Haven from the Storm (Storms of Life #1) (25 page)

I felt tears building in my eyes; not sad tears, but angry tears. Mindi wouldn’t get away with this. She knew what Michael was capable of, but she called him to get her revenge. She shouldn’t be a counselor; she shouldn’t even be allowed around students.

“I’m not leaving,” Lily croaked, breaking me from my revenge.

“What?” I asked surprised she was awake.

“I know you’re here to make me come to your house, but I’m not leaving.” Her voice sounded strained.

“We’ll get to that. But first, what’s wrong with your voice?”

“Trauma to the throat, I guess, but it doesn’t hurt. I bet it’ll be fine tomorrow.” She shrugged like it was no big deal.

“You know I hate when you act like this abuse is no big deal. At least show a little emotion about it.”

She pulled away from me and pulled her knees to her chest, holding them tight. “What do you want me to say, Dean? I’m scared? Because you know that I‘m terrified. But you wanna know something else? Today was the first time that I felt like I could actually stand up to him. Obviously I didn’t do a very good job, but I didn’t just stand there and let him hit me. I tried to get away and if I would have been able to, I’d have fought back.” She had a gleam in her eye that was apparently a newfound strength. I wasn’t going to take that away from her.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to immediately start an argument with you. You weren’t around all afternoon and you wouldn’t answer your phone. Then I found out about the meeting with York and what Sheriff Andy saw. I panicked.”

“And so you decided to break into my room again? First the hotel and now here.” She smiled.

“Yeah, I guess I kinda freaked out and broke into your room, but you’ve broken into my room before too - don’t forget that night at the hotel.” A small smile played on her lips. “I think it was Red’s idea to break in this time though, so you should take it up with him.” We both laughed. It was so good to hear her laugh. She didn’t do it often enough for my liking. “So I can see the side of you face and your stomach. Is that it? Or do you need to show me more?”

She shook her head and reached out to hold my hand. “No, that’s all really. It really wasn’t bad. We weren’t here very long before the Sheriff showed up and stopped it.”

“I’m really glad he was here, but I wish you would’ve let me know you were coming home. You know I would have left class and been there.”

“Of course, I know that, but you shouldn’t have to jump and run every time there’s a possibility that I’ll be alone with my father.” She stared across the room for several seconds. “Dean, he’s really losing it. He doesn’t want me around you and he’s making really horrible threats about it.” Her scratchy voice was shaky, giving away her fear. I pulled her close.

“Don’t you dare worry about me. You have enough to worry about without adding me to the list. How was the meeting with York?”

“He wasn’t bad, he actually helped me a lot. My father and Mindi were the bad parts. She really has it out for me now. You know that, right?”

“I didn’t understand how much until today, but I won’t make that mistake again,” I assured her. “York stopped me on my way out of school this afternoon and told me about the meeting. He also suggested we not be seen together, just in case.”

“He’s got a point. I don’t want you to get in trouble at the school or with your college just because of me and I really don’t want my father to see us. School’s almost over anyway. Then none of this will matter.”

“I know that and I can’t wait, but I’m not staying away from you if that’s what you’re hinting at, so you might as well just drop it right now. We belong to each other and no one is going to take you away from me again.” I held her face, staring right into her eyes looking for any signs of doubt, but saw only crystal clear blue eyes staring back. “So are you coming home with me, or am I staying the night here? Because you aren’t staying alone.”

I woke up that morning and something was different. Dean had stayed the night so I slept without the nightmares that always plagued me, but that wasn’t it. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but I felt different, like I was waiting for something special that I knew was coming. Like Christmas morning, when you’re waiting for your parents to wake up so you can open your presents.

Dean was already gone when I finally got out of bed to get ready for school. I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my battered face. Almost the entire right side was covered with a purple bruise. Sadly, I was actually happy that at least my lip wasn’t busted. My face would hurt enough without having to deal with a healing lip. I laughed as I thought that the coloring of the bruise made my blue eyes stand out and look even more vibrant.

I lightly pressed on the bruise. The pain was welcomed. It reminded me of how I’d actually tried to defend myself. Well not really defend myself, but at least I tried to get away from his abuse instead of just allowing it to happen like I always had. The very first time he hit me I froze, thinking it was all a bad dream. It was only weeks after the tornado and I was lying in bed crying when my father flung my door open and dragged me out of bed. It was the middle of the night and my sobs were keeping him awake. I was fourteen years old and he’d barely touched me in years, not even so much as a hug. When he hit me I just cowered on the floor and begged to wake up from the nightmare and find my brother.

I decided I wasn’t even going to put makeup on and try to hide it. I wanted to wear it as a badge. This was the first bruise I’d actively earned, and for the first time I was proud to wear it. I could feel myself growing taller and my shoulder’s straightening. I’d found the courage I thought I’d never had. It was buried deep down inside me, but my father had finally beaten it to the surface and I was happy it had arrived.

When I pulled in to the student parking lot at school, Dean was standing in my usual parking spot. He looked worse than I did today and he was still wearing the same clothes. His shoulders were hunched over as if he was trying to curl into himself and hide. This wasn’t like Dean which told me something was wrong. We’d barely been apart for an hour, what could have happened? I sat in my car, staring straight ahead for several seconds and trying to savor the last few breathes of that sweet courage I’d found before it was pushed back down.

I opened my door, but didn’t get out or even look toward him. “What happened? Just tell me, don’t beat around the bush. Just come out with it, all of it.”

“Someone broke into the house last night. Nothing was touched except for my room, which was pretty much destroyed. Adley’s fine. She didn’t come home until late because she fell asleep at Derek’s. She didn’t hear anything, so it must have been before she got home.” He paused for an eternity while I simply breathed. “Look at me, Lily.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to. When I woke up this morning, I felt good. No matter what I looked like on the outside, I felt strong inside. I don’t want to look at your face and know that how I felt was a lie.”

“C’mon, don’t do that. We’re still fine, we just have to stick together. We all have to stay at Grandma Violet’s together, no fighting this. I won’t continue to let this happen to you.” He lightly touched my face. “But I can’t leave Adley alone, either.”

I turned to look at him and saw clearly what I had to do. We didn’t need to stick together because my problems were endangering everyone and I wouldn’t continue to drag everyone into my problems, putting them in danger. This was for me to solve. I’d found my courage and I was going to use it...finally. I hopped out of my car and knew exactly who I needed to see.

“Where are you going?” Dean chased after me as I stormed into the school.

My mind was racing, a million thoughts launching and looking for a spot to land. “I gotta find Derek. I need his help.”

Dean rushed in front of me, stopping me. “You’ve seriously got crazy eyes right now. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that it’s time to put an end to our problems. I’m tired of being scared. I’m tired of waiting for the big finale, my final beating. I won’t sit idly by while my father hurts you and everyone that I care about. I know that’s where this is going and I know he’s going to hurt all of you before this ends. I have to do something, even if it’s something I have to do without your help. I want your support, but I’m doing this my way from now on.” I stepped around him to continue my pursuit, fully expecting him to follow me, but when I looked back he was gone.

I scanned the halls looking for Adley or Derek, but didn’t see either of them. I did, however, pass Principal York who turned pale when he saw me. I knew he felt like this was his fault, but I stood a little taller knowing that this was a direct result of my newfound courage. I vowed to never see the look of pity that was on his face from anyone ever again. I nodded my head and gave him a small smile before continuing on my way.

Finally I found Derek. He was sleeping on the bench outside the back door of the school. It looked like he planned to be there for a while, which was good news for me. His backpack was under his head and his shoes were thrown under the bench. I picked up his shoes and slammed them down on his stomach to wake him. Surprisingly, he didn’t budge. I cleared my throat trying to politely get his attention, but it didn’t work.

“Derek!” I finally shouted.

He rolled over, putting his back toward me and knocked his shoes back to the ground. “Whatever you want, Lily, you’ll have to wait. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Come back this afternoon.”

I rolled my eyes for my own pleasure since he couldn’t see me. “So, I guess the whole, Adley fell asleep at Derek’s house last night, was just a lie?”

He laughed, but still hadn’t opened his eyes. “There’s never much sleep going on when we’re together. Now go to class and let me sleep.”

“Fourth grade karate? You stayed with it all this time, right?”

He groaned. “You know my dad’s the redneck Mr. Miyagi, so I didn’t really have a choice. Why? You looking to earn your black belt now? Because you seriously sucked back then and I bet you’d be even worse now.”

“Derek, turn over and look at me.”

He finally did and sat straight up the moment his eyes meet my colorful face. “What the hell, Lily?”

“Teach me. I want to know how to defend myself before this happens again. You know my father’s the one that broke in to Violet’s last night?”

Derek nodded his head. “I figured, but didn’t know for sure.”

“I can’t do it anymore, Derek. I won’t let him use me as his personal punching bag anymore, but I can’t do it without help. Teach me how to fight back.” I could feel the tears burning in my throat.

“What does Dean think about this?”

“No clue. Didn’t know I was supposed to ask permission,” I snapped.

“Retract those claws, kitty cat, I was just asking. I don’t give a shit what Dean thinks either, I was just curious how big of a bunch his panties were gonna be in.”

“So you’ll teach me?”

He stared at the ground for several minutes while I listened to the bell ring and knew we were both missing first period. He finally looked up into my eyes, searching them for...something. Desperation, probably.

“You sure about this, Lily? You know I’ll help you with anything you need, if you’re finally ready to do something about your dad. But I’m thinking you need to get away from him, not stand up to him.”

“I have no doubt that’s what it looks like from the outside, but if I run he’s gonna chase me and plow through anyone that gets in his way. I need to stand up to him and let him know he can’t do it anymore. That’s the only way he’s going to finally leave me and everyone I care about alone.” He rocked his head from side to side trying to make up his mind and finally nodded in agreement, but only slightly. I picked up his shoes and threw them at him. “Put ‘em on and let’s go.”

“Now? You want to do this now?”

“No time like the present, right? You weren’t gonna go to class anyway, so why are you complaining?”

“I’m not really complaining about missing school because at least this is a semi-legitimate reason. I was just looking forward to my nap, but I guess this is more important. You gonna tell Dean?”

“Yes, nosy butt, I am. Going to send him a text message right now.” I pulled out my phone. “Where we going to do this exactly?”

“I got a key to the karate studio. All that extra padding will be better for you, don’t need any more marks on your delicate skin.”