Motorcycles, Sushi & One Strange Book
Page 23
“If you could have stopped it, you would have.” His voice got firmer. “This is not your fault, Bryn.”
“Yes, it is. Please–I’ll take care of it.”
He folded his arms and looked at me so sadly I thought for a minute he was going to let me.
“Your dad’s Doctor Christopher,” he said.
“He’s a vet,” I said.
“Does he have his own practice?”
“It’s next door to our house.” I didn’t know where we were going with this, but at least it was away from my beat-up body.
“Is he under a lot of stress?”
“My dad?” I would have laughed if I hadn’t been crying. My father was more laid back than Winnie the Pooh.
“Does your mom live with you?”
“Yes, sir, but she’s away on a trip.” Thank goodness.
“How long has she been gone?”
“Two weeks. She won’t be back ‘til the end of July.”
I closed my eyes again. Suddenly I was so tired I could have faded away–if he hadn’t said what he said next.
“I don’t have a choice, Bryn. You’re only fifteen. I have to report this.”
My eyes sprang open.
“You’re the victim of assault.”
I tried to sit up, but I flopped back like a helpless fish. “He didn’t assault me.” I said. “He just–”
He just what? Was I going to tell them his eyes had gone wild and the veins in his neck bulged like purple cords and I knew he couldn’t stop himself? That I knew it was going to be worse than last time because it always was?
Dr. Wooten stood up. “I’m going to send you down for a CT scan so we can be sure of what’s happening with your belly. That will give you some time to think it over.” He brushed my hand with his fingertips, like he knew that was the only place on me that didn’t hurt. “I want you to know there’s nothing to be afraid of, for you or your dad. He can get help–”
In spite of the breath-stealing pain, I sat right up on the table this time.
“My dad?” I said. “You think my dad did this?”
“No matter what you feel you did to deserve it, it’s child abuse.”
“You don’t understand!” I grabbed for his wrist and caught a handful of his coat in my fingers. “My dad would never do this.”
“Then who was it, Bryn? Because if you don’t tell us, the police are going to assume it was him.”
“The police?” I let go of his sleeve and shoved my hands into my hair. And then I let go of the words that were going to change my life forever and ever.
“It wasn’t my father,” I said. “It was my boyfriend.”
Real Life Series
by Nancy Rue
A mysterious book unites four teen girls and unlocks the secret that will get each of them through the real-life struggles they face in their lives.
Boyfriends, Burritos &
an Ocean of Trouble
Book Two
Bryn O’Connor is good at keeping secrets. But when a car accident reveals the marks of her boyfriend’s physically abusive behavior, the truth is unleashed.
Tournaments, Cocoa &
One Wrong Move
Book Three
Sixteen-year-old Cassidy’s promising basketball future is threatened when she finds herself a victim of Female Athlete Syndrome.
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