What Would You Do?

Jasmine Osuna

PAS 113 B

Feburary 22, 2012

Professor Broadous

What Would You Do?

            The crowd is up on their feet cheering and screaming. There’s ten seconds left on the clock and the score is 72 to 74, Fairfax down by two. Everyone is anxiously waiting to see who makes the next move. Fairfax takes out the ball and the point guard quickly calls out a play. It’s crunch time and they struggle to find an open man. Two seconds left on the clock, Emiliano barely gets open and shoots for the three. The crowd goes wild and everyone jumps on their feet with excitement, Fairfax wins by one with a score of 75 to 74. Emiliano has once again managed to save the team. Around school he’s known for being the biggest jock. Not only is he a star in basketball, but in football as well. He’s always been the one that all the girls want to be with, the one that all the guys want to be like, and the one that everyone knows. Emiliano has this presence that is very charming. He’s athletic, six foot one, is light skinned, has an athletic body, very short hair, and is very attractive. Although he’s a jock, the star athlete of the football and basketball team, he doesn’t fall into the stereotypes of a jock. People love his personality, he’s outgoing, respectful, friendly, trustworthy, upfront, smart, and he’s that friend that you can always count on. Everything seems so picture perfect on the outside, but no one really knows what his life is like on the inside.

            My father is a very wealthy man. I grew up in a nice neighborhood, big house, and had the latest technology, but all those fancy things don’t define my life. The exterior is the complete opposite from the interior. I guess you can say we’ve developed pretty great acting skills because to everyone we’re that perfect family, but behind closed doors we’re everything but a family. Both my parents are alcoholics and can never seem to get along with each other. Every night I fall asleep to the sound yelling and screaming, my father beating my mom, and the sound of her crying. I hate being at home, it’s not a home. It’s not safe for any of us, especially for my little brother and sister. Isaiah and Alina are too young to understand what’s going on, but no child should witness what is seen in this house. Dishes flying across the room, people punching walls, breaking mirrors, it’s a war zone. My father and I don’t get along, we barely even talk. I know my mom loves us but she’s too scared to show affection.  We were never taught or shown how to love but when a child is born they’re not taught to love it’s just something they do. I love my parents regardless I just wish they loved us enough to love each other. Things never get better, they worsen everyday so that’s why I push myself to be the best that I can be so one day I can be in my father’s shoes and be the man that he couldn’t be.

            Senior year has come to an end and graduation is finally here. I’m faced with very important decisions that will affect my future. I was offered two scholarships, one for Oregon State to play football, and one for USC to play basketball. They’re both my passions and are both great schools so I know which ever path I decide to take I’ll be going down the right road. All this excitement has me hyped. It’s finally the big day when I end one chapter of my life and start a new one. I’m dressed in my cap and gown lined up with all my classmates. We start to walk and I can hear the crowd cheering as we make our way into the auditorium. I look up into the crowd and see nothing but cameras flashing, then, I realize my father is nowhere to be found. It brought my excitement down but I’m used to it, after always looking up into the crowd and not seeing any of my family members supporting me. On the bright side I’m glad my mom, little brother and sister were able to make it. I tried to avoid it and not let it get to me, but I felt so angry. I never expected anything from him, but I can’t believe he would miss this. It’s like if I don’t have a father anymore, I hate him! He’s never been there for me and has never supported me in anything that I do. He never fails to ruin such an amazing day. All my excitement is always shut down by him. From my birthdays, to Christmas, to Thanksgiving dinners, he always ruins them. I don’t ever want to speak to him again. All this frustration made me forget of how excited I should be for myself. I took a deep breath and enjoyed what was left of graduation. The principal gives her last speech, we move our tassels from right to left, and she announces the new graduating class of 2011. I have now left all my high school days behind and am moving forward. Normally all the graduates go out to dinner and celebrate the big day with their families and friends, as for me I come home to horrible news.

            My mom receives a phone call from the police informing her that my dad has gotten into a horrible accident and had to be rushed to the hospital. On our way there my mom wouldn’t stop crying. All she kept saying was “It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault!” Nothing I did would calm her down and all I could do was stay strong for her, my little brother and sister. We got to the hospital and we were told we couldn’t see him. Doctors and nurses kept coming in and out of his room. We patiently waited outside for the doctor to call us in. I wanted to know what was going on, I just wanted to know that he was going to be ok. Dr. Stewart approached us and asked to speak to my mom privately. What was the big secret, I wanted to know. As the doctor was telling my mom the details, she dropped to her knees pouring out tears. I ran to her and held her in my arms so tight. Never have I seen my mom that way. The doctor then explained to me what happen. My heart drop and I felt sick to my stomach. My dad had been drinking earlier that and was speeding on the freeway. He hit a car to his right that was entering the freeway. The car he hit flew to the side of the freeway and his car flipped three times to the front. The car was completely demolished. My mom kept blaming herself for what happened; she always blamed herself for my father being unhappy. She said they had been arguing early that morning because he came home late the night before. Things got out of hand and my mom walked out of the house. He pulled her and pushed her back in and told her to stay, that he was leaving not her. Every time my parents argued my dad would leave and end up in a bar or at a friend’s house and drank to take his mind off things.

            We went in to see my dad. He was hooked up to multiple machines, had needles all over his body, had a neck brace on, and his head was wrapped. He was in a coma and had a thirty percent chance to live. I felt like my mom, I blamed myself for the accident. What if this happened because all the terrible things I said? Or because I said I never wanted to speak to him again? I didn’t know what to feel or think. I didn’t know whether to regret everything I said or to be happy because all the abuse was over. But I loved my dad enough to want him to be alive, but hated him for causing so much pain to me and my family. What if it really was my mom’s fault for always fighting with him? If she would have never said anything about the night before would he still be alive? So many things ran through my head. I never wanted anything this extreme to happen.

            The detective walked into the room and asked to speak to us outside. He asked my mom a few questions about my dad and his history. I had walked off to the side to comfort Isaiah and Alina when I heard him mention balloons inside the car. He had also found flowers and a brand new gold chain with a number two charm on it. “Was it someone’s birthday?” he asked. Before my mom could answer I said “No, no it wasn’t, it was my graduation.” I wanted to break down and cry. How could I have said all those horrible things about my father, I have always doubted him but why did I have to doubt him today? He wasn’t as cold hearted as I thought he was. He really did care; he just had a bad way of showing it. I have always wanted that chain, and he got it for me, but I never wanted it to be the last memory I had from him. His lungs gave out and his body shut down, my dad was now a free soul. As much as my parents hated each other, it hurt my mom to see him go the way he did. She regretted everything, but this was a lesson for all of us to never take the ones we love granted because you never know when they’ll be gone.

            As heart breaking as it was I had no choice but to give up both my scholarships and enroll in a community college. I was forced to find a job to support the family. We had to move into a small apartment because my mom never worked and my income wasn’t enough to pay for a huge house. I worked fulltime and attended school fulltime and the pressure to be the man of the house was ridiculous. It wasn’t only about keeping a roof over our heads and fixing a hot plate for dinner every night, I also had to take care of Isaiah and Alina and set a good example for them. I tried my hardest to protect them and keep them from getting hurt when dad was around and my hard work seemed to pay off, however now it was mom who I had to protect them from. Nothing was ever easy growing up, and like I said before things never got better they always worsened. This is just the beginning.