Chapter 171

Brian's POV

The moment I heard Lucy ask why "Brian's dad" was at their kindergarten.1 couldn't help but correct her: "He's not my dad anymore." I watched as the grown-ups looked a little less worried after we talked. Kids always make grown-ups feel better, I think.

Lucy grabbed Annie's hand, wanting to leave. Mr. Thompson also turned away from my dad, moving toward Annie and Lucy. I could tell they all wanted to get away from this weird situation.

I wanted to escape too, to get into the car and drive away from this mess.but Dad blocked my way. His face looked really serious, which made me scared. Lately, Dad always looked sad or angry, but this was different,and I didn't like it.

"Have you been in contact with Annie lately?" Dad asked, his voice sounding strange and tight.

I frowned. Why would he ask that? We hadn't seen Annie in forever, and he knew that. Was he thinking I was talking to her without telling him?

"No," I said. I really missed her, but she wasn't part of my life anymore.That's what grown-ups do to kids-they make big decisions that mess everything up, then expect us to be okay with it.

Dad stared at me like he didn't believe me. That look made me feel really bad. After everything, why didn't he trust me?

"She's your mother," he said, sounding mad at me. "Don't you miss her at That question made me want to cry really bad. All the sad feelings I'd been trying to hide came rushing out. Hot tears started rolling down my face, and I couldn't stop them.

"I miss her! Of course I miss her!" I shouted, crying so hard I could barely talk. "I miss her every single day! But it doesn't matter!"

I felt so angry at Dad: "Dad, you were the one who told me Sarah was better than Mom! It's all your fault!"

"I was just a little kid! I believed what you told me!"

"You made me think you were right..."

My eyes hurt from crying as Iremembered: "So I was mean to Mom...and I liked Sarah instead."

"But look what happened!"

I looked right at Dad, feeling my face get hot: "I hurt my own mom really bad! And now Mom doesn't want to forgive me anymore!"

"How can you ask if I miss her?"

"What's the point?"

"If I miss Mom, will she forgive me? Will she come back and be my mom again who loved me the most?"

"No way!"

"So why should I go see her just to feel terrible?" "I can just watch her from far away and know she's happy."

Dad's face changed. He looked shocked and then really angry. His hands made fists. For a second, I thought he might cry, but instead he looked really mad.

SLAP!

My cheek hurt so bad. Dad had hit me hard, and my face felt like it was on fire. I held my cheek and stared at him. He had never, ever hit me before. Even when I was really bad, Dad always just talked to me.

"When did you become so mean?" Dad looked at me like he didn't know me. "How can you just give up on your mother?"

I got madder than I'd ever been in my whole life. I glared at him:"You can't tell me what to do!"

"I was just a little kid who got tricked into doing bad things!"

"But I know I did wrong."

"What about you?"

"You left Mom and me..."

"And now you're sorry."

I laughed, but it sounded weird: "I think Mom would rather you stay away instead of bothering her and saying you love her now."

"Philip Baker, you're really selfish."

"When you were married to Mom, you never loved her like she wanted." "After the divorce, you won't leave her alone."

"You only care about what you want."

"Mom's biggest mistake was probably being with you."

I climbed into the car, not caring that Dad looked really hurt. I didn't care if I hurt him-he hurt me and Mom way worse.

In the car. Mitchell looked at me in the mirror with sad eyes. He knew about our family problems even though I never told him everything.

"I don't understand Mr. Baker," Mitchell said nicely. "He said he wasn't going to take care of you anymore, so why would he hit you? He can't do that."

Mitchell understood that Annie had to leave because she was pushed too hard. He didn't blame her.

But Dad? Everything was Dad's choice. He had no right to blame anyone else.

"Because he's stupid!" I said, wiping my tears away.

"He never thinks about what will happen..."

"And when bad things happen, he gets sorry."

"But he deserves it."

I looked out the window at Dad standing there alone,looking lost and small. "We shouldn't feel bad for him."

"This is just the beginning." Through the car window. I saw Dad just standing there, like he couldn't understand what happened. As wedrove away.his face looked confused.like his whole world broke.

I knew he was probably wondering why his wife didn't want him and his son hated him.

But that wasn't my problem anymore. I closed my eyes and leaned back in the seat, trying to forget everything that just happened.

I just wanted everything to be quiet.