The Life Of A Crazy Girl And Her 10 Brothers

The Loss of My Temper

TW: mention of rape and abuse
I'll summarize the events in the next chapter so this chapter is skippable

After the death of Ember's mom, her father got drunk more and more.

No one knew what was going on, but it was dragged out in a whispered confession full of tears after Ember started showing up at school with bruises, scared to death to tell me or any of us what her father was doing to her.

I was furious.

I couldn't stop shaking and I was in my car, but my brothers stopped me and managed to calm me down a little bit.

I let myself be calmed down enough to think rationally, but rage still simmered in my heart, my mind, my limbs.

I let them think I had calmed down, but Ember and Seth didn't hide their disbelieving looks towards me.

We took her home with us and let her stay in my room, as usual. When she was asleep, we all went downstairs and told Dad the situation. They were discussing what to do when I excused myself to my room.

Where I actually went was into Chad and Chase's room and grabbed Chad's baseball bat, before stalking into Calvin and Cade's room, grabbing a lighter and wrapped Cade's bandanna around my mouth and nose before grabbing one of Calvin's huge, old duffel bag.

When I arrived at Ember's, I'd let the rage I'd been holding back work me into a fury as I climbed through her window.

All of her precious things and her favorite clothes were carefully placed into Calvin's duffel bag. I stuffed her small jewelry box and her money stash, along with her computer and her beloved camera into the bag as well and barely managed to close it.

I slinked downstairs quietly to the living room and stood in the center, blood rushing to my ears, letting my rage boil over.

Spotting at least seven beer bottles and drops of brown, dried blood on the carpet, I started shaking.

Blood. Ember's blood.

I couldn't keep it in any longer.

I swung and the glass table shattered. I swung and the TV cracked. I swung again and again and the bookshelf crashed down to the floor as the books fell.

I made my way through the kitchen, opening the fridge and spilling its contents the ground, to the dining room, waiting, waiting for him.

I took the lighter out of my pocket and marched back into the kitchen, where I rifled through the cabinets until I found what I was looking for.

Oil.

I spread it across the whole kitchen and some on the living room carpet.

Then, I let the fire catch.

I grabbed the nail polish remover I'd brought with me and poured it dining room and lit that on fire too.

The couch and the bookshelves were next and I watched as the fire spread with a whoosh as it climbed higher and higher.

"CAR!"

I turned to him, letting my bandanna fall and letting him see the smile on my face that only grew when he recoiled.

"W-what is the meaning of this?" he said, voice slurring and cheeks slightly flushed.

"Are you drunk, Mr. Vera?" Disbelief coated my voice.