“After a long time, Caleb and I decided to have a family dinner outside with her. That was the night of Thanksgiving. We thought we could at least make her mood brighten a little. Even Tobias and Tess joined us. We were supposed to leave for your home afterward to spend the rest of the night with your family.” Looking up at me, he held my gaze. “I was eagerly waiting to meet you and give you the gift I bought for you. But…Mom couldn’t control her urge and got drunk. So, we had to cancel the plan and return home.”

His voice turned deeper and rougher as he continued. His jaw clenched and unclenched. I squeezed his shoulder to provide him some comfort.

“The moment we reached home, we…heard them. Him and one of his mistresses.” Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “I still remember the way she stood frozen before her bedroom door. I still remember the tears that formed in her eyes. She…found him with a woman on the very bed they shared. With her very best friend.”

Another gasp left me as I stood there, shocked at the new revelation.

“And that night her patience broke. I never saw that side of my mother. She was shaking with anger and hatred. Tears were rolling down her eyes from the betrayal she got from the two people she loved a lot. That night, she lost it.”

The way the anger in his eyes slowly turned into fear unnerved me.

“Tess and Tobias left immediately. Caleb stood at the door, frozen. And that man didn’t have a bit of shame to even show a bit of remorse. Instead, he was mad she entered the room with the children. He accused her of wanting to demean him before us.” He paused, gulping. “I stood there listening to them scream at each other, their curses and shoves. I didn’t know what to do. Nor did Caleb. I wanted to console my mother, punish my father for his deeds. But all I could do was stand there in a corner. For a seventeen-year-old, the situation was very confusing and traumatic.”

Without warning, he stood. Away from my touch and closer to the fire. His shoulders rose and fell with every heavy breath he took. His curled fists shook at his sides.

“I-I didn’t know what to do until—until Mom got out a gun from her closet. The same gun he bought for his protection,” he said while I stood there frozen in my place. I didn’t expect everything to turn out like this. “She was so drunk and hurt that she didn’t know what she was doing. She went to shoot her friend, screaming at her for betraying her in that way. And he loved his mistress enough to snatch the gun from her and raise it to his wife.”