To Capture A Ring

Dad

I woke up the next morning, and followed the aroma that was wafting through the house. Bacon. I got downstairs and saw my entire family seated at the table. Brianna was telling my mother about the events that occurred last night between her and Markie. She apologized to her because Mikayla seeing it. My mother reassured her that things would be just fine. I walked to the cabinet, pulling out a plate for myself, loading it up with eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes, before sitting down at the table. "Morning, everyone." I chirped. Tonight is the night of the camp out. I'll only go if Brianna goes, understanding her situation. I understand if she doesn't want to be around Markie right now. "I know Jordan is your pseudo boyfriend right now, but I'm thinking I might break things off with Markie. I'm unsure if it would complicate things for you or not, but I just want you to know because if it does, that wasn't my intention. Mom told me I should probably talk to him before I make any decisions. I want to know if he even remembers what he did, and if he does, I want to know if he feels guilty. It may have just been a slap, but a slap could turn into full-blown abuse. I don't want to marry a guy like that." I heard the screen door slam shut. Looking up, I saw my father had come in from cutting the grass. "Who slapped you?" he questioned Brianna angrily. She looked at him with sad eyes, "Markie, but please dad, let me handle it." she pleaded, deciding it was best to tell dad the truth before he found out on his own, which the outcome at that point would have been worse. "Ok" was all my dad said before going to the cupboard, grabbing out a glass and filling it with water before going back outside.

My phone beeped, alerting me that I had a new notification. I unlocked it and saw a text from Jordan. "Good morning, beautiful. Thank you for everything last night. I had plans to show up at your house to surprise you, but everything changed when Markie showed up at my door, he wants to come with me, to talk to Brianna, but I wanted to make sure that was alright, before just showing up." I slid my phone across the table to Bri, she picked it up, and I watched as her eyes flickered back and forth read the entire message. "Yeah, I suppose we should get this out of the way now, instead of at the campout tonight." I nodded grabbing my phone and quickly typed a message back to Jordan, "She said that's fine." and I hit send. Setting my phone back down onto the table as I shoveled my food into my mouth quickly before heading to the bathroom to shower.

Once I got out of the shower, I wrapped my hair up in a towel, and wrapped another one around my body before heading to my room. I was stopped by Bri in the hallway. "Jordan is waiting in your room. Go wait in my room, I'll grab your clothes, so he doesn't see you like this." I squealed out of embarrassment and ran to her room, quickly shutting the door behind me. I looked around the room trying to busy myself while I waited. She popped her head in, throwing clothes at me before retreating out of the room again. "Thank you!" I called out after her. I slid on my underwear, and then tossed my bra on, making quick work of the buckles, and then I shimmied into the dress that she grabbed for me, leaving her room. I stopped in the bathroom that was right next door to my bedroom, I rolled on some deodorant and grabbed my hairbrush, running it through my hair. Giving myself a quick look over in the mirror before approving, I walked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. Jordan was spinning in my gaming chair scrolling through his phone. When I walked in, he looked up at me, putting his phone into his pocket. "Hi" I smiled cheerfully. "Hey beautiful." he smiled back happily while standing up. He walked right up to me, looking down at me, I tilted my head up to look at him properly. He put his arms around me, just as he was about to kiss me, I heard my sister Brianna scream. It pierced my ears as she hollered my name, it was echoing through the house.

My eyes widened in fear as I tore out of the room, and down the stairs, with Jordan hot on my tail. I saw my dad dragging Markie out of the house by the scruff of his neck. The screen door slammed shut after the two of them. My mother yelled at my dad to stop. Brianna sobbed uncontrollably, begging my father to stop. I jumped into action, running out the door. I watched as my dad punched Markie in the face 3 times. I grabbed my dad's fist with all my might as he pulled back for the 4th punch. My dad turned, but before he could see, it was me. His elbow connected roughly with my nose as I fell to the ground clutching my nose before my dad even had time to drop Markie. My mom's voice yelled my father's name. "JOHN." She was angry about everything that had just happened. My dad looked nervous when he saw the blood dripping down my face, pouring from my nose."I'm so sorry." he begged for forgiveness. Jordan came to my aid. I yelled at my father "LEAVE ME ALONE. She asked you to stay out of it. She's an adult, but you did this anyway!" I screamed, but my dad kept trying before Jordan pulled my dad to the side, saying something to him before he went walking back into the house. Brianna helped Markie stand up. Jordan came back over to me, pulling his shirt off and pressing it to my nose before sitting on the ground, pulling me into his lap, and tilting my head back to try and help stop the bleeding. I am crying now. My mother came out with a towel and an ice pack. I heard the front door to my house slam, and I watched as my father left with a bag, getting into his car and driving away. Jordan replaced his shirt with a towel, putting the ice onto my nose before helping me into the house, setting me on a chair at the kitchen table.

"Brianna, Tatiana. I am so sorry about your father. He's been so angry lately." My mother apologized. "Markie, I'm sorry about John." Jordan crouched down in front of me, pulling the ice and the towel from my nose. "The bleeding stopped, but you're starting to bruise. It's definetly broken, and very crooked." Jordan turned to my mother, "I can take her to the hospital to have it reset." my mother contemplated his offer before agreeing. "Yes, thank you." Brianna disappeared upstairs, coming back a moment later with a new dress for me, since my original one was covered in blood. "Thank you" I said taking it from her hands. I got up shaking from the adrenaline, I went into the bathroom, changing before taking a look in the mirror, popping some, Tylenol into my mouth, then walking out. Jordan was waiting outside in his car for me. I walked out the front door, getting into his car. He held my hand on the way to the hospital. Once we got there, he went in with me. They gave me a Xray, confirmed the break, reset it then sent us on our way.

"You're one tough girl. The reset usually hurts worse than the break. But for you, it was the opposite," he chuckled. I looked up and saw we were pulling into the creamery. "Why are we here?" I asked. "I'm getting us some ice cream." he said in a duh tone. I rolled my eyes as he parked. We both got out at the same time, meeting in front of the car, he grabbed my hand lacing our finger together pulling me towards the window to order. The line was very short. He ordered a banana split, and I ordered a twist with rainbow sprinkles on a homemade waffle cone. Once we got our ice cream, we sat down across from each other at their little picnic tables. He took a bite of his and moaned in pleasure. I licked mine and did a little happy dance making him chuckle. "Try this" he held out his spoon to me. I took a bite of his "Mmmm, so good!" I held my cone out to him, he took a lick and mimicked me "Mmmm, so good! Its like going to a fancy restaurant and ordering chicken tenders and fries because it's a comfort food." I reached out playfully swatting him as I rolled my eyes. "Ok, ok. I was joking" he held his hands up in defense. We were both laughing like fools and having a great time. We finished our ice creams, tossing our garbage in the trash can, and then made our way back to the car, still holding hands. "So I was thinking-" he paused, leaning up against the hood of his car. "Would you like to be my girl?" he asked. Shock spread across my face. "You don't have to answer right now, Tatiana. I just want you to know how I feel about you." I took a deep breath, before throwing my arms around his neck. "Yes, yes, yes!" putting his arms around me, he pulled me in for a kiss.

After a few moments, we both got into our seats, and he drove to my house. He parked, but left the car running. "Are you coming camping with us, babe?" causing my heart to flutter. This is the first time he's ever called me babe. "Yes." I answered, he grinned, "Awesome. I'm going to park my car at my house. I'm bringing my side by side. I'll pick you up in a half hour." I opened my door, getting out I closed it behind me. I walked around the car, planting a kiss on his lips before I crossed the street, going inside my house.