Tainted: Origins of a Psycho

Confession

Vincent:

After enduring a sleepless, guilt ridden night of wondering how Katherine would react to the news of her secret being out, I found her in the back of the school cafeteria the next morning. 

She chewed at her bottom lip and stared down at her sneakers with red, puffy eyes, only looking up long enough to flash me a mixed expression of sadness and anger.  "I can't believe you told him." 

"I didn't tell him!"  I clasped her shoulders and stepped closer to her.  "He went to the hospital last night for stitches and saw your mom there.  You've got to believe me!"

She pulled herself away.  "Why should I?  I know that you only care about pleasing your father.  You don't care who you hurt in the process." 

"That's not true, Katherine, and you know it.  I kept your secret as long as I could."  I raked my hand through my hair and sighed.  "He was bound to find out some time." 

She looked away from me and tried in vain to pinch back the tears that swelled in her eyes.  "I'm sorry, Vincent.  I know you're telling the truth.  My mom told me the whole story last night."  She wiped the lone tear that trailed down her cheek.  "I guess I thought it would help to blame you, but it doesn't."

"You don't have to apologize.  I know you're upset."

The first bell rang and the students scurried through the cafeteria like a group of rats.  I held my ground and placed my hand on Katherine's cheek.  "Let's talk about this more at lunch, okay."

"Okay.  See you later."

We went our separate ways and I was left to wonder how this was going to affect our friendship.  She has been afraid of my dad for so many years, but she still refuses to tell me the reason.  The only way we could get past this was for her to open up to me, no matter how much I didn't want to know the truth. 

Something inside of me knew that there was a good reason she was afraid of him.  I've tried to forget what kind of person my father used to be, but deep down the memories were still there.  He drove my mother to suicide and stole a piece of my childhood that I would never be able to get back.

Part of me wondered why I wanted so badly to salvage our relationship, but then I remembered that he and Violet were the only family I had.

And I didn't want to be alone.

Lunch time rolled around and I met Katherine at our usual table outside. She picked through her salad in silence for a while, then I stole the plastic fork from her hand and forced her to look up at me.

"I need you to tell me why you're afraid of my dad."

She averted her gaze away from mine and sipped from her water bottle.  She was obviously trying to steer clear from the subject, but I was tired of her keeping it from me. 

"Please."  I pressed, "I need to know so I can help."

"He's your father, Vincent.  I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Just tell me, damn it."  My voice trembled and I had to clear my throat to regain my composure.  "Sorry."

She set her water bottle down and squeezed it as she searched for the right words.  "Do you remember the night you found out about your mom?"

My throat tightened.  "How could I forget?"

"Your grandma asked your dad to give me a ride home that night."  She mashed the water bottle with her hands until all of the air inside was gone.  "Your dad touched me, Vincent."

"T-touched you?"  I looked around to make sure none of the other students were listening.  "What are you talking about?  My dad is not a child molester."

"He didn't touch me down there, but he touched my leg and put his thumb on my lips."  Her eyes slowly landed back on mine.  "He came into the bathroom with me the night he proposed to my mom and threatened to hurt me if I told anyone."

"But he never actually hurt you, right?  I mean, there has to be a logical explanation for his behavior." 

I could see the trust flee from her eyes as the words left my lips.  She stood up and flung her backpack over her shoulder.  "I knew this was a mistake." 

She started to walk away, but I grabbed her arm before she had the chance.  "Wait, Katherine. I'm just trying to get all of the facts before-"

"I gave you the facts." She tore her arm out of my grasp. "Your dad is a creepy asshole! I don't want him anywhere near me or my mom!"

My mouth fell agape and all I could do was stare after her as she stormed off. The incident between her and dad was over seven years ago. Could it be possible that she was making it out to be worse than it actually was? That's what I wanted to believe, but something inside of me knew that she had every right to want to stay away from him.

There was only one way for me to be certain. I was going to have to confront Dad about it tonight.

I bided my time for the rest of the school day, and when the final bell rang I hurried out to the parking lot. Violet was already sitting in the passenger seat of my car, staring into the mirror as she applied another layer of fire engine red to her lips.

I pulled open my door and rolled my eyes when I heard the song 'Sweet Home Alabama' blaring from my speakers. "You know I hate this dumb song." I groaned, switching the radio off.

"Geez, what's up your ass?" She laughed, ruffling my hair with her fingers. "Tough day?"

I drove out of the parking lot and merged on to the road that lead to our house. "Katherine is pissed at me."

"Why? It's not your fault dad found out. You did everything you could to keep it a secret."

"Including being your damn slave."

"It was fun while it lasted." She laughed as she continued to play with my hair. "Seriously, though, what's her problem?"

My eyes stayed fixed on the road as I debated whether or not to tell her about it. Violet sucked at being a normal sister, but right now she was the only person I had left to confide in.

I held my breath for a moment, then blurted it out.

"Katherine thinks dad is a total creep. She claims that he threatened to hurt her when she was a kid."

She shrugged her shoulders. "So what? Even if he did, that's not your problem."

"You're right. I haven't done anything wrong."

"Of course you haven't." She agreed, "She's just mad over something stupid that happened years ago. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it if I were you."

I looked over at her and smiled. Maybe it was good to get this off of my chest, especially since Violet was being so understanding. I never thought I would be able to talk to her like this. It was actually nice.

"Thanks, but I think I should ask dad about it."

"You know he's going to get pissed, right?"

"Oh well." I said, shrugging. "I'm used to it."