Meet Me Where the Oak Tree Grows novel Chapter 4

A real apology means making things right, not just tossing out empty words. That's why Dad never deserved forgiveness. But Mom never saw it that way.

I was eleven that year, and it was the last time I had a mom around. After that, life’s storms hit me head-on. Dad's anger was all on me. No more bedtime hugs, no more "Lana" whispers. Mom's sweet scent was gone, replaced by the stink of smoke and whiskey.-

When Mom left, Dad wasn’t sad. Nope, he cursed her, called her ungrateful, and didn’t even bother with a proper funeral. Every drunken punch that floored me only cranked up my hatred for him. I’d call the cops, thinking that would fix everything.

But he'd be locked up for just a few days, and each time he came back, he was even angrier, and his hits were harder. I got beaten until I coughed up blood, until I couldn’t see straight. So many times, I thought I might die. But I didn’t. Sadly, I didn’t.

Maybe because he should die before me.

Bullying doesn’t care about gender. There was a boy in our class with a learning disability. He was poor too, a day student like me, but he had a grandma who cherished him. His clothes were always clean, patched up but smelling nice. His backpack always had the boiled eggs and sandwiches his grandma made for him.

They were merciless with him. Taking advantage of his innocence, they tricked him into the bathroom, making him drink dirty water. They called him an idiot while stealing his pocket money. They dumped all the class chores on him, saying he couldn’t go home until everything was done. They called this friendly play.