Love Conquers All

More and more screams, then a soft thud to the ground and more tears.

One fairly warm spring night in 2005, I got the most shocking news ever. My mother and father were splitting up. For me it was like being hit by TWO trains head on. I didn’t cry though. I just bottled it up like I did everything else. I felt shocked, angry, but yet, I felt a little relieved. I always knew my dad was being unfaithful, but I just assumed I was wrong because if my mom knew, she would handle it. I sat and watched as my brother and sister broke into tears as my mother and father gave us the news. I already knew my life would never be the same…

Before that, I was easily angered and very emotional. For most of the time my dad stayed with us, they argued. Once, I got so fed up with their arguing, I ran upstairs and threw all my toys and books down the stairs. I had a feeling they would separate soon because they stopped celebrating their anniversary. This changed my life forever because instead of running to the safety of “mommy and daddy”, like I was used to doing when I was younger, I had to grow up and be strong, not only for me, but for my family.

Most people think after people separate, they just leave each other alone, but this is not the case. The summer after 5th grade, I felt like a hostage. My brother, sister and I stayed at my aunt’s house the whole summer, but we couldn’t go outside because my dad knew where my aunt lived and if he saw us, he would take us. My mom couldn’t even drive her car because she was afraid my dad would find her. That whole summer I felt as though my life was crumbling right before my eyes. Sometimes I was actually allowed to talk to my dad, and one time in particular he said he was coming to get us, so my Auntie Tiny hung up. My aunt Shirley (who was a retired police officer) made the situation no better by saying “I will get my police gun and kill him before he could take us.” All I could do was burst into tears. My Auntie Tiny always knows how to calm me down and assured me my dad wasn’t coming to get us, and Auntie Shirley wouldn’t do anything anyway. It seemed to me that the only place I felt safe and warm was in her arms.

Things only got worse as time moved on. As if things weren’t bad enough, my mom brought a whole new family in the mix. Somehow my dad found out about Tremaine (stepdad) and decided to “retaliate for him taking his wife.” One day when my mom, brother, sister and I were at Pioneer Water Park with Tremaine and his family, my dad slashed the tires on Tremaine’s Pontiac. I didn’t understand what was happening then, but I later understood a war had erupted in my front yard.

For the next couple of years, I had to hide almost EVERYTHING from my dad. We moved to Warrensville Heights not too long after the car incident and I soon developed a strong feeling of hatred for my dad. I HATED talking to him, I HATED going to see him, I HATED having to lie about my life because of the fear of what my dad might do, but I absolutely HATED when people talked about how my dad did nothing for me and my siblings. Despite everything, he was still my dad. While with my dad, we couldn’t talk about my mom and Tremaine, or anything going on at home. After a while, I didn’t care if they got back together or not, I just wanted my life back to normal.

After a while, I came to accept the fact that my parents would NEVER get back together and the hatred I once felt disappeared. My life was finally getting back to normal.

I believe that people make mistakes and it’s okay. I believe everyone has a way of expressing him/herself but some choose the wrong way. I believe that I may not always get along with my parents, but they are always there for me and I love them regardless!