Chapter 4: For the Love of a Daughter

Amber's POV

Justin walked me home from the ice skating rink. We were holding each other's hand. Part of me wanted to let go because I wasn't ready for a boyfriend again. The other part of me kept holding on because he made me feel protected, as if he was my knight in shining armor. I'm not sure Justin got the hint that I like him. Everyone obviously got the hint that Justin likes me back. Once we reached the corner of my block, I let go of his hand. He looked surprised when I let go.

"What's wrong?" Justin asked. He had a worried tone in his voice. I thought up a quick excuse to get him away from the house before my dad sees me with him.

"I just have to go home. I want some alone time to think while I'm walking the corner," I responded quickly and faked a smile. I could tell Justin didn't buy the act, but he said goodbye and left. I hope he wasn't hurt about it.

Once he was out of sight, I ran to my house. I was already two minutes late and Dad wasn't going to be happy about it. I went to the door and heard a terrible scream. It wasn't a high pitched scream that my little sister would do, but it was a female scream. Fearing that knocking would lead me to a trap, I used the keys under the porch mat and unlocked the door. When I came into the house, I saw my mom on the floor. Dad had his belt out and whipping Mom. His dark brown hair was messy, which matched his white coffee stained shirt and jeans. Mom was wearing her black jeans with her orange lace shirt. Her green eyes glimmered as she cried in pain.

"Dad, please stop," I scream and jumped to my mom's defense.

"Do you want to be next?" he asked as he got his belt ready. I backed away and ran to my room. My little sister, Skylar, was crying on the floor. Her wavy, brown hair was wrapped in a ponytail. A little piece of her hair drooped next to her green eyes. I went to her and hugged her tight. Holding in my cry, I held her close. If I cried, Skylar would be afraid. I don't want to see her any more afraid than she is right now.

"Jonathan? Please don't do this. Don't hurt the girls," Mom cried. Skylar started to hug back.

"Why should I not hurt them? They disobey my orders. Skylar comes home with a note saying she got detention and Amber comes home late. Marie, you can't even take care of your own children," Dad said in a rough voice. I heard another whipping sound and Mom's screams again. The footsteps of Dad's loud, angry stomps grew louder and louder. A hard pound knocked on my bedroom door. Skylar let out a soft squeak as Dad started pounding on the door.

"Let me in," Dad yelled out. His pounding frightened Skylar. She ran in the closet and hid behind the small piles of clothes. I ran to my bed and hid under the covers. My heart was beating so fast and my hands were shaking. Dad burst through the door. I could feel his presence as he walked towards the closet. He opened the closet and Skylar screamed.

"Santa told me you were a bad girl. That's why you got the detention," Dad said. I peeked out of the covers to see Skylar getting whipped by my father. A little blood streamed down her face. As scared as I was, I wanted to defend my little sister. I'd rather die for my little sister than see her in this much pain. I held in my cry as I snuck out of the covers. Dad turned around and caught me.

"Where are you going? I didn't tell you to leave." Dad pushed me down and whipped me with his belt. I could feel a stinging pain in my arms. I looked at my arm and saw that it was bleeding slowly. Skylar ran out of the room while I tried to push Dad off of me. I grabbed his belt and whipped his face with it. While Father was blinded with pain, I made a run for it. I grabbed Skylar's hand and ran out the door. Mom and I had made a plan that if Dad had ever went too far, Skylar and I would run out of the house and leave Mom to handle it. I hated the idea, but it was for the best.

Where do I go, I asked myself. I couldn't go to Ashley's house because she was still out at the mall. I knew her too well. She wasn't going to get out of the mall until the mall closes. Plus, she's doing a last minute Christmas shopping and she left her phone at home. Suddenly, I remembered that there was always Justin's house. After we met in the park, Justin drove Chaz, Ryan, and I to his house to drop off his sisters. I remember where he lives because it was fifteen minutes away from home.

"Where are we going?" Skylar managed to say. I didn't respond back. We kept going passed the familiar stores and trees. We passed the snowy park that was almost completely empty since it's Christmas Eve. Once we got to the house, I rang the doorbell. I explained to Skylar that I met Justin Bieber and that I remembered where he lived. Skylar didn't believe me. I doubt anyone would believe me if I ever said that. Jeremy Bieber, Justin's dad who divorced his mom years ago, opened the door with a smile on his face. When he saw us all bloody and beaten up, his face turned grim. His button up red shirt and black slacks made him look like he just came from work. He called Pattie to come with urgency. Pattie walked to the door and saw us there. She was wearing a slim, red dress with black heals. She gasped and let us into her warm home. She led us to Justin's room where we had to stay in until she got the bathtub ready. Once she filled the bathtub with warm water, Skylar left to get cleaned up. I sat alone in Justin's room. My thoughts wandered back to what happened at home. What could've ticked Dad so much to do this? Why did he have to do this on Christmas Eve?

Skylar walked into the room. She was bandaged and cleaned up. There were still bruises on her arms and legs, but she was fine. Her brown hair glimmered as little drops of water dripped down. I left the room and walked to the bathroom. On the way there, I saw Justin in the kitchen, which connected to the hallway to the bathroom. Justin turned around and saw me. Justin had changed into a green and white striped button up shirt and black slacks. His face immediately became concern. I continued to walk to the bathroom before he would ask me to explain what happened.

In the bathroom, Pattie made me take a bath. Although it stung a bit, it felt good to get all the blood off of me. A few minutes later, I got out of the tub and drained the water out. Pattie had laid out clothes that I guess where hers. She left out a box of bandages too. I put on the clothes and bandaged myself. Then, I walked out of the bathroom.

"Can I see her now?" I heard Justin ask his mom.

"Justin, she's not even out of the bathroom yet. Let her clean herself up," his mom responded.

"Once she's out of the shower and changed, can I see her?"

"If she wants you to see her, then you can see her." I quickly walked back to the room so Justin wouldn't see me. I opened the door and saw Skylar playing with Justin's Xbox 360. She told me Pattie allowed her to play while I'm in the bathroom. She also explained that Pattie and Jeremy want to know what happened and that we can stay as long as we want. I wrapped my hair in a towel that was neatly sitting on the bed. I grabbed a controller that was set on the drawer and played with Skylar. It was probably the first time I had ever played a video game in so long. After what seemed like hours of playing video games, someone knocked on the door. We paused the game and opened the door. Pattie, Jeremy, and Justin walked into the room with hot chocolate for us. They gave us the hot chocolate and remained standing. There was a moment of awkward silence. Pattie was the first to speak up.

"What happened with you guys?" Pattie asked. I explained what had happened at home. I held Skylar's hand as she began to cry. Justin sat next to me and held my hand as I finished up the story. Pattie and Jeremy comforted us as we cried. I couldn't help but cry; my life is a mess.

"What's happening now at your house?" Justin asked.

"I don't know. Maybe Mom got…or Mom found a way to escape," I answered. I didn't want to scare Skylar anymore than she is already.

"You can stay in Justin's room for now. Justin you can sleep on the floor of your room so that they can share a bed," Pattie said. Jeremy nodded in silence. They both got up and left.

"I'm going to bed," I said and I laid down on Justin's bed. Skylar crawled into my bed and yawned.

"Good night," Skylar said. Justin sat on the edge of the bed and said good night. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and left the room.