Chapter 19

“What the hell were you thinking? How could you have been so stupid?”

In my 18 years, I’d never heard my mother swear. Tears were running down her face, and I knew how devastating this was for her and for both of my parents. Earlier that evening, the DJ made an announcement about Rhino’s new advertising campaign, which featured my somewhat revealing picture on a giant billboard by the freeway. Tony told me before I left work that he’d rented space on 20 billboards, and within a week, my image would be plastered all around the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Not that it mattered now, but when I tried to protest, my boss snidely reminded me that I’d signed his model release form, giving him ownership of the pictures the photographer took, and I had no recourse in how he chose to use them.

Of course, my father saw the billboard on his way home from work, and both of my parents had stayed up to ambush me in the kitchen when I walked through the door at 12:30. I had no idea how to answer my Mom’s questions so I looked down, unable to meet both of their glaring looks.

“For the first time since we’ve moved here, you’re going to be honest with us,” my father said sternly. “Was working at Hooters just bullshit?”

Slowly, I looked up. “No, I worked there for a couple of weeks,” I said quietly.

“A couple of weeks, great. So for the last six weeks or whatever, you’ve been ... you’ve been...” My dad was so flustered he could barely speak. It was breaking my heart to see him, to see both of them so angry and distraught.

Mom had to jump back in once Dad faltered. “You’ve been taking your clothes off for money!” The venom oozed from her lips when she said ‘money’ like it was the most vile thing she could think of. “You’re smart, Jenna, so very smart, and you’ve chosen... this as a way to make money? We’ve raised you better than that.”

“You’re quitting that job,” Dad fired at me, finally regaining his voice. “In fact, you’ve already quit. You’re not to leave this house without permission. Do you understand me, young lady? I didn’t raise you to become a slut to feed the desires of the perverted masses!”

Mom gave me a withering stare. “Look what you’ve done to your father. Don’t you even care about us? You’re killing him and killing me, too,” she angrily spat.

I had no defense or reasonable retort. They weren’t wrong; I was messing up their lives, embarrassing them to their church friends and probably their coworkers, too.

“Did they ... did someone force you into this? Are you in trouble of some kind? Jenna, we can get money if you owe it to some Shylock or mobster–”

I shook my head side-to-side. “No, Mom! I don’t owe anyone money, and I wasn’t forced. This was a choice I made. I ... took this job on purpose, and ... I ... I like it. In fact, I love most of it. It makes me feel good. It’s something I’m good at. I’ve made some really great friends, and I want to keep doing it.”

“That’s just great, Jenna.” His sarcasm wasn’t lost on me. “You’ve made new friends. And are you screwing these new friends?” My mom put her hand to her mouth at the suggestion of ‘screwing.’ Neither of them had ever used that word in front of me, either. “Answer me!” Daddy shouted.

My hands trembled slightly. I didn’t know what to say. How honest should I be? The kitchen lights felt incredibly bright, almost like I was in a movie, in a police interrogation room where the two cops were aggressively coercing the suspect to confess his crime. I was also incredibly tired, and my nerves were shattered by this confrontation.

“I do kind of have a boyfriend now. He’s a businessman, and he makes a lot of money.” I thought that might please them, that I wasn’t just hanging around with low-lifes.

“Oh, well, you have a boyfriend! When the hell did you have time to meet someone? You met him at that disgusting club?” he sneered.

“Yes,” I whispered.

My father took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. “So,” he began, and he stepped up to me and got into my face. “My daughter is now dating a legitimate businessman. Did you hear that, Grace? I’m so relieved, aren’t you? Tell me, Jenna, is he giving you money?” My face must have given me away; I wasn’t expecting a question like that. “So it’s true, he’s giving you money, and you’re fucking him, right? That makes you a whore!”

Having him call me that stung even more than the slap he delivered across my face, but I didn’t like that much, either.

“Joshua!” Mom screamed, and she jumped up to grab his hand before he hit me again. Then she glared at me. “Look what you’ve done! You’ve made your father violent!”

Tears streamed down my face; I didn’t know what to do. In the past, he’d never even raised his voice at me, much less his hand. The tips of my fingers slowly glided over my cheek; it was sore and felt puffy like it was already starting to swell. Somehow, someway, I found my spine and started to give back as good as I was getting.

“I’m an adult, not a child. It’s my life, not yours, and I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want,” I screamed.

He raised his hand again, but I didn’t flinch, and I steadied myself for the next blow, which I knew was just a moment away. His hand moved forward towards me, but at the last second, he caught himself and returned it to his side. He took a deep breath, and a single tear ran down his cheek. Then his loving blue eyes turned ice-cold, freezing me out. Pointing to the door, he said one word.