9 - Brent's Brilliant Idea

I had imagined that my dad would be mad but I never expected him to freak out the way he did when I told him about Brent's grandiose plan to move in together.

"You must be out of your goddamn mind," he shouted. "That will never happen."

"Dad," I pleaded and tried desperately to make him at least listen to what I had to say.

He raised his hand. "No, I don't want to hear it. Your boyfriend has really gone too far this time." He looked furious, I mean really furious. "I stood back and didn't interfere for months now because I feared if I did, you would just sneak behind my back and I would lose you. But it is time to put my foot down."

"Dad," I tried again.

"Listen, young lady." He was totally in his lecture modus. "You and Brent are way too serious. I know you think you love him but you don't even know yet what that means. You two just cling to each other like there is no tomorrow and that just isn't right. You should go out and have fun with your friends. Date other guys. You are sixteen, for Christ's sake."

"I don't want another guy," I said stubbornly. "And I do know what love is. Brent is the real thing, dad. I want to spent the rest of my life with him."

"Oh, no." He shook his head, determined. "You are grounded. At least until the end of the summer. And you won't be seeing Brent anymore. He is a bad influence on you."

I was beside myself. "You can't prohibit me from seeing him. We are engaged." I glared at him in anger. "And I will move in with him, if you like it or not."

I stormed to my room, slamming the door and called my boyfriend. But even he wasn't able to calm me down.

"Do you want me to come over and talk to your dad?"

"No. I think he will probably shoot you if he sees you in the next few days. You need to stay low."

There was a moment of silence. "I love you, Rena. Everything will be OK."

Tears pooled my eyes. If I chose Brent, my father would likely never forgive me, especially if I went through with the emancipation.

"I feel so alone," I sobbed. I would lose one of the only two people that meant something to me in the world.

"Hey, don't cry," he said softly. "I will set up something with the lawyer and we can meet him when your dad is at work. I will fight for you, baby. There will be no one in this world who can prevent us from being together. I am sure sooner or later, your father will realize that and come around. Things will work out in the long run."

I hoped so much he was right. It had been a stupid idea to put this plan in front of my dad and now we both were backed into a corner. There was no turning back. I couldn't live any longer by his rules and he with my decisions. We would likely part our ways for who knew how long.

The next hours were excruciating. My father was pacing back and forth in the living room, mumbling to himself and I was stuck in my bedroom without anyone to comfort me. I was weeping the whole time. Only Brent's text coming in frequently kept me sane.

Eventually, my dad had to go back to work and left me alone after sternly warning me that I would be in a boat load of trouble if I left the apartment. I was not intending to obey him and ran off half an hour after he left.

Brent met me downtown and even though it was after business hours, we met the lawyer. His name was Dave Solomon and he had drawn up all the paperwork in advance. All I had to do was sign.

"What are my chances of winning?" I asked.

"Pretty good as long as you play hardball."

I didn't like the sound of it. "What does that mean?"

He and Brent exchanged a look. "Well, Brent told me that your father works a lot. If push comes to shove, we will allege neglect."

I almost started to cry again. "Isn't there any other way?"

"Not if your dad opposes the petition. Judges are reluctant to pull children out of a stable home, even adolescents your age. The burden is on you to prove that it will be in your best interest."

This sounded complicated. I would hate having to accuse my father of wrongdoing.

"You may even have to go a step further," Brent remarked.

"Like what?"

He took my hand, I knew straight away that this was going to be hard. "You may have to tell the court about your father's drinking."

I gasped. "That was only after my mother's death. He has been dry for years."

"That won't matter. The judge will consider that he could always relapse."

I clutched my hand to my mouth, realizing what I was doing. I would destroy my father. "I don't know if I can do this."

Brent rubbed my shoulder. "Dave will talk to him and it may never get that far."

I hoped so. My father would never recover if I threw all that mud at him.

"Hey," Brent kissed my palm. "Remember, it was him who was so unreasonable. It is your right to make those decisions for yourself."

I nodded, still hesitant. "And there is no other way?"

"Not if you want to be with me."

That did it. I needed him, like air or water. I could never have imagined being without him.

I didn't go home after my appointment with Dave but spent the evening with Brent. At least until my dad crossed the line. That's when I knew I made to right decision and I would fight him to the end.

We were snuggled in bed after having made love when there was a sharp knock on the door of Brent's dorm room just after midnight. The late visitors were two cops from my father's unit.

"Brent Parks, you are arrested for the rape of Rena Cooper," he was advised coolly.

I almost had a heart attack. "What are you talking about?" I screamed. "You can't do that."

"Sorry, Rena, but your father filed a complaint for statutory rape. In Illinois, the age of consent is seventeen and your boyfriend here is already over eighteen."

I swore at them and phoned my dad and called him some very unpleasant names. He took it in strides, assuring me he had only done it for my own good. Brent and I were dragged down to the station where he was booked and I was examined by a doctor. Luckily, we used a condom and those idiots didn't check the waste basket to secure the evidence. The one cop was beside himself that there were no DNA traces.

By the time, he got a warrant and went back, Brent had used his phone call to instruct one of his buddies to get rid of the garbage and get a lawyer. Dave showed up an hour later and got him released on bail. Brent kept his mouth shut and so did I, one of the few things you learn as the daughter of a police officer - never talk to the cops after being arrested.

While he was at it, Dave also served my dad with the emancipation petition. My father's furious roar had to have echoed through half of Chicago. When we got home, he actually locked me up in my room.

"That's it," he advised. "You will stay in here until you have come to your senses. I am never trusting you again."

The banging of the door confirmed what I knew all along. I chose Brent over my family and there was no turning back.

xxxx

It took ten days before I went to court and my dad didn't budge - he actually stood by his threat and didn't allow me out of my room. He took away my phone and my computer and I was left with nothing. I was fed three times a day and once, he even tried talking to me but I was too far gone, battling him on every level. I wasn't open to reason.

Brent showed up one night and they had an ugly fight.

"You can't keep her locked up forever, Mr. C."

"You are a total maniac," my dad shouted. "You will never see my daughter again. This petition you made her file is total lunacy and any judge will realize that."

He threatened to call the police if Brent didn't take a hike immediately. My boyfriend yelled: "I love you, Rena. Don't give up," before he was shoved out of the apartment by his nemesis.

On the day, of the hearing, my agonizing wait was finally over. I dressed in my best business attire that I had bought four months ago when I worked as an intern for a week for an accounting firm downtown as part of my business course. My heart was pounding in my throat when the door finally opened and I was let out of my prison. My dad and I didn't speak a word on our way to the courthouse though he glanced over at me a few times, trying to say something. It would have been pointless, I was done listening.

Brent and Dave were waiting for me. My father got a lawyer too and the two suits huddled together to determine my fate. My dad paled like a ghost when his attorney informed him about our plan to expose him as a neglectful drunk to the world.

"Don't make her do it, Mr. C," Brent said softly. "Don't force her to testify against her own father. This will drive a wedge between you from which you both will never recover."

Up to this date, I don't know if it was Brent's words or my father's fear to be named and shamed that made him surrender. To make a long story short, he agreed to the petition. The appearance in front of the judge took only five minutes and I was officially announced to be an adult.

There were limitations. I technically still couldn't have sex, was not allowed to drink alcohol and not eligible to vote. I also had to agree to stay in school. But otherwise, my dad couldn't tell me any longer what to do. I could live where I wanted, work and keep my own money. And most of all, he could not discipline me or enforce his stupid rules. He lost - in all possible ways.

Brent was ecstatic. He rented the townhouse and took me to our new home which he had decorated with modern furniture and high tech equipment. We hadn't seen each other for over a week and were both absolutely horny, so the bed was the first thing we broke in. After that, we went to my dad's to pick up my stuff.

The atmosphere was pressing while I packed my suitcases and boxed up the personal belongings I wanted to take. Brent was not allowed inside and one of my father's colleagues supervised to make sure everyone behaved.

When I was finished, I walked into the living room where my father was stretched out on the couch.

"I'm leaving now, dad," I mumbled.

"Uhum," he said, not even looking up from the magazine he was reading.

"I guess I'll see you around." I was going to tell him I loved him but his body language was such that I felt like a total reject. I was sure he had stopped loving me, so why even bother. A single tear trickled down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away for him not to notice. A piece of my heart was torn from me at that very moment.

I will always remember the day when I left the only home I had ever known. September 2nd, the Thursday before Labor Day. It would be a little over eight months before I would see my dad again, May 7th - the night I was arrested for Brent's murder.

When I left that day, I thought I made the right choice. I had my whole life ahead of me - with the man I loved. It didn't know that as soon as I crossed the threshold, I stepped towards certain doom - totally at the monster's mercy that Brent would turn into.

OK, Rena did it. She battled for her independence and left her dad. Any reactions? Where you thrilled that Brent got arrested?

I had many readers question why her dad gave up so easily and his reasoning will be explained in a later chapter. Please let me know if you have any other questions so far. All comments are appreciated and please don't forget that there is a voting button in the corner if you felt this chapter deserved it.