The alcohol in my body must have altered my thinking because I took that challenge and didn’t think twice. “I’ll f**king do it,” I said as everyone came to a complete stop.
“You’re f**king crazy,” Tiny said. “You’re gonna get arrested.”
“I’m too smart to get caught; I’ll take the dare. You guys are pussies.”
I walked toward the police station door with wobbly legs and tried to figure out what I’d ask. My palms grew sweatier with every step. I squinted when the light streaming through the door shone on my face. I grabbed the handle, took a deep breath, and pulled it open with authority.
A man sat behind the front desk and looked up when he heard the door close behind me. “Can I help you, son?” he eyed me suspiciously. The town was so small and devoid of action that running a stop sign was a major offense and gossip worthy.
I leaned on the desk steadying myself, “What time is curfew?” I’d like to think that I was wittier than that or had some great line, but I drew a blank and concentrated more on not puking than the actual words falling from my lips.
“Have you been drinking?” he asked.
“No, sir. I just want-tid-to make sure I’m not out past curfew,” I said and belched. Fuck, what an idiot.
“It’s already past curfew, and you’ve obviously been drinking. I can smell the beer on your breath.” He stood up and walked around the desk and stood right in front of me. I didn’t make a move to leave, just stood there like my feet were super glued to the floor. “You’re not going anywhere, son. Come with me and we’ll decide what to do with you.”
“Do with me?” I asked.
“Yes, I’ll let my superior decide if we’re going to arrest you or just call your parents to pick you up.” Neither option was good. I was going to be in deep shit no matter the decision.
I followed him into an office and sat there. I knew the guys had split by now knowing nothing good came out of their little dare and my stupid ass needed to always be the one with the biggest balls. I sat there for what felt like eternity before the door to the office swung open, and my dad stood in the doorway looking like he had murder on his mind.
“Let’s go, Kayden.”
“Is that all you’re going to say?” I asked.
“I have no words right now. Get your ass up.”
I stood up and my stomach felt like someone was doing cartwheels inside. I always hated when my dad was pissed off, especially when he had no words to express his feelings. I followed him to the car with my eyes staring at the ground. I climbed into my dad’s orange Chevy Vega and closed the door softly. I wanted to disappear. I stared out the window as he pulled out of the parking lot.
I closed my eyes, the motion of the car causing my eyes to hurt and my stomach to gurgle. A sharp pain woke me from my slumber as my face hit the car window. My dad had slammed his fist into my face; cold cocked me while I wasn’t looking. “You’re a stupid f**ker, Kayden,” his fist hit me again, “What the f**k were you thinking?”
The pain drew me out of the alcohol haze and I could feel my blood almost begin to boil. “Don’t you dare f**king hit me, again,” I said.
“What are you going to do about it?” his fist started to move in my direction, and I moved avoiding another blow.
“I don’t know if you noticed, Dad… but I’m bigger than you now. Don’t push me,” I said staring at him in the eyes.
“Are you threatening me?”
“No. I’m just telling you I won’t take your shit anymore. I’m not that scared little kid who will hide under the covers. If you want to hit me, at least do it like a man. Don’t hit me when I’m not looking.”
“I brought you into this world, and I’ll take you out,” he said with a look of such hatred, unlike anything I had ever seen before.
“I’ll go out bringing you down with me, remember that.” The car stopped, and I climbed out, preferring walking home to being in the car with that bastard any longer. I was so angry with him; it took everything I had not to physically fight back in that moment. I knew I had to get away from him and give us both time to cool off. I walked to Scott’s house and found refuge on his floor for the evening. Tomorrow I’d face the music, and I prayed that neither one of us would speak of that moment again.
I studied hard and wanted to give myself every opportunity to a college scholarship, but my senior year everything started to fall apart. In October, my parents sat me down and told me the worst news a kid could ever hear; they were getting divorced. Everything fell apart quickly after that ‘talk’.
My dad moved out, and my mom immersed herself in her work. Money became something just out of reach, and we never had enough. Dad didn’t contribute his share to household expenses or help out with my team costs. Wrestling, besides girls, was my one true love. I watched it and studied it like an obsessed fan. Without money, I couldn’t continue to play. My mom apologized over and over again, and I knew she meant it, but my dad, the one person I thought would understand my love of the sport, didn’t seem to give a f**k.
I quit the wrestling team half way through the season, right after my eighteenth birthday. I know it pissed off my teammates and my coach, but we didn’t have extra money to pay the team fees and barely paid the household bills each month. It ripped my heart out; my one true reason to do well and achieve in school had vanished. Not only did my family disintegrate, but so did my only way to attend college and the reason I stayed out of trouble.