Chapter Five (Shattered)

It's a little short, but it's here. Enjoy!

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"I can't believe I let her just walk out," Dan muttered as he sank at the table. "You should have seen her, Karen. She was so wasted. And she had a gun, to boot. I think that's why I didn't charge after her—I know what she can do when she's drunk. I can't believe Nathan just walked off with her! As soon as we get that kid back, we're getting a GPS tracking device for him, and he's not taking it off."

Karen exhaled slowly, counting to ten while she formulated her response. "Dan, I think Nathan's very attached to his mother. You read his file. He's stopped a lot of her beatings in the past, and she always got out the first aid kit whenever he was injured. The second day he was here, he had a screaming fit that he wanted to live at his mother's—or did you forget that?"

Flashback

"I'm not living with you," Nathan yelled, his face flushed red. "I want to live with my mother. And I want to see her right now."

"We can't do that, Nathan. She can't have your custody until she completes a drug rehab program." Karen knew it was pointless to try and reason with Nathan when he was so upset—she'd tried it with Lucas many times and it never worked.

"I hate you," Nathan spat, grabbing the nearest thing on the counter and throwing it at her. "I'm not living here. I'm running away and moving to Florida!" With that, Nathan stormed to his room.

"I know," Dan replied with a sigh. "I think the FBI are here," he replied as he heard the knock on the door.

"The FBI knock?" Karen asked, getting up and following him.

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Nathan slowly got out to the car, his face still reeling from where Deb had hit him. All he'd asked was where they were going, and she'd slapped him—something she had promised never to do.

"I'm sorry, Nathan, I'm sorry," Deb reassured him as she cleaned his knee. "I will never, ever be like Keith."

"Mom?" he asked softly. "Have you decided yet?"

"Yes," she replied. "We're going to your grandparent's."

"Last time I was there, Grandpa practically drowned me. Or do you not remember that?" Nathan spat, then bit his tongue.

Flashback

"I can't breathe, Grandpa," Nathan protested as he spat out the water in his mouth. "Pl-lease don't, I can't breathe—"

"Shut up, Nathan," Royal replied as he forced Nathan's head back under the water. "Any grandson of mine needs to have lungs of steel!"

"I stopped them, didn't I?" Deb snapped angrily. "Shut up." She picked up the book that was laying on the dash. "Here. Starting from now on, you're home schooled. Do your schoolwork."

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"How are you holding up?" Haley asked as she sat next to Lucas outside the café. "I heard. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Lucas replied automatically. "Sorry. I just get used to saying that with Nathan. He flips out every time he thinks he did something wrong."

"So how are you holding up? You didn't answer that," Haley teased softly.

"I don't know," he replied halfheartedly. "I mean, it's so surreal. He just walked out and left. And Dad did nothing to stop Deb. I mean, we should have—I don't know, overpowered her or something!"

"It's not your fault, Lucas," Haley reassured him. She leaned back against the wall. "I heard that the FBI stopped by?"

"They're looking into it. I guess Deb's wanted for some drug stuff—big-time. Hey, Brooke."

"Hey, Lucas," she said, sitting down. "How are you feeling?"

"Long day," Lucas admitted. Then he frowned. "Long week," he added.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Just came over to say the FBI needs to talk to you. Hey, did you hear that Dan and Karen are considering getting a GPS tracking device for you? That means no more midnight trips to my house," she said with a pout.

"No, they're considering getting a tracking device for Nathan." Lucas grinned and kissed her on the lips. "And I would never miss our little midnight trips," he said laughingly.

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