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My father crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.
“You went to a loan shark, didn’t you?” Deacon said.
My father’s face turned red, and his nostrils flared. I groaned. “Dad, you didn’t.”
“I had no choice!” he snapped. “The money I invested was our life savings, our retirement, Riley. If I didn’t get it back, I’d have to work until I was in my goddamn eighties.”
“Did you even lose your job?” I asked.
“No,” he snapped. “But we need the money from my job to cover our living expenses. The money you sent us paid our monthly loan payments, but the interest is… high. The more you could send us, the faster we could pay off the loan.”
“You lied to me. You let me believe that Mom was dying, so I would send you money,” I said.
“We never said she was dying,” Dad said. “Besides, what does it matter the reason behind why we needed your help?”
“It matters because you lied to me!” I shouted. “It matters because I gave up everything for you.”
“Like we didn’t do the same for you?” my father shouted. “We sacrificed plenty for you when you were a child, but now that we’re asking you to sacrifice for us, suddenly we’re bad parents? We gave you everything you wanted as a child and -”
“No, what you gave me was crippling anxiety and self-esteem so shitty that I’ve been taken advantage of by nearly everyone in my life - including my own fucking parents!” I tore free of Deacon and stood up, my hands curled into fists. “You’re terrible parents. Scratch that - you’re terrible people. All those lies you spewed - and the detail, and the time and effort you put into those lies. Who does that to their own fucking kid? So many lies - we can’t pay our utility bill, we don’t have any groceries, your mom is in the hospital, and -”
“I was in the hospital last week,” my mother said quickly. “I was, Riley. That wasn’t a lie.”
“Why were you there?” I asked.
My mom hesitated, glancing at my dad before saying, “I was having chest pains, and I was worried it was a heart attack.”
“Was it?” I asked.
My mother cringed at the lack of sympathy in my voice. “No, it, um… it was just bad heartburn.”
“Of course it was,” I said before gazing at my father. “But you used it as an opportunity to get more money from me because you’re a horrible, selfish person.”
“You should be happy to be helping us,” my father snapped. “If you weren’t so sensitive and so -”
“Shut up,” I said. “You lied to me for months, and now you stand here in your fucking kitchen and try to gaslight me into thinking it’s my fault?”
I glared at my father and then at my mother. “I have let you treat me like garbage my entire life. I have made excuses for you and pretended that how you treated me didn’t matter. I did everything you asked of me and tried over and over to make you proud, to make you love me. I failed repeatedly because you’re narcissistic sociopaths incapable of love. You’re monsters. Both of you.”
My mother started to cry, and my father, his face bright red, snarled, “You watch your fucking mouth, Riley.”
Deacon stood. “You’ll watch yours, or I’ll put you on your ass.”
My father took a step back, his gaze darting to my mother. “Bethany, call the police. Tell them there’s an intruder in the house.”
“Don’t bother, Bethany,” I said. “We’re leaving.”
“Riley, if we don’t repay the loan, your dad will be in a lot of trouble… we need your help,” my mother said quickly. “I’m sorry we lied, but we were desperate. I know we’ve failed you in many ways, but you don’t want your dad to be hurt, do you? Please, take some time to calm down and then call me, okay? We can get through this.”
I took Deacon’s hand, drawing strength from his touch. “How much money do you owe on the loan?”
“Three hundred and fifty thousand,” my mother said.
I studied my childhood home, knowing it would be the last time I’d ever set foot in it. “Sell the house. That’ll give you the cash to pay the loan.”
“But it’s our home,” my mom said.
“You want to punish us. Is that it?” my father asked.
