Chapter Twelve

Natalie held little Susie close to her cheek, her eyes shut tight. She could hear her own ragged breathing and the occasional sob that would escape from her lips despite trying her best not to make a single sound. She didn't know what was happening; all she remembered was seeing her father in the living room. The next moment, Noah instructed her to go to her room and lock the door and that if she heard any loud noises she would hide inside her closet and wait for the loud noises to stop. Almost instantly, she heard the both of them shouting at each other. She dropped her bag on the floor of her bedroom, grabbed little Susie and raced into the closet, locking herself in while she cried. The loud noises were over now, and Natalie wanted nothing more than to crawl out of the closet and into Noah's arms.

Taking in a deep breath, Natalie unlocked the door as silently as she could and gently pushed the door open. She took a peek, checking to see if it was okay for her to come out. Seeing that nothing was out of place in her room, she told little Susie 'be brave', tightened her hold on the doll before she emerged from the closet. She walked gingerly towards the door, now clutching little Susie to her chest, just like how Noah would hold her to his chest. Her little eyes widened in shock when she saw the mess her living room was in. The tables and chairs were all overturned, their television screen broken with their lamp hanging out from it. One of their curtains were torn all the way down from the middle and Natalie could see that there were spots of blood on the shards of glass lying on the floor.

She spotted Noah leaning against the doorway, his head bowed. Worried for his safety even though she was scared out of her wits, Natalie took a step out of her room, calling his name.

Noah turned around the instant he heard her calling his name. He'd almost forgotten about Natalie in his relief that he'd managed to overpower his father and throw him out of the house. He had a cut above his brow, one across his left cheekbone and another on his lower lip. He'd forgotten that he was still bleeding and that his shirt was covered in his father's blood, that he started towards Natalie. He stopped when he noticed that she was staring at his shirt, his cuts and crying.

"Ah, hell," Noah murmured. He knelt down and opened his hands. "Come here Darling dear, I'm not going to hurt you and neither is he."

Almost instantly, Natalie ran towards him, right into his arms. He swallowed a groan as she barreled straight into his chest, bawling her eyes out, right when his father had punched him repeatedly. He closed his arms around her, stroking her hair, telling her repeatedly that it was okay now that everything was over. Suddenly, Natalie pushed away from him and looked at his face, her little hands reaching up towards the cut above his eyebrow. He caught her even before she could touch the wound.

"Don't, honey, you're going to infect my wound and kill me," Noah said, forcing a grin to lighten the atmosphere. But it worked against him. Instead of making Natalie laugh, she burst out in tears.

"No! Don't die Noah! I won't touch, I won't kill you. Don't die, Noah!" Natalie bawled, burying her face in the crook of his neck this time, repeating herself over and over again.

Noah's arms closed around her little body, slightly aware that she was shaking in fear. "Hush, honey, hush. I'm not going to die and I won't leave you. I was just joking about dying."

"Prwomise me, Noah. Prwomise me you won't die and leave me!" Natalie demanded as she lifted her face to look at her brother.

"I promise," Noah said, kissing her on her forehead. He couldn't help but chuckle when she lifted little Susie from between them for him to kiss her forehead as well.

It'd taken him a while more to calm Natalie down, enough for him to carry her to her room, where there was no broken glass she could cut herself from. He set her down on her bed and left her to take her bath while he went out to clean the mess up. He swept the debris left of his struggle with his father and discarded them in the bin outside. He set the tables and chairs up right again, before he went into his room to clean himself. He was out of his blood stained clothes even before he was in the shower. He turned the water on full blast and turned his face to the water, forgetting about the cuts on his face. He winced from the pain, but continued anyway, needing the water to wash away the fear that he felt when he saw his father sitting in the living room, waiting for them to return. He knew he could very well have lost to his father and Natalie would be in trouble. He'd thought that meeting that man at Natalie's preschool was enough to make his day bad, but seeing his father at home just made things even worse.

He stepped out of the shower and dried himself, pulling on a black drawstring pants. He turned the lights in the bathroom off and was in the midst of drying his hair when he heard padded footsteps heading towards his room. He looked up to see Natalie dressed in her favourite nightclothes, clutching little Susie to her chest, with a thumb in her mouth. He draped the towel on the chair by the window and walked towards her. He knelt down in front of her, pretending to sniff her.

"Someone's smelling good," he said. "Did Susie get a bath as well?"

Natalie nodded and returned his favour, pretending to sniff him as well. "You smell good too Noah."

"Thank you," Noah replied. He picked her up in his arms, intending to carry her back to her room. "Now, which story would you like to hear tonight?"

"Noah, can little Susie and I sleep with you tonight?" Natalie asked, looking unsurely at her brother.

Noah looked at his sister. He could still see the look of fear lingering in her eyes. Damn his father for the fright he gave Natalie! Smiling down at her, he ruffled her hair. "Of course you can. We'll all sleep together tonight, won't we little Susie?"

He carried Natalie back to his room and with one hand, he threw back the covers and gently laid her down on his bed. Immediately, she turned to her side and curled into a ball, still holding her doll close to her. Noah closed the door and turned the lights off before slipping into bed next to Natalie. Almost instantly, Natalie scooted closer into Noah's embrace. He pulled the covers over the both of them, and held her tight, humming a song that his mother used to sing to him when he couldn't sleep. Minutes later, he felt Natalie's tensed body relax and her breathing steady. Only then did he allow himself to relax and closed his eyes.