A/N: Hi everyone ! I hope this update came a little faster than expected ! (Compared to my others at least...) So, I'm writing this mostly as a reply to one of my reviews for chapter 3. (Thanks to all my reviewers btw: Dreamcatcher94, MOR21, wolfie96, MythicalWords, DreamingInATeacup &my two anonymous'!) One of the anonymous reviewers asked if I have an imprint for Collin yet, and I don't (for this story at least). And it would be awesome if you let me portray you as his imprint ! That's it from me, enjoy & don't forget to review !
SPOV
Brent was furious with me. I could tell by the way his eyes flashed when they met mine.
We stared at each other for a few seconds, me outside and Brent inside. After the long and disturbing stare down, he let me in. I heard the door shut behind me with an ominous click. I gulped.
"Where have you been," Brent's voice was controlled. Trying not to yell at me probably.
I bit my lip, scanning the hallway in front of me. I couldn't see the kitchen, but I knew mum wouldn't be home.
"At school," I answered finally, turning to look at my brother. He glowered at me.
I hung up my jacket, but kept my shoes on. You never know when I might need to make a hasty escape.
"I know that," Brent hissed. "The school called, to ask if you had gotten home alright," I winced. I hadn't been anticipating that...
"Oh, well I was feeling sick after lunch," I walked away as my voice trailed off, towards the kitchen and the smell of chicken soup.
I found a note on the fridge: Went grocery shopping, made you some soup. Feel better! Love Mommy.
I smiled.
"So you went home after lunch?" Brent inquired. I nodded, not looking at him. I opened the fridge, determined not to let Brent get to me.
"Who brought you home?" I froze, my hand wrapped tightly around a can of lemonade.
"Hm," I took the can out and steered myself towards the island.
"Who brought you home," Brent repeated slowly.
I opened the can. "A friend,"
"Skylar," I sipped at the can before answering.
"Brady," I glanced up at Brent face, to see his reaction.
He seemed shocked for a second, and then the tips of his ears turned red. Soon the colour spread to his entire face. By the time he spoke again, his face had turned a strange shade of purple.
"You got a ride home from a guy?" I nodded, backing away. "It's not an hour drive form school Sky, what were you doing," I knew that Brent was thinking in the completely wrong direction, but at the same time, I didn't want to tell him the truth. Seeing Brent so mad at me made the backs of my eyes tingle. And if I told him, it would only get worse...
"We went to the beach. Don't be mad Brent, please," His eyes narrowed at me.
"Do you not understand how hard I've been trying to protect you from jerks like Brady Campbell," I didn't answer, but the way Brent said Brady's name made the threatening tears begin to fall. "I try so flipping hard to make up for all those years that I didn't know," Brent's sentence ended with a growl, and his whole body seemed to be shaking with anger. I had seen this happen before though. The day I had told him, the day my brother promised to protect me.
~CS*SRM~
Jessie and I walked down the familiar street. I could almost hear the ocean from here.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay," Jessie asked again. I nodded.
"Don't worry Jess, I'll be fine, now get home. You've got a date to prepare for, remember?" Jessie's eyes lit up and I knew I had distracted her.
"Yeah, well see you tomorrow SkySky," I waved and continued down the street.
As the house of my childhood cam into view, I couldn't help but to slow down. I walked to the front steps slowly.
The door flew open before I could try and sneak in and the strong scent of durry hit me.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I glanced up, hardening my facial features.
"Tripped," I muttered, pushing past him. He grabbed my arm and slammed the door. I strained my neck to take one last glimpse at the outside world. I wouldn't be seeing that again until the next morning.
"You knew," I looked at the floor as my fantasy of outside was ripped from me.
"Knew what," He dropped my arm, probably creating another bruise as it crashed into a nearby table.
"You knew they were fucking coming!" I winced at the force in his voice.
"Who,"
"Your mother and that lame excuse for a son,"
My eyes narrowed.
"Don't talk about him like that,"
"Shut up! They're coming today and you knew it," he grabbed my chin, jerking me to face him. I gave him the coldest stare I could muster.
He pushed me to the floor and began pacing in front of me. I moved my ankle in time to save it from being crushed, again.
"What am I supposed do if she sees you like this, they'll take you away for sure," For a second my father had actually sounded like he cared.
"Good," the second the word was out of my mouth, I wished I could take it back.
His fist came down on me in a blur.
"Go clean yourself," he muttered before sitting in his bloody chair and pulling out another bloody durry like the bloody bloke he was.
I pulled myself off the floor slowly. Limping on my bad ankle, the stupid thing had decided to make itself noticed again.
Using all four locks, I locked myself in my room and let the tears fall. I made sure to keep quiet though, crying made everything worse.
I shoved my bag between the mattresses and pulled out the first aid kit Jessie had gotten me. One looked in the mirror told me I had gotten another black eye. Sighing I pulled out a cold compress and pressed it to my eye. It hurt, but the purpleness would fade faster.
There was blood flowing from my nose, I hadn't noticed before.
Putting the cold compress down, I switched it for a towel. Pressing that to my noses, I went to my dresser. I had to change. Mum and Bret would be here soon. I had to smile a little at that; this would be my chance to get out of here,
By the time I was done changing, the blood had stopped and my eye had stopped throbbing.
"Hurry up!" I ran out of the room and found my father in the front room wiping at the table.
"It might help if you used a clean towel," I muttered, walking towards him.
"Whatever," he threw the towel at me and pulled out a cigar. I stared in shock as he lit it and put it to his lips.
Father never smoked cigars, especially imported ones. Special occasions only, he said.
He caught me staring and glared.
"What," I shook my head and went to go look for a clean towel. Just as I found one, there was a like knock on the door.
"Bloody 'ell," I smiled. I heard him get up and walk slowly to the front door.
"Karen! Looking more beautiful everyday," I heard two sets of footsteps enter the house. "Brent, wow, look who's growing into a young man,"
"Where's Skylar," Brent. Brent was actually here. He would get me out of this place.
"In the kitchen," Father's voice had lost all cheeriness. "Skylar! Come say hello to your family," I closed the cupboard slowly, and literally ran into the front room.
"Skylar!" I jumped into mum's outstretched arms; no one had hugged me in a long time. "When did you get so old?" I grinned at her, not saying a word.
"What about me," I smiled at my older brother. I hugged him too.
"How's Diner?" I smiled wider. This was our code for whenever Brent wanted to speak to me. I gestured toward my room. Father didn't stop me, so I took that as permission to lead Brent to my room.
Once the door was closed, Brent's eyes narrowed at me.
"What happened to your eye?" I looked away.
"N-Nothing, just playing dodge ball in gym,"
"I'm not stupid Skylar, what happened," I continued to look away.
"Dodge ball," I muttered, getting on my knees so I was eye level with my pet lizard.
"Are you being bullied at school?" Brent suddenly questioned, causing me to wince as I gently lifted my lizard out of the glass cage.
I shook my head at my brother.
"No," I handed Diner to Brent. He took my pet gently, stroking him. "Not at school," I added quietly. Brent looked up at me, momentarily forgetting about the lizard in his arms.
"What," I shook my head again, suddenly chickening out. Yes, I wanted to leave this house and hopefully never return, but I couldn't pull Brent into this...
"Nothing," I replied with a sigh.
"Skylar," Brent put Diner back in the cage. "What's going on here," Brent lowered his voice so only I could hear him.
"Nothing," I repeated, glanced at the door. We'd been alone for too long, father would come to check in soon enough.
"It can't be nothing Skylar," Brent said through clenched teeth. "Look at you. You're bruised from head to toe, and I saw you glance at the door. What's he doing to you," I looked away, biting my lip.
When I looked back again, Brent was shaking violently, his eyes flashing.
"Brent..." I backed away towards Diner's cage. Brent began taking shaky breaths from between his teeth, growling with every exhale.
"I swear...to God...If he's... Hurting you..." His nostrils flared, which would have been funny, if he wasn't so angry.
"Brent," I whimpered again just as the door flew open. Father stood in the doorway, looking about ready to explode.
His expression changed though, when he saw Brent. In fact, father backed away, and visibly paled.
"Brent," Mum stood behind father, staring at Brent with a concerned expression. "Calm down sweetie, it's not worth it," I glanced frightfully between mum and Brent as she advanced towards us. Brent seemed to calm down as mum drew closer. Father still backed away.
"Skylar, pack your things," I stared at mum uncomprehendingly. "You're coming back to the States with us. It's not safe here," She said this with a calm tone. And to my surprise, I began packing my things just as calmly.
Father left sometime during the night. He wasn't there the next morning when we left.
Mum allowed me to visit Jessie the next morning to say goodbye. We were both in tears. I promised to tell her everything once I arrived in my new home. We hugged and I got back in the car.
"Don't worry Skylar," Brent said cheerfully, grinning at me from the front seat. A stark contrast compared to his behaviour from yesterday. "You'll come and visit," Brent could obviously see the colour drain from my face. "It's okay, I promise, no I swear, to protect you from any idiot who tries to mess with you. I've got your back Sky, whether you need me or not,"
~MRS*SC~
ReviewReviewReview !
PS. Don't you just loove my quick updating skills ? (; I'll try and update ASAP. I've got three more exams this week and a provincial in two weeks so, chapter 5 won't be up as quickly as chapter 4 was.. But reviews inspire me! The more reviews I get, the faster I write !
01