Chapter Six-Behind Closed Doors

"H-How can you be here?" Icy whispered as she continued to back away from him and into Squid's gentle yet firm grasp. "You should be…you should be…"

"I got out," he responded simply. "I wanted to see my little angle again." He reached out and lightly touched her cheek as she tensed. "I'm a changed man, Mackenzie. Now come on, I'm taking you home."

"Do G—Matt and Max know you're taking me home? I need to make sure they have a ride back," Icy responded.

"Heh heh, you don't understand. I'm not taking you back to where ever you're staying, I'm taking you back to my apartment ot live with me." He paused when he saw the look of horror on her face. "Don't worry; you can still come to this school."

"No dad! I'm not going with you!"

A smirk came across his face as he looked over at Squid and Zigzag who were tense but never said anything. He laughed before asking, "Who're these two?"

"My boyfriend Squid and my best friend Zigzag," Icy responded as Squid tightened his grip on her arms.

"You've been touching my daughter?" Mr. Montgomery demanded as he glared down at Squid.

"Get outta my face!" Squid snapped.

"We're leaving," Mr. Montgomery said firmly as he turned towards the door.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Icy growled.

"You're not staying with your siblings!"

"Then I'll stay with Squid and Zigzag."

"Like hell you will! You're coming with me, and that's final!"

"Is there a problem here, Malcolm?" Principle Johnson asked as she opened the door to the office.

"No m'am, we're just leaving," Malcolm Montgomery responded in a fake cheerful voice as he grabbed Icy by her upper arm and pulled her out of Squid's grasp. He dragged her out of the office and slammed the door shut behind them.

"We have to do something, Zig. I know he's going to hurt her…or worse," Squid said as she turned towards Zigzag.

"We don't have any proof. It's not like we can just go to the police…besides, I don't want the Warden to find me. She could be residing there."

Squid rolled his eyes but turned his attention back towards the door as Leon and Lena rushed into the room and began to talk to them at the same time.

---

Glare sighed as he opened the door to the house and stepped inside. He closed it behind him and dropped his backpack on the ground by the front door as he made his way into the den where Shorty was sitting in front of the tv.

"How was your first day?" He asked as she kissed the top of her head and sat down on the couch.

"Really cool. I like the school a lot and the other kids were nice to me, although some of them knew I was sent to a correctional facility. How was your first day?" She questioned without taking her eyes off of the screen.

"Interesting. I met a lot of new people. The guys are nice, but the girls won't leave me alone." He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"They like you, duh. It's not that hard to figure out." She turned around and grinned at him before adding seriously. "I heard Icy and Squidly got in a fight. Are things ok between them?"

"Hard to tell. One minute they seem to hate each other, the next they're hugging. I think it's an on and off relationship numerous times in an hour.' Glare laughed as Shorty smiled. "Have you seen Icy, by any chance?"

"Not since this morning," Shorty said as she shook her head. "I'm pretty sure she's out with Zigzag or Squid or both though. She'll be fine."

"All right. I'm going to do my homework. Call me once you're hungry, ok?"

"Ok."

But Glare couldn't concentrate on his homework. Worry for his sister took him over as he looked out the window constantly to see if he sister made it home. When darkness fell and his sister still wasn't back, worry quickly set in. He picked up his phone and pressed 2 on his speed dial. He drummed his fingers on his desk as he waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" Zigzag's voice floated out.

"He Zig, it's Glare. It's Icy with you, she hasn't come home yet."

"Well...she's with your dad. I thought you knew that."

"With dad? How can she be with dad, he shouldn't be here."

"He picked her up from the principle's office and took her to his apartment. I seriously thought you knew, Glare. I'm sorry, I should've called you before."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Zig. It's all right. I'll see you later."

"All right, man. Later."

Glare hung up the phone as he clenched his teeth, Sure, he's been mad before, but now he was furious! His father shouldn't have gotten her, for one thing he shouldn't even be out of jail! But not telling him that he took her with him was crossing the line! He cursed loudly, wich he only did when he was really mad, and slammed his fist down on his desk.

"Glare? What's wrong?" Shorty asked as she ran into his room.

"That bastard of a father has Icy!" He growled as he pushed past her and went out the door.

"What!? He should be in jail! How'd he get out?" Shorty asked as she followed him down the stairs.

"How should I know? But what I do know is that I'm going to get her back and I'm going to leave dad in pieces!"

"I'll come with you," Shorty said as she reached for her shoes.

"No! You stay here, eat your dinner, and get to bed!" Glare practically yelled at her as she stopped in her tracks. She bit her lower lip as tears came to her eyes. She's never cried in a long time, not when the worst thing that could happen to her has happened to her. Glare had never yelled at her like that and she knew he must be furious.

'I never knew Glare could be so mean when he's mad. I hope he doesn't kill daddy. Although, he does deserve it. I hope Icy's ok and dad won't hurt her or touch her or anything. I need her back, she's the one that helps me keep going when things are going wrong. Daddy, please don't hurt her. Glare, please don't hurt daddy. Just bring Icy home safely."

Glare pulled out his cell phone and started to call the apartments in the city. He knew it would take a while until he found the right one, but he would keep going until he found her. After numerous calls he finally found the right apartment. He quickly ran to a bus stop and got on the bus that was getting ready to leave. The anger that surged through him kept him from getting out of breath from all of his running.

After taking two buses he finally made it to the apartment, panting heavily. He quickly walked inside and asked the person at the front desk which room his father was in. Once he found out he charged up the stairs until he found the right room.

"Dad? You open this door right now or I will break it down!" Glare yelled as he pounded on the door. He paused to hear Icy's cries of pain along with Malcolm's muffled shouts and things falling to the floor. "OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR!" Growling, Glare backed up and slammed his foot against the door, making it fly open on its hinges. He glared when he looked across the room and saw that Malcolm had Icy in his grip by her hair and was slamming her head against the wall, ignoring her cries of pain. He grabbed his father by the back of his shirt and pulled him off of his sister. He slammed Malcolm into the wall and began to punch him in the face.

Malcolm kneed Glare and he let his father go as he clutched his stomach. Malcolm punched him in the face, knocking him over. Malcolm began to kick Glare as he curled up in a ball, holding his arms in front of his face to protect himself. Malcolm then grabbed Glare and slammed him into the wall before he sunk to his knees, pain pulsating throughout his body.

"You should've just stayed away!" Malcolm hissed as he slammed Glare's head back into the wall. Glare cried out in pain, but he ignored it as he slammed his son's head into the wall again.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Icy yelled as she jumped onto Malcolm's back and began to punch him in the face. He threw Icy off him easily and gave her a sharp kick to the stomach. She coughed hard as she tried to get to her feet. He kicked her again as he forgot about Glare for a moment and began to hurt her again. He grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it against her cheek. She cried out in pain as blood started to drip down her cheeks. Malcolm then grabbed her by the throat and easily lifted her into the air as she tried to make him let go of his grip. She thrashed and kicked as she raised her hands to his hand but he squeezed tighter.

"You look like her…you killed her…you deserve to die!" He shouted as he continued to squeeze her throat. Icy made a chocking sound as she still tried to pry his hands off of her throat. Glare, in pain, slowly reached out towards the broken beer bottle and held it by the neck. He raised it and slammed it down on Malcolm's back. He screamed in pain, whirled around, and backhanded Glare. He hit the wall with so much force he fell unconscious. Malcolm dropped Icy who was on the ground coughing and trying to get air into her lungs. "Clean up this mess," was all he said as he closed the front door and retreated to his room.

Ignoring the pain, icy crawled over to her twin and pulled his head into her lap as she absentmindedly stroked his dark hair softly. She wiped the blood off of his face with her sleeve and gently rocked him, ignoring the blood that fell down her cheeks.

"Everything will be all right," she muttered. "We'll get away from him soon enough. I promise, we will get away and we'll be safe."

When she got her strength back, Icy helped Glare stand and, together, they slowly made their way back to their place. Once they entered their house they collapsed on the couch and went to sleep. Shorty woke up the next morning and saw the state they were in. She decided that they weren't going to school and she would stay to take care of them.

"I just have this bad feeling, Ziggy," Squid said that day as he pulled his books out of his locker. "Something happened to them, I just know it."

"We can swing by their place after school is over if you're that worried," Zigzag reassured him.

The day went by too slowly for Squid as he waited to go check on his friends. He stopped by the lower school to pick up his sister. Some of the little kids stared up at them, amazed at how tall they were. When they reached Ally's classroom, she and Maggie ran out and hugged their brothers.

"Hey Al, how're you doing?" Squid asked once he put her down.

"I'm good, but worried. Max wasn't here today. She loves school," Ally responded as she looked up at him.

"Don't worry, we're going to go check on them right now," Squid reassured her as he ruffled her hair. She smiled up at him as she took his hand and gave it a small squeeze "They're fine, I'm sure of it. Zigzag, maybe we should call your parents first to tell them where we'll be."

"Why would you do that?" A voice asked. Squid visibly tensed as Ally whimpered and moved closer to Squid who held her tight. He could feel her shaking against her side as Alexis, his mother, and a man, whom he guessed was Duke, walked over to them. "We're taking you home, honey," Alexis said with a smile that was directed towards Squid.

"You should be in rehab!" Squid said as he held Ally tighter and pulled her closer to him.

"I'm cured. Duke came to take me out to dinner to celebrate. He wants you two to come with us too. It can be a family get-together. I really missed my baby," Alexis said as she moved towards him but he backed away.

"How's my little girl?" Duke asked as he knelt down by Ally's side and held out his arms towards her.

"Alan, don't let him touch me," Ally cried as she tried to hide behind him.

"Maggie, go and get your stuff, all right?" Zigzag asked her quietly.

"But what's going on?" She asked innocently.

"Just go."

"All right."

Zigzag stood at his full height and looked down at Duke and Alexis. He cleared his throat and said, "Not to be rude, m'am, but I don't think that they want to go with you. They're doing fine staying with me and my family and–"

"I don't see you having custody rights over them!" Duke said as he glanced over at Zigzag. "C'mon kids, we're leaving."

"I'll call you once I get home," Squid said with a sigh.

"Stay safe," Zigzag murmured as he glared over at Duke. Squid nodded and slowly followed his mother and Duke out of the school. Ally hesitated but followed him anyway, shaking slightly. Zigzag sighed.

'I have to do something to help my friends, but there really isn't much I can do. Just please stay safe until I can help you.'