This chapter is dedicated to SailorCiel - thanks for your continued support and many votes. I am glad you are still sticking around for the journey.

Altering Moments

Over the next three days, I try to redeem myself. At first, Ruth is mad as hell though not enough to refuse to talk to me. I apologize over and over, feeling remorse about being a little rough and after a while, even decide to ask my father for advice since I figured he has been there before. When I fess up and tell him what happened, he sits me down and explains all about the women psyche.

"It's all this modern nonsense that got you into this mess." He clicks his tongue irritably and pours himself a glass of milk. "Women nowadays have to first learn their place by a man's side."

I watch him with slumped shoulders. "What am I supposed to do now?"

He puckers his lips. "Did you apologize? That's always a good start."

I nod.

"Good." His eyes are thoughtful. "Maybe you should get her some flowers. The few times things got out of hand with your mom, she expected some kind of a gift. It always helps to cheer them up."

I grimace, my mind already scheming. "Do you think I was wrong, dad?"

He rubs his chin. "Only you can answer that, Brent. This is your first real relationship and your hormones are probably through the roof but you shouldn't forget that Ruth is not your wife yet and not required to fulfil your needs. Hell, you two aren't even engaged. Once you are married, things change - the Bible is clear that wives have to submit to their husbands and it's our prerogative to discipline them. With a girlfriend, the line is a little blurry even though girls should not forget that God only put them on this Earth for men's company."

I take this to mean that I should have been more careful but that I had not been totally out of line. The idea with the present is excellent and since I already bought her the necklace for our six months anniversary, I could as well give it to her now as a sincere sign of regret.

With newfound hope, I am about to put my plan into action when my dad calls me back. "You know, girls like romantic settings and not make out in the back of a truck. That's classless and beneath you." He winks at me. "Mom and I are going away this weekend to the beach house if you want to plan something special for you and Ruth. Just make sure you use protection."

My cheeks burn slightly, embarrassed what his words imply, but nevertheless elated that he trusts me enough to stay alone at the house. This past year, he has been taken it easy on me, only breaking out the belt once when we had a fight about my curfew. I feel he is slowly respecting me as a man. Going behind his back would not have been my first choice and my excitement is growing when I imagine Ruth and I spending some alone time out back in the whirlpool.

My mood changes for the best - I will make sure that Ruth will have a wonderful weekend which might ease some of her reservations about sex but first things first. After grabbing the little package holding the necklace from my room, I buy her a bouquet of roses at the flower shop before stopping by her house. There is some more begging and the promise that it will never happen again before I am finally forgiven.

I take her to TCBY since she loves frozen yoghurt and at least it is not as fattening as regular ice cream. Her appearance is of utmost importance to me and I am planning on helping her to dress the way I expect from my girlfriend - maybe we could go through her closet and trash all those inappropriate outfits that I don't like. Part of our make-up vows was also her promise not to make me angry again and she has always been a girl of her word.

"My parents are leaving town this weekend," I inform her between bites. "I thought we could go for dinner and then go back to my place."

She seems excited. "Maybe we could just get Pizza and stay in with a movie," she suggests which is even better.

"Sounds great." I hesitate for just a moment. "Do you think you could spend the night?"

Her eyes are full of mischief when she licks some raspberry yoghurt off her spoon. "I would have to lie to my parents and claim to stay at Yvonne's."

That is perfectly fine with me and I give her a hopeful grin. "I'm sure Yvonne won't mind. After all, that's what you did when she was with Patrick."

Contrary to Ruth, her best friend Yvonne is rather slutty and had dated my buddy for a couple of weeks before calling it quits. Patrick didn't mind - he had already scored on their second night and was ready to let her go. Since then, he has been rubbing his victory in my face, even suggesting that I should dump Ruth and just get a piece of Yvonne myself. I have always laughed it off, insisting that Ruth and my relationship is special, but I still can't wait to return the favor when I finally take her V-card.

After we are done with our snack, we take a stroll on the beach. I coo around her, showing myself from my most charming side, enveloping her in my arms when she feels cold and enduring her chit-chat. Our nasty fight is totally forgotten, she giggles a lot and is her usual self. I am thrilled - I have been forgiven for my minor slip up and looking forward to the weekend when I will finally have her all to myself. Life is a whole lot better than it has been for these past few days and there is no doubt on my mind that there is no need for me to change any of my ways.

xxxx

The weekend looks promising when I wake up on Saturday morning - my parents already left last night after my mom took a good beating for flirting with some guy at the supermarket. I can't understand why she is constantly reeling my father up, knowing damn well that he is jealous and doesn't tolerate her constant disobedience. She has been especially rebellious since he has eased up on me and he had to reprimand her at least a couple of times a week. I have gotten so used to it and pay hardly any attention to their fights and her screaming any longer.

I pick up Ruth at three and she looks really cute in her tight jeans and orange top which brings out her perfect tan. We stop by the video store and I allow her to pick out the movie - luckily, she chooses the new James Bond 'Skyfall' and not some romantic comedy which would have been a real drag to watch. As soon as we get home, I suggest taking a dip in the whirlpool. She immediately agrees - I take this as a good sign.

Five minutes later, we submerge in the bubbly water and I immediately go to work. My lips trace kisses down her neck and she indulges in the moment, her head resting comfortably against the smooth tiles of the tub with her eyes closed. Without any objection, I remove her bikini top and cup her little treasures in my hands. She bites her button lip which is a total turn on.

"I can stop if you want," I mumble in her ear.

"No." Her eyes open and she gives me a loving smile. "I want this, Brent. It was stupid to reject you. You have been incredibly patient and I don't want to lose you to another girl because of that. I'm ready."

A hot feeling flushes my groin, this is really happening. Eagerly, I start to kiss her, my desire taking over as my hands slowly move downwards. She decides to jump into the action and her touch begins to make Little Brent happy. When I'm about to burst, we decide to move our little party inside.

Ten minutes later, it's all over. I'm on cloud nine, oblivious to the tears in her eyes. She had cried out but never told me to stop so I finally took what belonged to me. I heard that girls never enjoyed the first time anyhow so didn't try to be gentle.

I pull her into my arms, her body rigid against my chest. "Did it hurt a lot?" I ask with a pinch of guilt.

"A little," she admits. A hot tear drops on my hand and I realize she is lying.

"Hey, come here." She sobs against my shoulder and I stroke her hair. "I promise to be more careful next time."

More tears burn into my skin. I grab her chin with my thumb and index finger and force her to look at me.

"I love you, Ruth, and I'm sorry that this wasn't special for you." I wipe away her tears.

She gives me a crocked smile. "I know, Brent and I love you too. I guess I just thought it would be different."

My heart swells with remorse, I should have been more sensitive to her feelings but maybe I could make it up to her later.

"Let's take a shower and order the pizza, OK?"

I pull her along and she is agreeable when I lather her with soap before quickly rinsing off myself. I have this thing about blood and find it really disgusting, plus the shower is relaxing. Afterwards, she has stopped crying and her smile is more sincere though still a little aloof.

I know how much she likes mushrooms and forego the pepperoni which she despises to make her happy. She nibbles away at her pizza slice while we watch 'Skyfall'. At some point, I excuse myself to do some research - I want to be prepared the next time we have sex and not be so selfish

I lure her back upstairs after the movie and she follows me though I can tell she would prefer to go home. Her reluctance is soon forgotten when I experiment with my new skills I found on the internet. The night improves with every passing minute and when we finally fall asleep, we are both exhausted and entirely content.

I fix us breakfast in the morning - scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes - and serve it for her in bed. Her face is flushed, her eyes beaming with cheerfulness as she watches me eat, herself only taking small bites.

I kiss the tip of her nose. "I really love it when you are happy."

She strokes my cheek. "Thanks for the wonderful night." She falls back into the pillows, giggling. "What have you planned for today?"

As far as I was concerned, we wouldn't need to leave the bed. "I don't care. How about a stroll on the beach?"

"Sounds good." She navigates a really small piece of pancake carefully into her mouth and her lack of appetite surprises me since I'm absolutely famished. She, on the other hand, has hardly touched her food.

"Don't you like my cooking?"

She avoids my eyes. "It's not that. I'm just not hungry."

I have always been amazed on how little she manages to survive and even think she is a little skinny but don't really pay too much attention to it. Girls are fussy and always try to watch their weight - something I luckily don't have to worry about. I could pretty much eat anything I like and never gain an ounce.

An hour later, we saunter hand in hand through the shallow waters of the ocean, the waves washing over our footsteps in the sand. It's a warm morning with a light breeze, the wind playing with Ruthie's hair. She looks beautiful and amazingly happy - I couldn't picture myself with anyone else.

I clear my throat, this is a big step. "I spoke to the guidance counsellor yesterday and if I take three more summer courses, I will be able to graduate this year. I got accepted to DePaul and really think you should come with me."

She stops in her tracks and frowns. "Isn't that in Illinois?"

After a silent nod, she continues: "I'm only a junior. I can't just quit school."

My lips brush the back of her hand. "No one says you have to quit. There are plenty of high schools in Chicago and you could just get a transfer. It's really not that big of a deal."

She laughs. "I just turned seventeen. My parents will never allow that." She draws a circle in the sand with her toe. "I thought your dad wants you to stay in the area. Why don't you just go to the University of Virginia - that's only two hours away and we could still see each other on the weekends."

I scowl. "I need a break from my parents and it will be neat to live on my own." I pull her into my arms. "Will you promise me to at least think about it? I love you and can't imagine being apart from you."

A small smile tucks at the corners of her lips. "OK."

Somehow, she doesn't sound sincere but I let it slide, not wanting to ruin this perfect day. Once she figures out I was serious, she would probably change her mind and we would find a way to be together.

After the beach, I take her home - she has to finish her science project and seems exhausted. I guess I wore her down last night after all.

When I pull into my driveway, my father's car is already parked in front of the garage and there is trouble the minute I step into the house. My dad is yelling at my mom and I pause at the bottom of the stairs when I hear my name mentioned in the midst of things.

"This is all your fault, Charlotte." He is furious. "If you hadn't told Brent about the trust fund money like I asked you to, he would never consider moving away."

"DePaul is a great opportunity and you should be happy for him." Her voice is laced with tears but insistent.

I turn towards the kitchen and halt in the doorway. It's the usual sight - my father must have already taken a swing at her, there is fresh blood on her lips and her cheek is reddened and slightly swollen. My college acceptance package is scattered around on the kitchen counter, I should not have left it lying around openly in my room.

My father's eyes land on me. "Oh Brent. Just the person I was looking for." He is slowly unlooping his belt. "I can't believe you were stupid enough to go behind my back and apply to a school out of state. Didn't you think there would be repercussions?"

When I applied to DePaul, I didn't worry about a reprimand - going to Illinois is my chance at a fresh start far away from my childhood tormentor. I had long realized that I will never be free if I stayed in Virginia.

I slide off my shirt in response to his question and toss is at his feet. "Go right ahead and punish me but this won't change the fact that I will walk out of that door in a few months even if you beat me every day between now and then. You will not win this time."

With a stoned face, I turn around and hold onto the back of the chair so hard that my knuckles turn white. He doesn't make me count but his anger at my smart lip and disobedience is evident when the belt eats over and over into my skin until my knees finally buckle from the agony of the pain.

I sink to the ground. Tears prickle my eyes but they are a reflection of the rage burning inside me. I swear right then and there that I will never do this to my child - if I ever had a son, I will teach him right from wrong in a loving way and not try to beat him into submission. I will never hurt him the way my dad had hurt me, the swooshing of the belt the one thing I will always truly remember about my childhood.

I am sorry that it took so long to update this time - I took me a few days to get over my mid novel slump (and yes, I am refusing to call it writer's block LOL). Yet, I believe I used this time wisely to find my way back to the original voice of the Brent for whom this story was written.

I tried to show his softer side again and hope I succeeded. I think as with any good villain, you sometime forget that they also have good in them and neglected that a bit in these last couple of chapters.

I also wanted to get those wheels spinning in your mind by giving you an insight on how he wants to raise his kids. Don't get me wrong, his words that he would discipline them still stands but he never wanted to turn into his father. Just something to think about going forward when we dive into his and Rena's relationship in a couple of chapters.

There will be one more chapter about him in Virginia before moving on to Chicago and merging the story line with "Living With The Choices We Make". For those who decide to stay for the ride - buckle up and hold on to your hats.

Please leave comments about how you liked this chapter and don't forget to vote if you find that the chapter deserved it XD.