Chapter 2:

I let out a sigh as I knocked on the door for the second time in the past hour. This time, the boy my age answered the door. "Yes?" he asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

"You never gave me your name." Why was I avoiding asking them for help? I really did need to go get my lip stitched up so why couldn't I just come out and ask them instead of beating around the bush.

"Brendon. Is that all you needed?"

"Umm no…." i said nervously as I ran my fingers through my hair, something I tended to do whenever I was nervous. He just stared at me waiting for me to continue. "Ok well, like I told you earlier, I am locked out of my house and I don't have my cell phone with me either because it is dead and I really need to get my lip stitched up so I was wondering if I could get a ride to the hospital." I waiting hopefully as he processed what I had just told him then motioned for me to come inside as we went to go get his car keys.

"How are your parents not home this late on a Monday night?" He asked me as we got into his minivan.

"My dad works late." I lied. I seemed to be lying a lot tonight and I hated it, but I knew it was the only way I could not get into even more trouble.

"And your mom?"

"My mom is gone…died about ten years ago." I looked down at my seat when I told him this. This was probably one of the few truthful things I have told him all night.

"I'm sorry." He seemed to feel very awkward now, like most people are when they first find out about the death of someone's parent that way.

"It's alright; it was a long time ago." Ten years didn't seem like such a long time to me, but I didn't want him to feel bad for bringing her up. He nodded acknowledging what I had told him, but it didn't seem to make him feel any better. Truthfully, she was one of the few things about my family that I enjoyed talking about.

"So how did you get that bruise on your wrist by running into a tree?" he asked me. I could tell from the tone in his voice that he was hinting at something and I was just hoping that he hadn't somehow figured out the truth. When I stayed silent, he continued talking. "Look, I have seen the signs of abuse before and from the fact that you needed to come to my house to clean up and get a ride to the hospital, I can tell that you don't want to go home so I am assuming it happened at home. Also, I saw your keys in your pocket when you pulled out your glasses."

"You are wrong. Like I said, I ran into a tree. The bruises were just from me being a klutz and running into things throughout the week." I sat there hoping that he would believe this lie and drop the subject.

"Joyce, I understand that we do not know each other so even if I am right you aren't going to tell me the truth, and I also know you are probably not going to go to the police about this because based on your reaction this has been going on for a while. But, if you need a place to crash, you know where I live. And don't worry; I'm not going to tell my parents." The rest of the car ride was silent after this. I was taking in everything he had just told me. I didn't really have many friends because my dad always had a tight grip on me, literally and figuratively speaking, so I wasn't use to this type of compassion that Brendon was giving me, but I was grateful for it and I showed him this by hugging him as soon as we got out of the car at the hospital. No words were said, but he knew what I wanted to say. "What are you going to tell the doctor?" He asked me as we started walking towards the main entrance. I thought about this for a second before walking over to where the trees are next to the hospital, took some dirt and leaves and smeared them on my face.

"Now they should believe the tree story as long as they don't look under my jacket." I said as i walked back over to Brendon and we walked inside. It took about an hour and a half for me to get in to get the stiches and have them done. Luckily they let me in without a parent or guardian because my lip was so bad. Unfortunately, they called my father to let him know I was here and he was about ten minutes away.

"Brendon, can I take you up on your offer of staying the night?" I asked him with fear in my eyes. He grabbed my hands to make me feel better and nodded and we both ran to his car and drove as fast as we could back to his house. Even though he lived down the street from my house, my father would never suspect to look there since we have never associated with our neighbors before. "How are you going to explain this to your parents?" I asked him as we pulled into his driveway and got out of the car.

"I'll tell them that your dad is working really late and you are locked out and really needed a place to crash so I said you could stay in the guest room." I hated that he was lying for me. I didn't want to get him into trouble. I have caused too many people trouble; I don't need to cause him trouble as well. Especially since I am hoping that we can become good friends. He led me into the guestroom and was about to leave to go into his own room right next to mine when I stopped him.

"Can I ask you one more favor?" I asked nervously. I wasn't used to asking people for favors.

"Of course."

"Can I get some bandages?" I asked as I took off my jacket and pants leaving me in a tank top and sophie shorts which revealed all the cuts and bruises on my body. I saw him tense as they were revealed and he couldn't take his eyes off them.

"Your-your dad did that to you?" his voice was full of a mixture of shock and horror.

"if it makes you feel any better, he isn't my biological father. I was adopted when I was seven. But can I please get some bandages?" he snapped out of it and left the room. I didn't want to sit on anything until I had put bandages on everything so I stood there awkwardly waiting for him to come back. He handed me the bandages and stood there watching me as I started covering all my cuts until I came across the one on my back. My shirt was already rolled up from covering the cut on my side, so he took the bandages from me and quickly covered the one on my back. I thanked him as I crawled into the queen size bed that was in the room.

"if you need anything, anything at all, I am in the room right next door." He said to me with a small smile as he shut out the light and cracked the door shut. I tried as hard as I could to fall asleep but every time I started to drift off into sleep I kept hearing my father yelling at me and I could hear the skin hitting skin as he would hit me. I tossed and turned for at least 2 hours before I crawled out of my bed and slowly walked into Brendon's room. He was sound asleep, so I just crawled into his bed next to him. I have no idea if I woke him up or not because as soon as I was lying next to him, I was out cold. I don't know what caused me to go into his room in the first place though; it was definitely not like me. I was never one to depend on others, let alone sleep in the same bed with some that I had just met a few hours ago. This boy definitely caused me to act weird, though at the moment, I have no idea why.