“We’re leaving.”
“You, son, are not leaving. You’re going to stay here and clean up this hell hole.” The whole door shook, like he was trying to jerk it off the hinge.
I had to get out without him seeing me. I needed a place to hide before he opened the door. I scanned the room. The window was pretty high off the ground and had a screen behind it. I wouldn’t be able to open it without making a lot of noise. The closet would have been an easy option, or hiding in the tub, but way too obvious if he did break in.
I was already halfway under the cabinet. I tried easing my way in. My muscles contracted with soreness and pain. I squeezed in as quietly as I could, backing in and crouching on all fours.
When I was hidden, I couldn’t hear as well. More shouting. The door rattled again. I closed the cabinet, leaving just a sliver of space to watch out. My heart thundered loudly in my ears. I clutched to the piping and the wall so I didn’t knock anything over inside.
The shouting intensified. The pounding at the door increased.
My phone buzzed to life in my bra. I slipped it out.
Luke: Where are you?
I was going to send a quick text, but before I could type out a message, there was a bang and the floor shook. The bathroom door splintered open, slamming up against the closet on the other side.
I shrunk back from the lean sliver of light, trying to make myself as small as possible. I covered the phone and typed a quick message, hitting send to let Luke know where I was and then curled up as tight as I could, trying to be invisible.
There was a quiet moment, and I guessed Mr. Griffin may have been piecing together that perhaps Nathan was right and it had been locked by accident.
“See, dad?” Nathan sounded like he was in the hallway. “I told you it was...”
“You’re full of shit. A girl’s been in here. I can smell her.” The doors were knocked together and he opened the closet. He closed it again. His legs stepped out of my view deeper into the bathroom.
Nathan’s jean-clad legs moved forward, and then my sliver of light disappeared as he leaned against the cabinet. I imagined he guessed where I was hiding.
“No one’s in here,” Nathan said. “But get out and I’ll start cleaning up. And you messed up the door.”
There was a rough slip of noise like the towels being ripped off the rack. There was a smack and clanking, like the shower bar had been torn down and landed in the tub.
“Dad!” Nathan shouted.
“Look at this,” Mr. Griffin bellowed. “When’s the last time you even cleaned in here? The tub is disgusting and there’s shampoos piled in here. How many of those friends of yours show up and stay here while I’m gone?”
“Only once in a while,” Nathan said.
“And that girl—“
“She’s not been back.”
A smacking sound erupted, like he’d slapped Nathan on the side of the head. “Stop interrupting me.”
“Get out and I’ll clean up.”
“Why are you standing in front of the counter like that?”
“I’m trying to—“
There was a shove, and the cabinet door was yanked open.
Nathan rushed at his father. Mr. Griffin stepped back.
“I’m tired of this!” Nathan shouted. “Stop shoving me around.”
“You fucking little shit!” Mr. Griffin marched forward. “You think you can just push me over?” Another smack. Harder this time. “Your little friends ran off—“
“Nathan!” Gabriel’s voice came from what sounded like the kitchen.
“I told you fuckers to get out of my goddamn house!” Mr. Griffin bellowed.
“If we leave,” Luke said, sounding like he was right there, “we’re taking Nathan with us. Stop hitting him.”
Silence settled thickly over the space. My heart echoed in my ears. I held my breath, waiting. Inside, I was warmed by the thought of Luke and Gabriel sticking up for Nathan. My eyes watered up thinking of them. More of a family than his own father.
I couldn’t see his mood, but if Mr. Griffin didn’t like his own son to tell him what to do, I couldn’t imagine him listening to Gabriel or Luke.
Suddenly, crashes and clatters filled the room, like he’d swiped across the counter and knocked everything off. “Fuck you, little shits. Nathan’s staying—“
“He’s leaving,” Gabriel said louder. “And he’s coming with us. You need to back off. If you keep hitting him, you’re the only one who is going to get hurt.”
I heard something like a snarl. Mr. Griffin shouted, erupting with a string of curses and insults. Another smack, hard, followed by another and then another. He was pummeling Nathan.
I could only see their legs, but at first, Nathan didn’t move. He was going to stand and take the abuse? Like last time? I stuffed my fingers toward my mouth before I could say something. I wanted him to do something. Luke, or Gabriel... they had to make this stop.
And suddenly Nathan’s leg came up, making contact with his father’s shin.
Mr. Griffin faltered, howling in pain. He launched himself again at Nathan.
This time, Nathan moved quickly, his training and instincts finally kicking in. There was some grunting and then another sound, a thud.
I gasped, backing up until I knocked my elbows against the back of the cabinet.
“Oh shit,” Gabriel said. “You knocked him out.”
Nathan ducked his head down, finding me under the sink.
“Sang!” he called out. He reached in, grabbing my forearm and tugged gently. “Sweetie.”
I’d been holding my breath and finally released it. There had been no escape for me and all I could do was cower in terror. I let Nathan help me climb out. The moment I was next to him, he pulled me into a tight hug.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cracking.
Why was he apologizing to me? I tried to look over his shoulder. His father was on his back, slumped against the wall, and half of his body was on top a now broken toilet, jarred out of place from the wall and floor. The pipe was misaligned, and water flowed as the toilet tried to refill itself.
I rubbed Nathan’s back gently, trying to understand why he was saying sorry to me. Maybe he needed the hug more than I did. “Are you okay?” I asked.
He sucked in a breath near my neck. I wasn’t sure he was going to answer. I was afraid to touch anywhere else. Where had his father hit him? Was he hurt?
He shifted slightly and as his shoulder dipped, I caught Luke looking at me from the hallway. He rolled his finger forward, was encouraging me to continue.
“Honey,” I said softly. He’d fought off his own father. Could I have ever done such a thing to my own parents? Even my stepmother, someone I had every reason to fight back against at times, I’d found it too difficult and took my punishments. Parents were supposed to protect you and you were supposed to listen to them. I couldn’t imagine what Nathan was going through having to fight him off. I turned my head, my lips meeting his ear. “You’re okay. Don’t worry. Are you hurt?”
He shook his head against my shoulder but seemed to be pulling himself together. He wasn’t doing much, just pressing himself against me.
I pressed my lips against his cheek. It was an awkward kiss, and with my heart thundering, I hardly felt anything except for a brush of the coarse hairs on his cheek scratching my lips. But when I turned my head back, wondering if I’d done the right thing, Luke gave me a thumbs up and Gabriel gave an approving nod. Sympathy and encouragement didn’t come easily for me, but I was trying to learn. How do you get over your own terrified feelings to be there for someone else?
“We have to get him to the hospital,” Gabriel said. “He’s not waking up.”
Nathan gripped me hard and then released, straightening. The serious expression took over as he looked at the boys. “Gabriel, get her out of here. Take her home. Luke, help me carry him to the car.”
“We should take him to the downtown hospital,” Luke said
.
“The Academy one?” I asked.
They all blinked at me, as if realizing just now that I knew what it was.
“Uh, yeah,” Luke said. “That one.”
“Should we all go?” I asked.
“You’ve had enough,” Gabriel said. He took my wrist, tugging me out of the bathroom and out toward the kitchen. “Mr. Blackbourne is already going to be on our asses for being in the house. He’ll have our heads, too, if we bring you along to the hospital when you’re supposed to be on sick leave.”
“I’m not sick.”
Nathan held tight to my hand for a moment before Gabriel could pull me too far. He squeezed it, looking at my face. “We’ll be okay,” he said. “I should have done something about him a while ago and I didn’t listen. We’re lucky he never found you. But we shouldn’t let it happen again.”
“No,” Luke said quietly, and in a tone more determined and serious than I’d heard from him before. “Once we bring him to the hospital, it won’t happen again.”