*Slap*
'Yes,' I cheered in my mind as Stan slapped me. Fucker fell for it. The slap wasn't firm. Still, I pretended to stumble backward and leaned on the door behind me. I did this to get the neighbors rallied up and bank some sympathy points.
"Bastard, I drove 11 miles and brought gifts to meet you, but you don't have the decency to greet your father. My mother has spoiled you rotten. Today I teach you what happens if you disrespect your elders." Stan's face grew red as he yelled. Then he reached to slap me again.
"Stan, stop it," Amber cried, trying to sound like a disgruntled mother, and rushed between Stan and me. As if she were shielding me from Stan's abuse with her body.
'Oh, she is good.' Amber, too, used Stan to show the neighbors that the bad guy here was Stan. She and I were the victims of his abuse.
"Get out of my way, you damned woman. Today I will set this boy straight." Yelled Stan. He grabbed Amber by her wrist and shoved her to the side to get to me.
*Thud*
"Ahh!" Amber fell to the ground and cried in pain exaggeratedly. Her acting was so bad that even Stan realized what she was doing, and instead of reaching to slap me again, he yelled at her furiously, "You damned bitch, stop playing your tricks, or I will beat you silly right here."
"I am sorry," Amber apologized to Stan and got up on her feet, which to the neighbor's eyes looked like she was terrified of Stan.
"Humph!" Expressing his scorn towards his ex-wife and her gimmicks, Stan turned towards me and raised his hand to slap me but was interrupted by his ex-wife.
"Stan, stop it," begged Amber. She grabbed Stan's hand, bringing it to a halt. The misguided neighbors thought she was really trying to protect her son from his abusive father.
"What is it now, you damned woman?" Stan asked. He was dissatisfied with repeated interruptions as he tried to teach manners to his son. He could see what his ex-wife was up to. He wasn't dumb to believe that she was too engrossed in playing good cop. If not for her plump bosom pressing against him, he would have reminded her of the cost of messing with him despite him warning her.
"The neighbors are watching. Too many eyes out here. Let's continue this inside." Amber whispered the last part. Just enough to convey her intentions to her ex-husband. A far away spectator could easily misinterpret the situation as Amber seducing Stan to get him to leave her son alone.
"Damn these nosy bastards." Blurted Stan as he looked around. There were more eyes than he expected. His ex-wife's words made sense, "Let's head in."
"Son, let's us in." Said Amber with a cold glare. Though her words sounded sweet, her temperament told me she planned to reveal her true self inside. My attitude earlier ticked her, and she wanted to correct it with some corporal punishment.
"..." 'Fuck!' I cussed in my mind because Amber stole my spotlight. Amber proved to be a capable adversary. No matter how exaggerated her lousy acting was, it proved enough to mislead and confuse the neighbors. Now their opinion of her must-have improved. That sucked. Still, I achieved half of my objective. But it felt like taking one step forward and moving two steps back.
"Boy, stop blocking the door. And let us in, or do you want me to shove you through the door?" Stan threatened furiously. He didn't seem to care about public opinion of him but would avoid worsening it if he could.
"..." Feeling the evidence I gathered was enough to scare the shameful exes. I opened the door and walked in. I didn't wait for them and headed to the kitchen to store the fruits and sweets. From behind, I could hear Stan yelling at neighbors before slamming the front door shut.
"What are you fuckers looking at? Don't you have your problems! Tend to them before they blow up on your face. Instead of gossiping and slandering good people." *Slam*
'Good People' Neither the neighbors nor Amber knew who the good people Stan spoke of were.
…
After storing the fruits and sweets, I walked into the living room and found Stan enjoying my omelet veggie spicy chicken Ramen. I was infuriated because not only did he slap me in front of my house, but he dared to eat my Ramen, My Ramen!
Stan saw me come out of the kitchen and said, "Fatso, ramen is cold and soggy. Tsk, such a waste of good ramen."
*Swoosh* *Splash* *Bang*
Stan was about to place the half-eaten ramen back on the tea table, but when he saw my furious glare, he threw the saucepan at me without hesitation and yelled, "Fucking bastard, you dare to glare at your elders. It seems that a single slap wasn't enough to educate you."
"Asshole, look what have you done," Amber shouted at me as a few drops of ramen soup splashed on her. She didn't dare yell at Stan, so she targeted her son as usual.
"I am telling you, Amber, we made a mistake taking pity on him. We should have thrown this fatso to the street when my mother died." Said Stan. He got up from the couch, shoving the tea table on his way to the side. He walked toward me.
"This ungrateful mutt has gotten fat on our money and now dares to bite the hands that fed him. Teach mutt a lesson he will never forget." Amber announced as she watched her ex reach to beat their eldest son.
"..." All this was not new in late Ryan's world. In Ryan's memory, this happened frequently. But for me, all this was new. This made me more appreciative of my only parents. May their souls rest in peace.
The abusive father and bitchy mother were no longer just a figment of late Ryan's memory I inherited. They were right in front of me. It felt like a freaking reunion of late Ryan's worst nightmares.