by K. C. Lynn
After he sends Sawyer a quick text, he puts the truck in gear and we head to my place. Things are silent for the first few minutes as I take in everything that happened tonight.
“Thank you for bringing me home. I feel guilty leaving everyone there. Especially since Katelyn planned it for my birthday. I didn’t intend for all that to happen.”
The last of my words trail off as a whisper, and Cade surprises me by reaching over and clasping my hand in a gentle grip. “They’re fine. You need to stop feeling guilty for so much shit, Red.”
Hmmm, wise words, ones he should take himself but I don’t say that. Instead I smile at him then link my fingers with his warm hand, loving the strength and peace I feel from it. Feeling tired, I lean my head against the window and listen to the heavy rhythm of the rain. We drive in comfortable silence, and once we hit the back road, getting closer to town, I feel the truck start to slow.
“What the fuck is someone doing walking on a back road late at night in a damn rain storm?”
Sitting up, I look out the windshield and it takes me a minute to see the person in the downpour. I have no idea how Cade was able to see them so quickly. He slows down a little more, making sure to be cautious of the person. I look out my window just as we come up to him and gasp, “Oh my god. Stop the truck!”
“What? Why?”
“Just stop the truck, please. I know him!” He does and I barely wait for him to come to a complete stop before I’m out and running.
“Jesus christ, Faith, get the fuck back here.”
I ignore his angry command and rush toward the boy I know is ahead of me. I don’t see him through the heavy rainfall until he’s almost right in front of me. “Christopher, are you all right? What are you doing out here?”
“Shit!” he curses and quickly looks away from me. He has no coat on and he’s sopping wet from head to toe. “I’m fine. I’m just going for a walk.” If I hadn’t already known something was wrong, I would by the tone in his voice, it’s scratchy and weak.
My stomach starts to twist when I notice he’s a little hunched and not standing straight. “What? What do you mean you’re going for a walk?”
Cade storms up to us now and he looks madder than hell at me. I ignore it for the time being and only focus on Christopher, who still refuses to look at me.
“Christopher, look at me.” When he doesn’t, I walk closer and grab his jaw. A sharp gasp escapes me when I see his face is nothing but a swollen, bloody mess. “Oh my god. What happened? Who did this to you?”
He turns away. “Nothing, I’m fine.”
I grab onto his shirt, trying to force him to look at me and he flinches in pain. “You are not fine. Talk to me, Christopher, please. I can help you.”
He rips away from me angrily. “What the fuck is with you, lady? Why can’t you just leave me the hell alone! I don’t need your fucking help.”
I feel Cade step closer. “Watch the way you talk to her, kid.”
Christopher looks at him sharply. “Fuck you. Who the hell are you?”
“Someone you don’t want to piss off.” Cade’s voice is loaded with warning and I put my hand on his chest, telling him to back off, knowing it won’t help the situation.
Stepping closer, I put my hand gently on Christopher’s shoulders, making sure not to hurt him, and stand directly in front of him. He stares at me angrily, but his pain burns brighter. “Talk to me please. Let me help you.”
He clenches his jaw and his chest starts heaving as he struggles to hold in his emotion. “You can’t help me,” he replies with an agonized whisper. “No one can. I’m fucking stuck with him until I’m old enough to get Ruth Jean and me the hell out of here.”
I watch utter dejection twist his expression before his first sob escapes. He starts sinking to the ground in despair. I lock my arms around him and fall alongside with him. My heart breaks and my own tears start to spill as I feel him tremble against me. I don’t say or do anything but hold him.
We stay like this for a good minute until Cade interrupts. “Red, let’s move this into the truck. It’s not safe to be sitting here like this, and you don’t have a jacket on.”
I bring my face close to Christopher’s so he can hear me over the rain. “Come with me. Trust me to help you. I won’t do anything you are not comfortable with, I promise.”
He’s quiet for a few moments before I feel him nod. He struggles to stand and favors his left side. We walk slowly and Cade opens the back door of his truck for us. I crawl in next to Christopher and grab Cade’s jacket for him, but he pushes it away. “No, I’m fine. You take it.” I don’t argue about it since I know it’s pointless.
Once Cade gets in, he looks in the rearview mirror at me for instruction. “We should go to the hospital,” I suggest softly.
“No! No hospital.”
“Christopher, you’re really hurt and you need to be seen by a doctor.”
“No, I’m serious, Faith. No doctors and no hospital or I’m out of here.”
I let out a defeated breath and don’t push. “All right, we will go to my house.”
The rest of the way home is silent. I rub his back and stay close, wanting to comfort him as much as possible before I need to ask questions. I have no doubt in my mind that after what Ruth Jean told me, and the comment he just made, that his father is the one who did this to him. Which absolutely breaks my heart, but even more than that I’m infuriated.
We arrive home a few minutes later and Cade comes around quickly to help Christopher down, which he doesn’t like. “I’m fine, I can do it myself.”
Cade doesn’t back down. “Forget your pride for a minute, kid, or you’re going to feel like an idiot when you land on your ass.”
Christopher reluctantly lets him take his arm and help him down. Cade makes sure to release him quickly then he moves to me. As I go to jump down, he grabs my hips and lowers me slowly, my body sliding against his hard one and it kicks my heart into overdrive. We are both soaked from head to toe and I watch drops of rain run down his beautiful, strong face as he stares down at me with hunger and also a hint of anger. “Don’t ever run out on me like that again.”
Instead of arguing, I nod, because now is not the time to get into it. He releases me and I already miss his closeness but I shake it off and focus only on Christopher. Taking his arm, I walk him into the house and get him situated on my couch. I try to get him to lie down, but the stubborn boy refuses. I go grab towels and hand one to both to him and Cade.
“Let me look at you,” I say, kneeling down in front of him.
“I’m fine. But I could use some ice and aspirin if you have some.”
I don’t let him blow me off anymore. “Christopher, either you let me look at you or we go to the hospital.”
Annoyance sparks in his eyes and that’s when Cade steps in. “Red, why don’t you go change, get a first aid kit and some aspirin.”
I look back at him and he nods in reassurance for me to leave. I reluctantly walk away and hear them murmuring as I change into a pair of black capri leggings and a thin, cream, long-sleeve, off-the-shoulder sweater. Then I put my fuzzy boot slippers on and head into the bathroom to grab my first aid kit and some aspirin.
Making my way back down the stairs and into the living room, I suck in a sharp breath when I get a look at Christopher with no shirt on. His torso is not much better than his face. The whole left side of his ribs are black and blue with big, angry, red welts across his upper arms and chest, with the imprint of a metal belt buckle deeply grooved into his skin.
I start to feel tears form but I quickly blink them away, knowing I need to be strong for him right now. Cade assesses his ribs as he kneels in front of him, and it makes me wonder why he let him do it but not me. Although he may have been too afraid to say no to Cade, most would be.
Walking over, I set down the first aid kit by Cade then hand the glass of water and aspirin to Christopher as I sit down beside him on the couch.
“Thanks,”
he mutters, not making eye contact with me. I don’t take it personally because I know he’s embarrassed.
After he sets the empty glass on the floor, I start to rub my hand gently down his bare back, making sure to be mindful of his injuries. He tenses but I don’t stop and I don’t look at him, not wanting him to feel more uncomfortable. He eventually relaxes and accepts my affection.
Cade breaks the silence a moment later, “Well I don’t think they’re broken, I think they’re just bruised, but I’m also not a doctor. I’ll clean up the cuts and wrap them, which should at least help ease a little of the pain.”
“They’re not broken. I would know—I’ve had them broken before.”
My stomach twists at his admission, and as Cade starts going to work on him, I decide now is a good time to get him to talk. “Does your father do this to you often?” I ask quietly. Not that it matters how many times, one time is too many, but I want to make sure my assumption about his father is right.
He shrugs. “Enough, but it’s better me than Ruth Jean.”
The knowledge that he takes it to protect his sister has my heart breaking even more. “Have you told anyone before?”
He shakes his head, “I can’t.”
“You need to, Christopher. I think we should call Cooper.”
Alarm flashes in his gaze. “No! I told you, Faith, no one can know. That’s why I didn’t want to go to the hospital.”
“Why? Why don’t you want anyone to help you?”
“Because they will put Ruth Jean and me in a fucking foster home and I know they will split us up. I can’t let that happen. I’ll never let them take my sister from me.”
“Don’t you have any other family you can contact who will help you?”
He shakes his head again. “No, my grandparents died a long time ago and my mom left us when Ruth Jean was only two years old.” Anger tightens his expression when mentioning his mom.
What mother would leave her children, especially with someone so horrible?
“I only need to deal with this shit for a few more years. Then, when I turn eighteen, I’m taking Ruth Jean and getting the hell out of here. I’ll go someplace where my dad will never find us.”
“Christopher, you may not survive a few more years. Look at you!”
He shrugs. “It will be fine. Tonight I knew was going to be bad. This day of the year always is.”
“What do you mean?”
Pain and anger ignites in his eyes again. “Five years ago today was the day my mom walked out. My dad is always a drunk asshole, but every year, on this day, it’s always the worst. I wasn’t even supposed to be there, I only went back home to quickly grab something. He was supposed to be out with his loser friends, but instead he had them over at our place.”
“There were other people there and they didn’t help you?” I ask in disbelief and outrage.
He grunts in disgust. “No, they didn’t. One even took a couple shots of his own. My dad doesn’t hang out with great people. Some are worse than he is.”
Cade has stayed silent the whole time, but after Christopher admits this, I watch his jaw clench and stone cold fury take over his expression. I’m feeling the same way. I’m angry that his father has done this to him and I’m heartbroken that he has had to go through this for so long and no one has caught on before now. But, most of all, I’m scared. Scared for what will happen to him if he doesn’t get help.
A sudden image of Aadil strikes me. I quickly shake my head and rid the memory before the pain can pull me under. No! I won’t let that happen to him. Not to Christopher or Ruth Jean. In my heart I know what I need to do.
Cade finishes wrapping Christopher’s ribs then puts the first aid kit back together and stands.
“Where is Ruth Jean now?” I figure she isn’t at the house since I know Christopher wouldn’t leave her there.
“She’s at Mrs. Jenkins house. She’s an old lady who lives down the road from us. I ask her sometimes to take Ruth Jean for me, when I know my dad is in a really bad way, then I go get her a few hours later once shit calms down. She’s senile, but safe. I’m supposed to be picking her up soon but I can’t take Ruth Jean back home tonight unless my dad has left.”
I nod then turn toward him and look him straight in the eye. “Do you trust me?”
He watches me wearily, unsure where this is going. I feel Cade’s eyes on me as well but I don’t break my gaze from Christopher’s. He finally answers a minute later. “More than I trust anyone else I guess, why?”
“Because I want to call Cooper.” He jumps up in protest, but before he gets the wrong idea I grab his wrist and quickly explain. “Just calm down and hear me out. I promised you I would not do anything you are not okay with and I meant that.”
He expels a frustrated breath, but sits back down next to me. “I want to call Cooper, not as a cop but as a friend. I want to ask him what our options are. I need to find out what I need to do to help you.”
He eyes me suspiciously. “What do you mean? I’m telling you, they will put us in a foster home and split us up. You cannot help!”
“Yes, I can. I want to know what I need to do so you and Ruth Jean can come stay here with me.”
Utter silence fills the room, as his expression becomes one of complete shock. I feel the heavy weight of Cade’s disapproving stare but I ignore it.
“Why would you do that? You don’t even know us,” he asks in disbelief.
I reach over and grab his hand. “I don’t need to know you a long time to know that I care about you and your sister. You guys need a place to stay and I have one.”
“Faith, can I talk to you for a minute in the kitchen?” Cade asks, cutting in now. He keeps his tone level, and for anyone who doesn’t know him they would think no different, but I know better.
I glance over at him. “In a second, yes.” I turn back to Christopher and give his hand another light squeeze. “This is the best scenario for both you and Ruth Jean, and you know it. Please. Let me help you.”
It takes him a minute to respond, and I start to think he’s going to turn me down until he nods.
I let out a relieved breath and give him a small smile. “Okay, call Mrs. Jenkins. If you’re sure you can trust her, ask if Ruth Jean can spend the night.” Leaning over, I reach for my phone then hand it to him. “I’ll go into the kitchen and call Cooper to find out what we need to do.”
He nods again, still in shock, but I can also see fear in his gaze. I pat his shoulder gently as I stand up. “Everything will be okay, Christopher. We will figure this out, I promise.”
I walk into the kitchen and feel Cade quickly follow behind me. Just as I make it to the sink, he grabs my arm and spins me around to face him. “What the fuck are you thinking?” he asks in a harsh whisper.
I rip my arm out of his grasp. “I’m thinking that two kids need help and I can help them.”
He stares at me in disbelief. “Red. You’re twenty-four fucking years old. You’re old enough to be the kid’s sister not his mother.”
“So what? I’m not trying to be their mother. I’m trying to be someone they can rely on, while giving them a safe environment.”
“You have your own shit going on right now. You shouldn’t be taking on someone else’s!”
I expected to hear this. To be honest, I expect to hear this from other people too, but I don’t care. I know I’m making the right decision. “What do you expect me to do, Cade? Let him go back there?” I know that he does not think that.
“Of course not. But let Cooper handle this, let the state take care of them.”
“You heard what he said, and we both know that he’s right. They will more than likely be split up, and, let’s just be real for a moment, foster homes aren’t always the safest place either. Whereas here, in my home, we know this is a safe place for them.”
“Maybe they won’t get split up and if they do, well… yeah it fucking sucks, but this does not make it your problem, Faith!”
“I
’m making it my problem!” He glares down at me and I decide to try another tactic. “What if you were in his position? Would you take the chance of letting someone take your sister from you?” I feel terrible as soon as the words leave my mouth, especially at the horrific pain that flashes in his gaze, but I need him to understand why I’m not giving up on this.
His expression turns angry again, but before he can respond, Christopher comes bolting in with his wet shirt in hand. “We have to go, now!”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, rushing over to him.
“My dad picked up Ruth Jean from Mrs. Jenkins an hour ago.” The same fear and panic that’s etched on Christopher’s face starts to rush through me.
Okay think, Faith, think.
Christopher starts to the front door but I grab his arm to halt him. “We will call Cooper first.”
“No! We can’t wait that long. You don’t understand how bad he was tonight. She’s not safe with him. Especially if his friends are still there.”
“Let’s go. We can call Cooper on the way.” Before I can even register what’s happening, both Cade and Christopher are out the door. I get my butt into gear and quickly follow. Once we get into Cade’s truck, he pulls his cell out and hits one number before passing it to me. I take it and Cooper answers immediately.
I try to keep calm, and briefly fill him in on tonight’s events since leaving the bar. He curses angrily, but also doesn’t seem all that surprised. He tells me that he and Kayla just got home and that he will meet us there as soon as he can. He also instructs for us to wait in the truck until he does. By the time I hang up from him we are driving down the same back road that we found Christopher on tonight and I just now register that Cade is driving fast. Really fast.
“The next turn is our driveway.”
He turns quickly and races up the long driveway, which leads to a very small, beaten-down house that has two black motorcycles parked in front, and slams on the brakes.