Her bare feet shuffled across the floor as she stumbled drunkenly towards me. I had to get out of here before things got even more out of hand. Wiping the blood from out of my eye, and likely smearing it across my face, I frantically searched the room for a means of escape. The backdoor came into view and I wasted no time scrambling to my feet so I could get to it. She was right behind me, all the while swinging her bottle of vodka at my head. She rounded the island, her legs got tangled in a stool and she went down hard. Taking advantage of her fall I bolted towards the backdoor. It was thankfully unlocked. I wrenched it open and flung myself outside.
All the while I heard her screaming curses at me. Clutching my backpack to my chest and not caring in the least that I had blood running down my face, I ran. I dodged the patio furniture as I ran along the length of the house. If I could make it around to the front of the house I could punch in the code to open the side door at the garage, I could get to my Rover and get the heck out of here.
It wouldn’t be safe to come back to the house until later when I was sure she’d passed out from too much alcohol. I could use a gas station restroom to clean my face up and maybe I could find a park or something where I could do my homework.
As I rounded the house I flinched at the sound of car doors slamming shut and the murmur of male voices. I couldn’t stop or turn back, but I desperately wanted to. Thankfully, my mother’s screams had died off. That wasn’t something I cared to explain to anyone.
“Ariel?” one of the twins called out cautiously. “What are you doing?”
“Is she bleeding?” asked a voice I’d never heard before. “Man, look at her head. She’s bleeding.”
I winced as I looked up while I rounded the corner of the house. Addison stood by the hood of a black SUV with a frown on his face. When he caught sight of the wound on my head he cursed loudly and headed my way.
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I told him in a high voice that didn’t sound like my own at all. “Don’t worry about it.”
“What do you mean, you’re fine? Your damn head is gushing blood and you should probably get it looked at by a doctor.” I looked at the owner of that voice and frowned. I didn’t know him and had never seen him before. He looked older than Tyson and the twins by a few years. He had honey blonde hair buzzed close to his scalp. A gold lip ring winked at me in the sunlight. He wore a tight black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Did he live there too?
“Really, I’m fine,” I tried to reassure him. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I really must be going now. Bye.” I was such a moron. At least this time I didn’t stupidly wave again.
I ran to the door and punched in the code. The little bubble light flashed green and the lock clicked, letting me know it was now unlocked. I had the door shut and heard the lock click back in place just as Addison made it to the door. He rattled the handle, trying to open the door. It didn’t budge.
“Ariel, open this door right now.” He demanded.
I did not think so. I shook my head at him.
“Ariel, what the fuck?” he growled as he banged his fist on the glass.
He was making things harder for me and now I couldn’t leave because I couldn’t open the damn garage door without him being able to get inside. I could either stay inside the garage or brave going back into the house.
Tears slid down my face as I slowly backed away from the door. Now the one who’d told me I probably needed to see a doctor stood beside Addison on the other side of the door. They both stared at me with worried faces and Addison’s mouth was pinched tight in a frown. I didn’t care, I had bigger problems to worry about.
I turned away from them and rushed to the door that lead to the kitchen. I dropped my backpack to the floor and stood at the door with my palms resting lightly against it with my ear pressed up against the smooth wood, listening. After a few very long minutes of hearing nothing I blew out a deep breath and let myself inside. Cautiously, I picked up my bag and stepped into the kitchen.
She wasn’t in there. As I made my way through the house on silent feet I looked for her in every room I passed through. She was nowhere to be seen. She’d likely locked herself in her bedroom with her bottle of booze. Hopefully she’d drink herself to sleep before Mr. Cole came home, I didn’t want him to suffer the same treatment as I had.
I’d made it halfway up the stairs when someone started pounding on the front door at the same time as the doorbell started going off.
Holy crap! They were unbelievable. My body started to shake uncontrollably as my mother started screaming my name. Did she not remember I’d gone outside to escape her? This was no good. Slowly, I made my way up the stairs walking backwards. I made it to the landing when she stumbled her way into the foyer. I couldn’t stick around to watch this. I slipped my shoes off, picked them up, then fled to my room just as she opened the door. I heard a deep, gravelly voice say my name as I shut and locked my bedroom door behind me. My mother’s drunk, giddy laughter floated up the stairs, mocking me.
Good God, I hoped she refrained from hitting on whichever twin had bothered to knock on our front door.
I dropped my bag to the floor and kicked it towards the bed, not caring in the least if I broke something inside. With a toss, I threw my shoes in the direction of my closet, not caring about them either.
I needed to clean up my face and make sure the bleeding had stopped. Heavy footfalls thudded across the carpet outside my room followed by a light knock on my door.
“Ariel?” one of the twins growled through the door. “Open this damn door… Please.”
I desperately wanted to flat out deny him this simple request or ignore him until he went away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do either. It felt nice to have another person care about me. Against my better judgement, I opened the door. I stood behind the door as Addison, Tyson and the man who’d been standing by the black SUV stormed into my bedroom. They stood clumped together in the middle of my room not bothering to check it out but instead choosing to stare me down.
“Jesus, your face.” Tyson gaped at me.
“Told you something was seriously wrong with her,” Addison muttered under his breath.
“What happened?” The third one asked me.
I shut the door hoping I had Tylenol somewhere in my bathroom because this whole thing was starting to give me a headache.
“Who are you?” I asked over my shoulder as I made my way to my bathroom.