I walked toward the back porch with my heart pounding so hard that it felt difficult to breathe. From the kitchen window, I looked back inside and saw Kyle jump up too quickly, his chair scraping loudly across the floor.
Sharon suddenly pushed herself away from the table as panic replaced her earlier composure. She dropped down awkwardly and hurried out of the room on all fours, knocking into a stool as she tried to escape before anything happened.
Then my father walked straight toward my husband.
Everything that followed lasted less than a minute, but it changed my life completely. My father did not shout or lose control, which somehow made it more intense.
He crossed the kitchen, grabbed Kyle by the front of his sweater, and s.lam.med him against the wall with enough force to shake the framed photo beside the refrigerator. Kyle’s confidence disappeared instantly, replaced by shock and fear.
“You h.i.t my daughter?” my father said in a steady voice.
