“Shit.”
“You’re not supposed to cuss, Ian,” she scolded.
“So?”
“You need to listen. It’s not nice.”
Whatever. I didn’t care about that. I was ten, old enough to do whatever I wanted. She didn’t understand. I was in double digits now. That made a big difference. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she managed to blurt, biting her lip. She was lying.
“There’s a lot of blood. It needs patched up.”
“I’m fine.” She lifted her chin in defiance. “I’m just as brave as you are.”
She wasn’t but I didn’t mind letting her think so. “Yeah.” I helped her to her feet, and we wobbled our way back home, entering through the kitchen as we stopped at the dining room table. I grabbed the first aid kit and cleaned her scrape, placing ointment and a bandage over the top.
“There, good as new.”
“Thank you, Ian. You’re the bestest.”
I smiled. Right back at ya . . .
The memory faded and another replaced it, focusing on one of the darkest moments of our childhood . . .
“Hurry, Willow!” I grabbed her hand and sprinted across the room, sliding under the bed and tugging her with me. “Shhh,” I whispered. “He can’t find us if we stay still.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know, Wills. You have to be quiet.”
The door to my mother’s bedroom opened with a crash. Heavy footprints echoed on the old worn floors and I held Willow close against my side.
“God, please make us invisible. Make him turn away and never come back.”
Her little prayer caused my eyes to fill with tears that quickly morphed into anger. It wasn’t right. We shouldn’t have to live in fear.
My mother’s boyfriend Bill was mean. He beat her and us and didn’t hesitate to leave bruises he knew others could see when we were in public. He said it was a warning. People knew to stay away.
He must have been right because nobody ever did a thing about it.
The closet in our room opened and slammed shut. Neither of us moved as he walked slowly to the window. I almost sighed aloud in relief when he started to leave the room. He laughed and the sound was terrifying. Bill’s boots scraped the floor as he turned in our direction and approached the bed. With a brutal kick, he sent the entire frame sliding across the floor. There was no hiding now.
I jumped up and in front of Willow, ready to take whatever punishment he dished out.
Instead, Bill grabbed my sister’s arm and hauled her toward the door. She bit his hand and he shouted, slapping her across the face. I launched into an attack, kicking and punching as hard as I could.
Nothing worked.
He kept coming after Willow, laughing as I continued fighting him each and every time.
In the back of my mind, I knew this was bad. My mother wasn’t coming to our rescue. She always tried, even if he hurt her for it.
“Leave us alone, you asshole!”
Bill chuckled, gripping my hair in his fist before he slammed my head into the doorframe. Dazed, I was temporarily unable to help my sister.
“Ian!”