a/n: This chapter my be triggering to some. It does include family violence!

Chapter 4 - Hold on

She grimaced to herself as she wrapped her arms around her torso tighter. Mentally kicking herself for not grabbing a jacket, she stopped to slip off her shoes before continuing the walk. As she reached the halfway point, she sighed when her shoe slipped out of her hand. That's what I fucking get for going to a party, she thought to herself. A car sped by her before coming to a screeching halt and being thrown into reverse.

"Fuck," she groaned for the twentieth time that night. Knowing her luck, it was Billy, and she was never going to hear the end of it. To her surprise, it was a BMW that stopped next to her; A BMW that she knew.

"What the hell are you doing, Hargrove?" Steve asked from the driver's seat, immediately jumping out of the car. Shrugging off his jacket, he threw it over Penny's bare shoulders.

"What does it look like, Harrington? I'm walking home." Steve glanced around before running a hand through his hair.

"Let me drive you home."

"Nah, it's ok. I'd rather walk," Penny said, picking up the shoes she had dropped.

"Hargrove, don't be ridiculous. It's freezing cold, and it's like what? One in the morning?" Steve rambled on before he stopped, a frown forming. "Let me at least make sure you get home safe." Penny opened her mouth to object, but Steve lightly nudged her towards the passenger's side of the car.

"Please Hargrove, for my own mental sanity." Penny stopped resisting and sunk into the passenger's seat as Steve shut the door. Once he was in the driver's seat, he glanced over at her.

"Sorry for Nancy ditching you," he murmured as he adjusted the heat in the car. Penny sunk into the warm seat, offering a shrug.

"It's fine," she whispered.

"Jeez Hargrove. You really need to get a new saying," he laughed as he went to put the car in drive. Penny quickly grabbed his hand without thinking, a panic rising in her chest.

"Do you…Do you think you can wait a bit before dropping me off?" she asked quietly, avoiding his eyes. Steve, sensing her panic, nodded before realizing she wasn't looking at him. "I know a spot."

Once they reached the famous Lover's Lake, Steve killed the lights, leaving the car running solely for the purpose of the heat. He could see the cold had gotten to Penny, her cheeks rosy.

"You ok?" he asked after he watched her in silence for a few minutes.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" She offered a sad smile, finally looking to meet his eyes.

"Eh, it's ok. I realized maybe Nancy wasn't really into me as much as I thought she was."

"Does that bother you?" Penny asked, pulling Steve's jacket tighter around her. She inhaled the light scent of his cologne as she settled back in the seat.

"Surprisingly, not really," he admitted after a moment. Penny just nodded, unsure what to say. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Steve glanced over at her.

"Why don't you want to go home?"

"I…My dad, he's just super strict. I was supposed to be sleeping over at Nancy's house after the party. If I come home like this, well…I'll be in deep shit," she admitted, feeling the familiar panic tightening her chest once again.

"Like grounded or something like that?" Steve asked, reaching over to rest his hand on hers.

"Yeah, something like that," Penny managed to choke out. She could deal with hiding the bruises no problem. But hiding the toll it was taking on her mental health, made it harder to hold everything together.

"You can crash at my house," Steve offered, slightly surprised when Penny shifted her hands to lace her fingers between his, "My parents are gone for the next month. Some business stuff my dad had to attend to."

"Thanks, Steve, but it's ok. I probably should get home, I guess. Just drop me off at the corner, ok?" she whispered, feeling the tears pool in her eyes. Steve nodded reaching for the steering wheel. Sliding her hand out of his so he could put the car into drive, she turned to face the window. Immediately missing the warmth and comfort of Steve's hand in hers, she felt her chest get tighter and tighter as they approached her neighborhood. Pulling over at the corner, Steve put the car into park.

"You sure I can't drive you to the house? Make sure you get in ok?" he asked. Penny shook her head, offering an apologetic smile.

"It's ok Steve." As her hand reached for the door handle, Steve muttered, "Come here." Pulling her in for a hug, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Penny tensed up for a second, before completely unraveling. Wrapping her arms around his torso, she held back the sobs that threatened to break through.

"Thanks again, Steve," she whispered before he let her go. Offering up a forced smile, Penny slipped out of the car and headed back to her house. Once at the house, she was shocked to see Max's light still on. Quietly, she approached the window and knocked on it. Max glanced out to see Penny, worn out and on the verge of tears.

"C'mon," Max whispered as soon as she opened the window. Climbing in, Penny offered up a thankful nod before slipping from Max's room.

Once she was safe in her room, she immediately dropped onto her bed, quiet sobs wracking her body. She changed out of her clothes, tossing Steve's jacket on the back of her chair, mentally scolding herself for not giving it back to him before she got out of the car. She sank into her bed, wishing sleep would come easily that night.

A few hours later, Penny was awoken by her door slamming open. Before she could open her eyes, she was ripped out of her bed by her hair.

"What the fuck is that?" Neil sneered pointing to the jacket on the back of her chair. Biting back a scream, Penny finally opened her eyes to see what he was pointing at.

"I borrowed it for a play we're doing at school." The slap echoed across the house as Penny hit the ground.

"Don't fucking lie to me!" Neil yelled as he reared by his hand again, this time a tight fist connecting with her face.

"Daddy, I swear!" Penny sobbed, before Neil was pulled off of her.

"Sir, she's telling the truth!" Billy yet again had come to her rescue. "She called last night, wanted to come home. So I picked her up on my way home. She's been talking about this play that they're doing in class for weeks." Neil backed up to take in both of his kids' faces.

"Clean her up for school," Neil said sternly before walking out the door, and slamming it shut behind him. Once it was safe, Billy knelt next to his sister, who was now curled in a ball on the floor.

"Whose jacket is that?" he asked quietly. Penny glanced up at him, shooting him a dirty look. Taking in her face, he noticed the bruises were already starting to form on the side of her face, blood gushing from her split lip.

"C'mon, Pen. Let's get you cleaned up."