To stand by him
I know I'm a day late, sorry I have been doing nothing but working and homework since break started. But I got it up :D
hope you like it, this is a bit more of a mellow chapter again nothing too dramatic but it's needed to build the character dynamics.
Enjoy
Disclaimer: stand by me, still not mine :(
I was finally aloud to walk,well I wasn't aloud to, I had to. I couldn't be away from home for more then a week, and today was the seventh day. I still didn't know anything about my dad and if he really did fall for the whole church thing.
Part of me thought that Autumn had lied, considering my dad didn't let me leave the house, maybe she just said that so I would relax. I was going to find out soon though.
"Hey look whose walking." Autumn said when I entered the living room. It killed to move and breathe but I walked straight so no one could really tell I was hurt, aside from the bruises.
"I don't really have a choice." I shrugged wincing at the soreness of my muscles.
"Come sit." Chris said patting the seat next to him on the couch. The last thing I wanted after being bed ridden for a week was sit, but my ribs had a different opinion.
"You cleaned up pretty well in the week." Autumn said shifting in her chair.
"I don't know what I'm gonna tell my dad."
"You could tell him you got mauled by a bear." Chris suggested, I ignored him.
"I'm not telling him that.' I said dryly.
"Tell him you got into a fight with a protestant." he suggested again.
"Chris maybe you should just keep quiet." Autumn said then turned back to me. "Look your dad is going to be suspicious no matter what we tell him, you have a bruised face and some cuts. He doesn't need to know about the shattered ribs."
"So what exactly are yo suggesting I tell him? I got punched by a avid catholic?" I questioned raising an eyebrow.
"I'd say tell him you got punched or a chair thrown at you." she shrugged. I looked for Chris, as if giving him permission to speak again.
"Why don't you tell him that the retreat was to help at risk kids? And one went nuts?" That actually could work. Chris gave me a good idea, I was just hoping to get a great one. My dad wasn't an idiot and I would have to have my story together in order to have him believe me.
I thought about it and nodded, the story would have to be me making it up. They couldn't really give me any details because it wouldn't be my words and my dad would figure out that I was lying. My dad was bad enough, when he was suspicious, he was ten times worse.
"So how do you feel?" Chris asked.
"Ribs hurt, other then that I think I'm okay. What about you?" I asked, he looked down at me and smiled. Chris looked like he healed better then I did, his bruises we pretty much just yellow and green, his eye was blood shot but his cuts had scabbed and looked like he just got into a bar fight. When I first saw him he looked close to death.
"I feel okay, but I've been walking around a lot more then you, I think the pain is finally numbed out." he said to me with a smile that made me almost believe him. Almost.
"So Autumn what are you going to do about Ace?" he asked. She scoffed and stood from her chair. "Hey I'm serious now if Ace wanted that key just to get you back then theres no way he's letting you go so easily."
"All I have to do is avoid him for another week or so until his court date. I can do that.' she said.
"You really don't know Ace as well as you think you do then." Chris said shaking his head.
"What does that mean?" she asked turning to face us with her arms crossed.
"It means Ace hunted four of us, me and my three friends, he hunted us down for month after we held up a gun to him. He found us and beat the tar outta us. He ain't gonna let you avoid him, whether he's locked up or no, he'll send someone to get ya." Chris said.
"Chris I think we have established that he isn't going to hurt me." She said rolling her eyes and heading to the kitchen, Chris stood up without the chance of me not seeing the quick flicker of pain that went through his features.
"You don't know that, look at Anna, no one thought he would sink so low as to beat a girl but he did it." He said throwing a hand towards me.
"Chris I get it okay? But he won't hurt me or anything like that, just bother me." she said. I had to agree with her and Chris at the same time. If Ace loved Autumn like I was beginning to think he did, then he wouldn't hurt her, but I saw him last week and how he reacted when she was around, he beat me. He got aggravated and he beat me. What if I hadn't would he had beaten her? Ace wasn't predictable he was out there and I had no doubt that he would raise a hand at her if he got pissed off enough.
I got up slowly and followed them into the kitchen.
"What are you gonna do if he doesn't get jailed huh?"
"No better question is how are you going to protect your girl until he does?" She shot back at him turning around so fast her hair smacked him in the face. "Stop worrying about me god damn it, and take care of her!" her finger jabbed at me, I had only made it to the doorway, and I felt like leaning on the frame would help my ribs and be safer from the argument I was sure was to break out between them.
Chris looked at me from the corner of his eye, he looked concerned, so I pulled myself up off the frame to give him a little more reassurance.
"Now listen to me Chambers, I didn't help you and Anna to get a lecture from you about Ace. He's a separate problem from the one you're having to face. I took you all in because I hated to see him to that to you. I'm not the one beat up, you are, so I suggest you start worrying about being healthy." she looked at me for a moment. "And don't worry about something that ain't happened yet, at least I can walk ten feet without needing a break." I watched as she grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water then took a slow drink.
"Ace can be anywhere." Chris said. "I suggest we get you out of sight until I can figure out what he's up to."
"You're not hiding me." I snapped.
"Could you not be difficult? Just once? I don't want Ace to come and get you Anna, not after you're finally walking who knows what he'll do to you."
"What about you? He's more likely to beat you then me." he sighed and ran a hand through his short hair.
"But you have the key. He'll use you to get to me and- Jesus Anna, just do what I say for once okay?" he took a few steps closer to me, but didn't grab me. His hands did raise, as if going to grab my shoulders but upon hearing my broken deep breathing seemed to think twice and let them drop to his sides.
"You know, I wouldn't worry so much about Ace, as for her dad. . . .i would worry." Autumn said taking one last drink from her glass and slipped past me out of the kitchen.
…...
"Dad?" I called into the house, Chris had lent me his backpack to use, to look like I had a bag packed.
"You're finally home." he said coming into the main entrance. I nodded.
He took one look at me and the smile he had been wearing was gone.
"What the hell happened to you?" he demanded. I sighed this was it.
"I'm fine."
"Fine? FINE?! Look at you!" he exclaimed gesturing to my face.
"Dad! Calm down, I'm okay, the retreat was to help troubled kids, one of them had a nicotine addiction and got a little too aggressive. He threw a chair and it hit me, no big deal." I said. He looked at me for a moment.
That moment seemed to stretch on forever. Was he to believe me or no? I couldn't tell by his features his face was a blank canvas and anything could be running through his mind.
Much like him not knowing much about me, I didn't really know anything about him. We didn't spend time together other then meals and when he was drunk but even then not much talking was exchanged. He could have thought I was telling the truth and was shocked or was trying to tell if I was lying.
He suddenly broke, "I'm glad you're okay." he smiled. It was a genuine smile, one I had seen plenty of times, the odd thing was the hug that came next. I had been hugged by him before, but this time- like all the others- was stiff and odd. The last time he hugged me I think was when I was twelve and he had come home really happy, and sober.
The hug wasn't long, since I pulled away as soon as I thought appropriate, his hand had been on my back and his other stroking my hair while mine just awkwardly patted his back from under his arms. I gave a pathetic smile and headed up to my room.
It wasn't long until my name was called again. It had been about ten at night and I was worried that I hadn't heard Charlie enter the house but it was just my dad calling my name.
I stood up from my bed and headed down the stairs.
"Anna!." he said shaking a bottle of unidentifiable booze at me. His head was down his arm was raised and hen swayed drunkenly from side to side.
"Yes?" I asked standing on the second last step. He looked up and gave me an angry disappointed grin.
"You- you know I haven't taught you anything. That god damn belt hasn't taught you shit!" he slurred out. I watched him, damn he was really sloshed. I hadn't seen him this bad in a long time, he could barely stand up straight.
"What are-"
"You've always just been a fucking lying kid!" he said. "A- a- the same kid from the day I took you in."he was walking around the living room now. The bottle slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground, no contents fell from the bottle, it was empty.
"I haven't lied to you." I said choosing my words carefully.
"there you go again. . .. fucking lying." he managed. He swallowed loudly and made his way back over to me. "You think I can't tell you lie, but you did." he grinned shaking a finger at me. "You almost had me. Almost think I wouldn't notice."
oh shit. The only thing running through my mind at that moment was that he knew. He knew I took the ring. He knew it and in his drunken haze he was going to spill what he was going to do to me.
He walked to the fireplace and grabbed the stick off the mantle and then dragged himself back over. He smelled awful, and I thanked the lord he was at least in clean clothing as he stood close to me.
"Did you lie to me Anna?' he asked. Did I? Yes, but about the ring? No he never asked me about it.
"No." I managed. That was when I felt the awful pain of the stick hitting me in the ribs, as I doubled over crying out in pain he hit my knees and I fell down the last two steps onto the ground.
"That's another lie." he said a sinister laugh leaving his mouth. "Another goddamn lie!" I looked up at him, the stick still firmly in his grasp but he didn't hit it with me again.
He bent down then to my level and, his stale breath hit my face but I was too scared to notice.
"If you were hit with a chair, then how. . . how the . . . .hell. Did you get those f-finer shaped bruises on your neck?" he asked. My eyes widened.
But I didn't have to answer, he fell to the ground, passed out,
he wouldn't remember a thing come morning.
I hope you liked it, more drama and such to come :D
reviews would be amazing.
Thank you again for reading. Have a great weekend and Merry Christmas.
-lexi makay