After that day, I wanted to put up a shield and never let go of it.It was a shield to protect myself from all of the inevitable hardships that I would somehow have to endure.I felt sick to my stomach after my encounter with Brett.I felt like I couldn’t tell Mom, at least not right away.I had a lot to think about.Why did Brett have to be such a jackass?How could he try to take away the little bit of happiness that I had?More importantly, how could he ever even think about hurting John and Ron or Meggie?Or my mom.God,I worried about her so much.She seemed fine,but I knew she couldn’t truly love a monster.I braced myself for the worst,for it was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose.For a while,I tried to see right through Brett,and I kept my guard up.I only spoke to him when I absolutely had to, and when I did, it was brief with forced politeness.I watched my siblings very carefully whenever Brett was around them, and nothing seemed to happen. However, I knew the ominous foreboding I felt was valid.