Jayden's Revenge: The Tale of an American Family by Dirk Knight Page B

police … until she became a danger to the children. He wouldn’t stand up for himself, partly because he felt responsible, and partly because he has always been chicken— hearted when it came to conf rontation. He hated to be alone– better to be mistreated than to be alone – he would think to rationalize the horrifying amalgamation that was their life together .
    He and Brenda got married young. They met in high school. She was dark and misunderstood and that intrigued him; other boys were infatuated by her , too, but he was the only one that really got her. Derrick had been raised by a single mom, who had also , of course, been dark and misunderstood. Oedipus complex aside, he was struck by Brenda’s demeanor and had ex perience in dealing with people (women) who were damaged. There was something so beautiful in her sadness. He had to know her .

3.
    Jayden is beginning to worry about her dad , but she is also growing increasingly fatigued by him . He is n’t sleeping anymore , is troubled with nightmares , and is missing work. The way that he found Philip is torturing him. He ke eps saying that it was his fault for not doing something sooner , and he keeps apologizing for Philip. Ja y den feels as if she is the only adult left in the house , a responsibility she is growing tired of more each day . Her sympathy is t urning into apathy , and her pity is fermenting into a cocktail of rage and disappointment. Having already been handed a lifetime of misery from her deranged mother , she was hoping , in light of her freedom from Brenda, for a glimmer of serenity, and instead she is handed an inept waste of a man who was once her father.
    She fears that Derrick realizes that all of the misfortune is somehow her fault and that what happened to her mother is a direct result of her being bad at school. She fears this, but he hasn’t said anything. He just drinks and tells her he’s sorry. They both know the apologies are meaningless , but inconsequence has never slowed him .
    Brenda was called into the principal’s office to pick her up that day. She and Philip were caught smoking at lunch. Perhaps the two most troublesome students in the history of Hamilton Schools, Philip and Jayden were in constant confl ict with the teachers and staff.
    She had, of course, blamed Philip and said that the cigarettes were his. She had stolen the cigarettes from Brenda that day before school , as she had done so many times before. She often used Philip as her scapegoat because he was older and willing to take the blame for her. They both knew h e would do anything for Jayden , and she used it to her advantage. Jayden was a master manipulator when it came to Philip. She really missed him.
    Her behavior has n’t calmed since the death , but perhaps the level of scrutiny ha s somewhat abated because s he is alone with Derrick , and it appears as if that piece of the world is coming unraveled as well. Teachers don’t razz her for assignments , the old fart on the golf cart doesn’t chase her off campus, and she just kinda wafts through their system, in and out like the smell of a carcass you can’t quite locate .
    She is glad to be going to Samantha’s slumber party; she needs to be around kids again. She has spent the summer grieving and watching her father fall into an alcoholic pit.
    I hope he is going to be all right — she thought as her father pull ed in to the cul - de - sac where the Bingham’s live. As the car roll ed to a stop, he start ed to cry ; the look on his face wa s lost, like a cat in a bathtub – scared and looking for a way out.
    “Are you going to be ok , Dad ?”
    “Sure , sweetie, I’m just tired is all.” He pause d , and then offer ed , “Listen kiddo, you don’t need to worry about me, OK? Daddy is going to be just fine . A little relaxing at home, maybe take a long overdue nap and just take it easy. You deserve to have a good time today and enjoy yourself.”
    “Alright , Dad , thank you so