Opulent by David Manoa Page A

tried to beat her more when she scratched his face in retaliation. She ran to the bedroom, holding the door back as he tried to break it down.
    “The door began to split when he broke through. My mother was curled up on the floor when I ran in front of him and stood my ground.
    The tears still poured while I was trying to hold this monster back.
    ‘Leave mommy alone!’ I screamed. ‘Stop it!’ I cried.
    Whack! He got me in the stomach. I was winded. A full grown man hit a five-year-old kid. Fucking coward. I got up, huffing, gasping for air while my mother fought him off kicking and screaming.
    I grabbed his legs and he tripped. My mom got past him and ran back to the lounge. When he got up, enraged, he hooked me right on the jaw, I fell down on a floor just like this. I can’t remember if I was knocked out, but when I opened my eyes, I remember huffing, watching the thin pool of blood move like waves in front of my mouth.
    I got up and looked at the dressing table mirror. My face my bruised and bloodied. My teeth were covered in blood, it was seeping from my chin like syrup. One front tooth was loose. Every shriek I made had blood spitting out my mouth. I heard my mom screaming again in the lounge, I ran over and she was curled up with the phone while he hit her. I jumped in between them, shielding her, taking the hits. I couldn’t breathe, I just remember punching back, hitting the cunt with everything I’d got, to protect her.
    Bang! Whack! Bang! The hits were like being hit by a truck, each blow, but I kept fighting back, kicking, screaming, scratching and punching till the police arrived.
    I took so much damage that I was in intensive care for two weeks. Fractured jaw, cracked ribs and a punctured right lung. Fractured eye socket.
    If it wasn’t for our local Constable Henry Farquhar. I would have been dead, maybe both of us. When my dad was arrested, he had the book thrown at him. It was all over the news, the horrific injuries we suffered. Karma is a real bitch and when he got incarcerated, prison justice got him in the end.
    I took a moment to calm my breathing. I turned to felicity with bloodshot eyes. “You know what the fucked up thing is? That that exact experience made me who I am today.”
    Felicity raised her eyebrow.
    “To fight against impossible odds, to fight back with everything I’ve got, gave me the resilience and toughness to become a successful businessman. I wish my mother were still alive so I could have spoiled her. Give her the things we were too broke to afford. To see her happy. To never see her struggle.”
    I paused for a moment and my gaze shifted to Felicity when she took off her glasses to wipe her eyes. He looked over to the presents I bought her, wrapped neatly underneath the tree.
    She said, “That’s why you were teary eyed in the shop…” She put arm around me to comfort me and she said, “I’m sure she would be proud of you now…” She kissed my forehead and said, “I am.”
    I raised my head to look at the angel on top of the Christmas tree. I wiped my eyes to reflect and to forget. We held each other and watched the fire burn.
    When I noticed Felicity staring at me I slowly turned my head and we both looked into each other’s eyes. It was this stillness in the moment, the magnetic feeling, that drew me to her. Our stares burrowed into each other’s hearts.
    I could see that glint in her eyes that made me move close. I sniffled. Felicity closed her eyes when I pressed my lips to hers. It was a gentle embrace. I pulled back when she opened her eyes. This time they were dilated, her breathing tense. She closed her eyes and leaned into me and kissed me again, her tongue gently entering mouth.
    I leaned in again with a slow, deep, caressing kiss. Her hands cupped the sides of my face as she angled her head slightly to accommodate me.
    I pulled back and opened my eyes. Felicity’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright in anticipation, waiting for the words I would say