Adam's POV
My mom sighed and sat down next to me.
"Travis. Brad. Please go."
She picked up a few shards of glass, and watched my brothers leave before turning to face me.
"This is getting out of hand."
I expected her to blame me. I didn't dare speak though.
"Adam, why do you let it go on?"
"It's not so bad, once you get used to it."
"You never said anything." There were tears in her eyes.
"I thought I was obvious."
She sighed again, and leaned against the wall.
"Your own brothers…"
"Yeah, well."
The phone rang, and my mother picked it up.
"Hello?"
Muffled voices and noise…
She looked at me.
"Yes, just a minute."
She handed me the phone and helped me to my feet. She mouthed the words 'Go and clean those cuts. I'll take care of this.'
I raised the phone to me ear.
"Hello?"
"Adam!"
"Charlie!"
I walked to my room, as my mom had instructed.
"Yeah…" He trailed.
"Something wrong?" I scowled into the mirror.
"Nah - Just the usual." I heard the screaming in the background come to an abrupt stop.
"It's gonna end soon enough." He continued. "I'm turning him in."
I pressed a damn washcloth to my cheek.
"That's great, Charlie!"
"You should turn your dad in too." I swallowed. The thought had crossed my mind more than once.
"I can't. You know what he would do? What Travis would do?"
"Tell them everything!"
"You know better."
"Adam, have some faith!"
"I don't have time for that."
"It's the only way!"
"You're crazy!" I nearly shouted at him.
There was a pause as I yelped while tugging a rather large piece of glass from a cut on my shoulder.
"Adam?"
"What?" It came out more hostile that intended.
"It can't get any worse."
"Sure it could! You don't know what they're capable of!"
"Why can't you just trust the authority?"
"How can you?" I was beyond trying…The authorities wouldn't help. It would be a scandal…it would ruin everything.
"What have they done to wrong you?" He seemed as distressed as I felt.
"I can't talk anymore tonight. I think I'm going to miss practice." I concluded that the cuts would need stitches.
He muttered a curse word that made even me blush, and I thought I'd heard them all.
"Bye…"
"Adam! Wait!"
"What? Make it quick."
"We can't live like this anymore. If you don't turn him in, I will!"
I stopped mid-motion. Had I heard him right?
"No! You can't!"
"Why are you defending him, Adam? This is for the best!"
It was my turn to mutter one of those unrepeatable words.
"It's good to hear your voice again…" His comment threw me off. It had been spoken with emotion…and what seemed like affection.
Aw, who was I kidding? It was probably a "brotherly" thing. I sighed and tried to think of something to say, but his voice interrupted my thoughts.
"I'm sorry. Geez, I'm getting all sappy over here." I could hear the tears in his voice.
"Don't be. I'm glad you called, but I have to go. I don't want these cuts to bleed anymore."
"Bye Adam." He inhaled, and I knew that if he ever got his hands on my family, he would cause hideous damage.
"Bye…" I hung up.
I washed the cuts with peroxide, cringing every now and then. When I was done, I went down stairs. My mom had just finished cleaning up.
"I think these need stitches." I motioned to the cuts across my front.
She nodded after looking at me. Another reason I got along so well was that my mom was a nurse.
She got to work on the cuts. She went about it gently. The question about her change of heart came up again. I dismissed it quickly. No time.
When she was done, she wrapped them. I looked at the clock. Practice was half over. She seemed to read my mind, and put her hand on my unblemished shoulder.
"Hungry?"
I nodded warily. Aha! She was going to poison me!
She smiled and went into the kitchen. I heard a creaking noise and turned to see my father stumble down the stairs. I shrunk into the corner of the room.
He was oblivious. Rip-roaring drunk. I had never seen him so soaked.
I shrank still further into the corner. Sometimes he wouldn't notice me when he was really drunk. This time, however, he did.