My dad eyed me, and he threw the bottle down.
"I can see you've been whore'n around, Audie. That nasty ass nappy hair like your mother's. You look like a slut just like her." he snarled.
I stared at him, his words slowly processing while my heart thumped so hard against my chest, it was painful.
"Mom was NOT a slut!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. My father made his way closer and closer to me, his glazed, anger filled, eyes reminding me that of a pissed of bull being flashed a red cape from a conquistador.
He looked for something to throw at me, but nothing was near since he broke our last lamp. I guess he'd have to deal with his fists. I started to back up to run away, but he grabbed me by the hair, and yanked with incredible might. I knew I'd be in great pain tomorrow; if only someone could save me.
As if on cue, Asher slammed open the door, eyes wild with anger. Not. This wasn't a fairytale where such a thing could have happened. I was left unprotected, no one to save me.
(So to be clear, Asher did not come. To cliche for my liking.)
Pain shot through my face, I wasn't sure where he specifically hit, because it really did just hurt all over. I wished so badly I could black out, so he could do whatever he wanted to my body, and I could jjust deal with the pain later. But I didn't. I stayed fully aware of my surroundings and situation.
I heaved myself up, and stumbled to the door. I made my way down the stairs carefully but quickly, nearly falling to the cement from the pain in my right knee. Looking at my watch, it read 3:24. It gave me just enough time to reach the school to get Asher.
I limped to the school, my arms folded over each other. My breathing became uneven, and tears filled my eyes as I walked. Might as well get it out before I'm in front of anyone. I wiped my tears with my palm, but they kept coming back. I couldn't stop.
"What's the matter?" an urgent sounding voice interrupted my alone time. I sniffed my nose, and wiped my eyes one last time before I looked up. When I did, my eyes met with familiar and beautiful brown eyes of Embry, who stood by the wooded area. What was he doing out of school. Him being here... just made me even more frustrated.
"Wh-what happened?" he snapped, as he approached me. His hand came near my face, and I flinched away quickly, instinct telling me he would cause me more harm like my father had.
"Your lip is busted, your face is all swollen... I bet you're eye'll bruise with time..." he said, truly sounding concerned.
I began to walk again, but he grabbed my arm.
"Ouch..." I whispered, flinching slightly; he instantly let go.
"Tell me who did this to you." he snarled now, sounding like a freaking wild animal.
"Not who, what. I fell down the stairs in my home..." my voice had trailed off.
"Well I could take you home Aud-"
"No. I'm not going home." I interrupted quickly.
"Or my home, I live nearby." he offered.
I simply shook my head, and calmly explained I needed to get Asher from school. I started to head for the school once more, struggling to shake Embry off my leg.(not literally!)
He walked me all the way there, and we arrived just as the school bell rang. It was silent and awkward, which I felt more comfortable with than a conversation with this douchebag.
"Why do you keep bothering me?" I finally asked bluntly, not really in the mood to be polite.
"I want you to forgive me," he simply said.
It got quiet again as I thought about that. He was probably just going to twist this into another sick joke of his, I knew it. The only guy I could forgive if he hurt me, and trust with my heart, was Asher.
Asher approached me, giving Embry a warning looked. Embry squinted at him, and seemed to measure Asher up with his eyes, I suppose. I gently limped to my brother, and gave him a small hug. I looked upwards, he was finally... taller than me? When did this happen.
"Um, Asher, I fell down the stairs, at home." Asher looked from Embry, to me. His eyes widened when he saw my puffy and still-sore face. "A-audie you look terrible!" he gasped, as his hands gently vibrated. I wasn't exactly sure what to make of that, but I ignored it for now.
"Yeah, can we, um," I paused and looked back at Embry, who looked distracted, "can we stay at somone else's house tonight?" I whispered in a low voice. Asher looked down at me seriously, his mouth pressed into a fine, hard, line. He nodded slowly.
"But where?" he asked.
"You can stay at my place!" Embry offered nicely. Ignoring him, I continued my conversation with Asher.
"We'll just stay with Jace tonight, Asher. I'm not going back home."
Then it was set, we called Jace, and she accepted happily to have her friend over, and Asher finally tricked Embry into leaving us alone.
Tonight would be better, but I wasn't sure about tomorrow, as I began to think about skipping school.
