Resilience by Bailey Bradford Page A

had the sickening thought of what Adam would do if he saw him now, cowering
    like a kicked dog. Was that what he was? Todd grunted and the next hit pissed him off more than it hurt.
    “Stop it,” he growled, slapping at his father’s hands. “Stop! No more!” Todd yelled it again, louder, angrier. Anger turned to fury and Todd bellowed as he shoved his father away. The urge to give back a taste of the pain he’d experienced, was experiencing now, was almost irresistible. Todd shook with it, but he curled his hands into fists and kept them planted by his side as his father panted and glared at him.
    “You touch me again, and I ain’t holding back. You want respect, this is the only time you’re getting it.” Todd moved over enough to grab the door knob. “You can walk out of here or I can drag you out, but either way, you’re leaving, right now.”
    “You try laying one hand on me—”
    “And what?” Todd yelled, getting a small thrill from the way his father’s eyes widened in surprise. “You gonna call the cops? Go ahead. I don’t even care anymore. You know why?” Todd didn’t give his old man a second to answer. “Because I finally figured out, there is nothing I can do to make you or Mother happy. Y’all will always find a reason to abuse me.”
    “Abuse?” his father sneered. “Lies fall off your tongue too easy, boy. You’ve only ever gotten what you had coming.” He came a little closer but Todd noticed his hand shook when he raised it to point at him. “You’ve deserved every mark we’ve left on you!”
    As his father stood shouting at him, spittle flying with every word, Todd’s own anger melted away. There was no reasoning with the man, Todd knew that as surely as he knew his own name. It was time for this to end.
    “You need to leave,” he repeated, this time calmly. His side throbbed, his arm, too, and there were a half-dozen other places he’d be bruised and tender tomorrow. He wanted to go and take a long bath and pop a few pain pills. “I want my key. If you won’t return it, I’ll change the locks or move. I don’t want you here ever again.”
    His father looked like he was on the verge of having a stroke, his face almost purpling with his rage. Todd made very sure to remain unaffected by that, at least on the outside.
    Inside he was quivery and scared, but knew this was the right thing to do.
    “Don’t come here, don’t drive by, don’t contact me at work, either. Until you can treat me with respect—” His father scowled, and for some stupid reason, that hurt as much as one of his fists did. Todd didn’t even wince, though. “And if you can’t ever do that, then I guess we’re done. I won’t be what you want anymore, and I have been, no matter what you say.
    You wanted a whipping boy. Well, I’m not a boy now, and if you raise your fists to me again, you’ll find out just what it feels like to be beaten until you can hardly walk.”
    “You wouldn’t dare to touch me,” his father seethed, “I’m your father and you have to respect me!”
    Todd shook his head and opened the door. “You’re nothing more to me than someone
    who has hurt me too many times. Leave the key on your way out.”
    “You’ll regret this. You’ll burn in Hell and your time here on Earth will be cursed And—”
    “Get out.” Todd was done. He stood up as straight as he could considering his ribs hurt like hellfire. He didn’t flinch or look away from his old man’s face, watching the shock and rage there. For a man of God, his father sure had a lot of meanness in him. “My key, please.”
    That please about killed him, but Todd was determined not to be a petty, hateful person.
    His father took the key off his key ring and threw it at Todd, hitting him in the neck.
    “You are nothing to me. Nothing!”
    That was better than being a punching bag, a victim, Todd figured, so he nodded. His father shouldered by him, deliberately slamming into him. Todd had given him plenty of