Chapter 7
Mikaela was at the stove making pasta for dinner. She had just opened the spaghetti box to put into the boiling water when the door slammed open. Dave Banes walked through the door and stomped up to Mikaela. Without saying a word he took the pot of boiling water and threw it onto his daughter. He laughed and laughed as Mikaela fell to the floor and screamed in pain. Dave kicked his daughter and walked away. Mikaela cried out to anyone for help but no one was there. She was alone and blacked out.
Mikaela shot up in bed, breathing hard, trying to come back to reality.
"It was just a dream." She thought. She checked her skin just to be sure and it was still the same skin despite all of the bruising. Catching her breath, Mikaela took a look at the clock which read two o'clock in the afternoon. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, still feeling the effects of the dream. Finally getting her bearings and looking around, she remembered her adventurous night of walking in the rain and being taken care of by Sam. She finally willed herself to climb out of bed and after a quick stop at the bathroom, Mikaela walked down the stairs to find Sam.
She looked all over the bottom floor of the house before giving up and turning on the TV. There wasn't a whole lot on at the moment so she settled on MTV's Top 20 Countdown. She had been watching for almost half an hour when she heard the deck sliding door open and Sam walked into the kitchen. Mikaela stood up.
"Hey stranger, I've been looking all over for you." She told him. Sam was startled for a second but quickly knew it was her and he walked over to her. He hugged her tightly and kissed her as his good morning (or afternoon) greeting.
"Did you sleep okay?" he asked her. She nodded.
"Of course I did. I was next to you." She smiled. Sam rolled his eyes.
"Come on Kaela. How cheesy can you get?" Mikaela laughed and punched him on the arm playfully.
"You're ridiculous. Do you know that?" She teased him. Sam laughed and hugged her again. He picked her up in his hug and fell onto the couch with her. They fell laughing hard and they couldn't stop for a good five minutes. Finally Sam got his act together and stood up helping Mikaela off of the couch also.
"Are you hungry at all? I could cook you something. I'm quite the chef." Sam announced proudly.
"Well in that case, I'm starving." Mikaela said. "What's your specialty Chef?" She asked jokingly.
"Well I can heat up pancakes and bacon my mom made earlier." Sam said.
"That sounds delicious." She giggled. She sat down at the kitchen table and watched Sam pull the pancakes out of the refrigerator and put them in the microwave. Soon after he put the steaming plate in front of her and Mikaela dug in. She finished the huge plate of pancakes in less than ten minutes. She sighed and leaned back in her seat finally feeling full after days of inadequate meals. Sam stared at her for a second.
"Um….wow. You must have been hungry Mikaela. Are you full now?" He asked her.
"Yeah. They were so good." She said. They both laughed. The laughter died down and an awkward silence soon followed. Sam broke it first.
"Hey Mikaela can I ask you a question?" He asked. She nodded feeling a little nervous all of a sudden. Did Sam know about her home situation? Did he hate her for not telling him about it?
"Can you tell me what exactly what happened between you and your father last night? I mean I know you said you mouthed off to him and honestly I can't say I don't believe that, but I just feel like there's something you aren't telling me." Sam said. Mikaela hesitated for a second. Should she tell him the truth now? Is this really the time to do it? After a few seconds Mikaela finally answered.
"Well, my dad and I have been fighting for a few days now. So I came home yesterday and he asked me to have dinner ready for him when he came home from work. So I forgot and he came home and he was mad that I didn't have any food ready for him and he yelled at me. I yelled back and he threw me out." She took a deep breath before continuing. "He told me not to come back." She finished.
"Oh Mikaela. Come here." Sam said. Mikaela stood up and walked around the table to Sam and sat down on his lap. She put her head on his shoulder and a few tears slipped down her face. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you Kaela. I can't believe he kicked you out just for yelling at him. You can stay with us as long as you like. So don't worry about anything okay? You're safe here." Those were the exact words Mikaela needed to hear from him. That she was safe and her father couldn't touch her here. Not with Sam and his family around. She finally felt like she was in a place where she belonged.
