Alice's POV

Dad was out with his boyfriend again.
I truly didn't mind, really. This guy treated him well, and he knew what dad had been through-terrible abuse from his ex-wife, his father, thousands of other people, his ex-boyfriends- it was just the way that dad still acted that bothered me. Totally broken, scared...a shell of the way he used to be. His appearance even reflected that. Dad used to be a truly handsome man. His neat, golden blonde hair was kept short, he was clean shaven, he was muscular but still thin. He could do just about anything, too: play guitar, sing, play any other instrument. He was amazing. He was...my dad. and I was so proud.
But now...Dad was a completely different person. Being abused like that for so long turned him into...Instead of muscular and thin, he was just plain skin and bones. He didn't really care too much about his appearance, he didn't do anything he used to hobby wise, but the worst part was...he was so flinchy, even with me. And he was so shy and quiet... I heard Harley's rich, kind laughter and the door crashing open. Harley was...jovial, to say the least. He was such a nice guy. But he was HUGE. He was like...6' 8", maybe? He was overly muscular, but he was too sweet to hurt dad. He was really cool, too. He always wore a leather Harley Davidson jacket, and had his hair in a tall mohawk that I swore changed colors weekly. Then my dad walked in the door. Tiny, hopeless, scared, weak... Dad looked slighly tipsy, his shoulder length hair swaying with him. That was another thing that had changed about dad- his hair. He let it grow long, cut in a shag-type style. I hated it. It wasn't like dad at all. He needed a haircut- it was starting to grow to his shoulderblades. Almost. "Hey, you two."

"Hey, Alice." he kissed dad's forehead before turning to give me a hug.

"Hey, Daddy." I hugged him gently. He was drunk. I could smell the alcohol on him. He just looked at me. Dad didn't drink much, and I'm sure he'd had too much.

"He's a little tipsy. I took him to a club, and he had to have a shot or two to calm himself down..."

"Too many people?"

He shook his head. "The music was a little loud. He did dance with me some, though. After he was completely smashed." He chuckled. "I'm gonna help him change into his pajamas and put him to bed." He stroked Dad's back gently, then picked him up and took him upstairs.

The next day, I peeked in to check on Dad and Harley. Dad was curled up on Harley's chest, sleeping, fisting his shirt, and Harley was awake, stroking his hair, smiling at him like he was his angel. My dad. Somebody's angel for once instead of their ragdoll. He looked up at me and smiled a little. "Something spooked him last night. I don't know what it was, but he was scared."

"Aw...What time did he go back to sleep?"

"Probably...four. It took about an hour..." He shook his head. "Anyway, i think I'm going to take him out to get his hair cut today, wanna come? To the mall, i me-"

"YES. PLEASE."

He chuckled. "okay. Well, let me get him mustered around soon and we'll go. I'll give you some money, too."

So, at noon, we were driving to the mall, Dad and Harley in the front, me in the back. I was meandering around the mall, and I saw this guy from my school. I didn't think he knew me, but he practically RAN up to me. "Hi, Alice."

"Hey, Jasper. what's up?"

"Not much...Wanna walk around with me?"

I didn't have anything better to do. "Sure." We walked around for about an hour, and...this guy was really awesome. He was so sweet and kind...

"Hey, who're THOSE guys..."

It was my dad with Harley and...really...really short hair...it was like...long on top but really short in the back. Much, much more like my dad. But Harley was almost crying. He'd loved dad's long hair. "Erm...That's my dad and his boyfriend."

"o...Oh I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean."

"I know. It's okay." I smiled and took his hand.

CARLISLE'S POV.

Harley led me into the men's bathroom, and threw me into a claustrophobic stall. I started to panic, and he pinned me up against the wall. "Harley, You're scaring me..."

"Shut up..." He reached for my hair, grabbing for it. "I can't hold on to anything...I hate it..." He bit down hard on my neck. I cried out in pain and surprise, but was quickly muffled but his hand over my mouth. "Shut UP!" He snarled under his breath, pushing harder on my jaw. He replaced his hand with his lips as he reached for my trousers instead.

"No, Harley! Not here. It's DIRTY." I looked at him pleadingly, and all I got was thrown against the wall, harder this time. Hard enough to make something crack. He pinched the crook of my neck hard enough to leave a bruise, and shoved me out of the stall.

"When we get home." He snarled. Practically picking me up and wrapping his arm around my waist. He led me out of the bathroom, wiping the tears off of my face as we went. "If Alice says anything. Go with my story, okay?"

"Y...yes."

Alice's POV

When I saw my Dad and Harley again, Dad's eyes were red and his shirt collar was bloody. "What happened?" I wrapped my arms around dad- still shaking.

"I turned my back for a second, and these guys were ON HIM. Like...Holding him down and saying stupid stuff...One bit him." Dad looked at me. Fear and hurt in his eyes. I knew something about Harley's story wasn't right...
When we went home, I found out. Dad and Harley had gone upstairs after I'd told them about my day with Jasper. I heard them talking...Harley's voice rising in volume...
But, I had found something very interesting from Jasper. When my dad had started College to become a doctor, which he had never finished, of course, he had a crush on Jasper's mom, Esme, who was attending for a nursing degree. They had a fling and hadn't spoke the day after. Rumors were flying around about his mom being a whore, and Dad being gay. It seemed that Dad had started the rumor about Jasper's mom, and vice versa for dad's rumor. Jasper's mom left school after her reputation was besmirched, and dad left after he was gang-raped by a few of the people who had started the rumors. When I asked dad about it and told him about Jasper. He simply replied, "It was a long time ago, alice...And congratulations on finding a date... He's a good kid, i'm sure."