utter something, anything honestly, but for whatever reason, words just weren't coming out.

"I'm waiting," he said in a very serious-sounding voice and it really freaked me out.

"I. I don't know." My words were reduced to a mere whisper.

He didn't purchase it. His eyebrows were crunched all together in displeasure, and he leaned in slightly more.

“Don’t lie to me. Who was it?”

I couldn't help but cringe hearing him, feeling his anger all around.

My heart was beating so fast, I could barely concentrate. If I let it out to him. I couldn’t even imagine what he’d do. Keeping quiet, though, wasn’t serving me well either.

Uh. it was.

“Cyrus,” he replied in a soft voice,

“Tell me now, or you’ll regret it.”

I just shook my head, my eyes fixed on the ground, utterly devastated by his fury.

My throat was really constricted, and I could barely breathe.

I could sense that tears were welling up in my eyes, but I suppressed them because it would only make matters worse.

"Uh— I don't

That's when he absolutely went wild. “You can’t!” He slammed his palm onto my desk, and it all shook.

"Can't what?! You cannot be straight with me? You don't even trust your own father?"

"Sorry," I whispered, my voice breaking and tears simply streaming down my face.

An apology’s not going to be enough, Cyrus! You are not leaving this room until you lay it all out about what’s going down. Who’s making you skulk around like that?

I just couldn't suppress the tears. I shook like mad attempting to respond, but my words were frozen, and the more he pressed, the more it became a struggle to breathe.

His face twisted with anger, his fists clenched. “I said—”

“I was freaking out!” I blurted out suddenly, my voice a bit unsteady. “I. I didn't know what to do! I was just waiting for you, and. I got scared.”

It was absolutely quiet for a sec.

My dad was just staring at me, really looking at my face, but he never looked away. His jaw clenched and he just shook his head.

“Really? You expect me to believe that?” He was clearly not convinced and his anger was still present.