The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window (36 page)

“
You OK?”
Johnny asked, sounding concerned.

I
nodded
weakly. “I don’t want to see him,
Johnny,” I whispered, turning in my seat to look at him.

He was trying
to watch the road
and look at me at the
same time. “Why not?” he asked quietly. I shook my head. I couldn’t
talk about it, especially not to him, that was his stepfather for
goodness sake, he lived with him.

“
I just
don’t, please
.” I begged him with my
eyes.

He sighed and
shook his head. “He’s not there anyway. He went away for the
weekend with my mom and Matt. They’re not due back until late
tonight,” he said.

He wasn’t there?

“
Are you
sure?” I asked
, my body was starting to
relax.

He
nodded and smiled reassuringly. “Positive. They
went to Mersey for the weekend to see my grandparents. They’re not
getting back until like ten or something.”

I looked at
him to make sure he wasn’t lying or
trying to trick me or something. He looked like he was
telling the truth. Johnny was a really nice guy, he wouldn’t do
something like that to me, he wouldn’t lie. “OK,” I agreed
quietly.

He
smi
led and looked back at the road. “So,
do I get to know why you and Jake hate Stephen so much?” he asked
curiously. I closed my eyes; I really didn’t want to have this
conversation with him, with anyone. Even Kate didn’t know any
details about my father and my childhood.

“
Johnny
, I don’t want to talk
about it. It’s in the past, I prefer it to stay there,” I replied,
praying that he would drop it.

He
nodded
, looking a little disappointed and
sad. “OK. Well, if you ever need to talk to me about anything, you
can. You know that, right?” he asked as he pulled onto a really
nice looking street. I nodded looking out of the window; the houses
were huge, with big expensive cars in the drives. He pulled in to a
driveway and I glanced up at the huge pale blue house. It looked
like my dad had certainly done well for himself.

“
You sure
he’s not here?” I asked nervously
, as I
got out and walked to Johnny’s side.

“
I’m sure.
The car’s not even here,” he confirmed, waving at the empty drive.
I relaxed and followed behind Johnny closely, up to the house. I
was barely able to breathe. As he opened the front door I gripped
hold of the back of his t-shirt. He chuckled. “Amber, there’s no
one here,” he assured me, shaking his head as he wrapped his arm
around my shoulders, pulling me into the house. The house was
gorgeous. “Want a drink?” he offered, leading me into the
kitchen.

“
Um
, sure.” I looked around at all
of the expensive ornaments and furniture. “You could fit my whole
house into your lounge and kitchen,” I said, smiling.

He
laughed
. “This is house is nice, but it’s
too big for just us. I don’t know why they had to buy such an
expensive one.”

“
What does my
father do now then?” I asked curiously
,
as he handed me a can of Pepsi.

“
Stocks and
shares. He’s some big broker or something, I don’t really
understand it. He makes a lot of money though,” he said
casually.

He was still
doing that then, that’s what he did when we were kids. I didn’t
want to talk about him anymore; being in his house was
fre
aking me out more than
enough.

“
So
, you and Kate, huh?” I teased,
trying to change the subject.

He blushed
and nodded. “She’s nice,” he muttered nervously.

I grinned at
his blush, he really was adorable. “She said you kissed her.” I
raised my eyebrows excitedly, waiting for details. I’d had her
version of the ‘perfect kiss’ now I wanted his.

He
grinned
. “Yeah, did she say if she liked
it?” he asked, blushing harder.

Oh hell yeah
she did! “Yeah, she liked it a lot
,” I
confirmed, waggling my eyebrows at him.

He
laughed
. “Well thank goodness for that.”
He sounded so relieved that I couldn’t help but laugh too. “I was
thinking about asking her out, properly, you know, being exclusive.
Do you think she’d go for that?” he asked, looking at me
hopefully.

I grinned at
his worried face. “Hell yeah she’d go for that.” Kate really liked
him, she would definitely be exclusive.

He laughed
and
messed up the back of his hair.
“Awesome! Thanks, Amber.”

“
Go get
changed then and let’s go eat
. I’m
starved,” I instructed, nodding to the hallway.

“
OK. I’ll be
five minutes.”

I
shrugged
. “You can shower and stuff if
you want, I don’t mind waiting.”

“
Are you
saying I smell?” he asked, laughing, as he made his way to the
hall.

“
Well
, I was trying to be polite,”
I joked. He laughed and skipped off up the stairs.

I sat down at
the
kitchen counter, happily drinking my
Pepsi, playing with his trophy, when I heard the front door open
and a lady talking. “No, I just need to give him some medicine and
put him to bed,” she said.

I felt
my breath catch in my throat.

“
Well
, he hasn’t stopped fucking
crying,” my father snapped, sounding annoyed.

I jumped out
of the chair so fast
that I nearly fell
over. I moved to the other side of the counter, needing to put
something between us if he was coming in here. My heart was
crashing in my chest. I couldn’t breathe properly. There was a door
behind me; I grabbed the handle, desperately wanting to get away
before he came in. I couldn’t see him; I couldn’t let him see me.
Rattling the handle I quickly realised that the door was locked. I
could feel the tears starting to prickle in my eyes.

“
I’m
sorry
, Stephen. I’ll put him to bed in a
minute, he’ll sleep it off,” the lady said quietly.

“
He fucking
better
, he’s giving me a headache,” he
growled angrily.

I rammed my
hand into my pocket
, grabbing my
cellphone. Who I was planning on calling I don’t know. Liam and
Jake were too far away, and Johnny was probably in the shower.
There was no one, no help; I was alone in my horror. I turned
around facing the door, waiting for him to come in. I felt sick. Oh
God, was I actually going to throw up?

The lady
walked in
, carrying a whining little
blond boy in her arms, stroking his back soothingly. Her eyes
snapped to me and she jumped a mile, obviously not knowing I was in
here. “Hi, sorry, I didn’t realise Johnny had friends over,” she
said, smiling at me warmly. She was very pretty, brown hair and
grey eyes, just like my mom’s and mine. I nodded, unable to
talk.

“
Johnny’s got
friends over?” my father asked
as he
walked through the door.

I felt dizzy,
my legs were weak, he looked almost exactly the same,
just a little older, a little less hair and more
greys. His eyes were hard and stern like they used to be, not like
the photo that Johnny showed me. He hadn’t changed at
all.

He looked at
me, his eyes raking over every part of my body while I just stood
there
, unable to move, unable to breathe.
I felt like I was a kid again. I was terrified, and this time I had
no Jake to protect me. The man that ruined my childhood, my
brothers childhood, was standing less than fifteen feet from
me.

“
Amber,” he
said quietly. He smiled and I felt bile rise in my
throat.

Chapter 19

“Amber?” the lady repeated, looking between him and
me. “Your daughter, Amber?” she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.
My father nodded, his eyes not leaving mine. I felt like a deer
trapped in the headlights of an oncoming car, and all I could do
was brace myself for the impact. “Well, it’s great to meet you at
last. I’ve heard so much about you from Stephen and Johnny that I
feel like I already know you,” the lady chirped, smiling warmly at
me. I tried to smile back and pretend that everything was fine,
that I wasn’t about to pass out any second, that I wasn’t about
five seconds from screaming the house down.

“
You
too
, Ruby,” I replied quietly, dragging
my eyes away from him.

“
What are you
doing here
, Amber?” my father asked,
raising his eyebrows and smiling a half smile. The sound of his
voice sent chills down my spine as I tried desperately not to
remember my childhood. I had nightmares about his voice, his eyes,
the way he stood so straight, and how his fists were always
clenched, just like they were now.

“
I….. I came
with Johnny. He’s…. he’s getting changed,” I stuttered. Immediately
I was mentally scolding myself because I was stuttering. His old
rules were coming back, stand tall, speak clearly, no
mumbling.

Ruby smiled.
“Well, it’s great that you’re here. Would you like to stay for
dinner? I think we’re getting a takeout because there’s not much
food in. We weren’t due back until later tonight, but Matt’s been
ill all weekend so we came back early,” Ruby explained as she
kissed the baby’s head softly. She seemed really nice, too nice for
this abusive asshole. I shook my head, I couldn’t speak again. My
hands were shaking so I clasped them together tightly, trying to
remain in control and not slump into a pile on the floor and sob.
“You sure? It’s no trouble. We’d love to have you stay for dinner,
wouldn’t we, Stephen?” she continued, smiling at him, completely
oblivious that I was living my worst nightmare right now. He
nodded, his gaze travelling the length of my body, making me go
cold.

“
I’m
sure
, thanks,” I said quietly, my voice
breaking at the end.

The
little boy started crying again. Ruby’s eyes
went wide as she looked at Stephen. “I’ll just give him some
medicine and put him down for a sleep,” she said, heading over to a
cupboard pulling out a medicine bottle and spoon.

My father
walked a couple of steps towards me and I shrank back against the
door
, my breathing coming out in shallow
gasps. I thumbed my phone open and dialled Johnny - he was the
closest person, if I could just call him and somehow tell him to
get the hell downstairs, then we could leave.

“
How have you
been
, Amber? I’ve been trying to see you
for years but your brother wouldn’t let me,” he stated, sneering on
the word brother.

He’d been
trying to see me and Jake didn’t tell me? Why the hell wouldn’t he
tell me something like that? Knowing Jake, he probably thought he
was protecting me. I looked at Johnny’s mother for help; she was
putting the medicine bottle back now.

“
I’ve been
fine
, thank you,” I answered. I glanced
down at my phone, it was still trying to connect, Johnny wasn’t
answering. Damn it!

“
I’ll just
put Matt to bed
, then I’ll be back and
make some coffee or something,” Ruby suggested, smiling kindly at
me.

“
OK, love,”
my father replied, his eyes not leaving mine.

I gulped; I
couldn’t be here with him on my own! “Can I come
with you?” I asked desperately. Ruby looked at me a little
shocked. “I’d like to see Matt’s room, if that’s OK,” I lied
quickly. There was no way I was staying in here with
him.

“
I don’t
think that’s a good idea
, Amber. Matt’s
not well. You can see his room another time,” my father interjected
before Ruby could answer.

Ruby
smiled
. “I’ll be right back.” She headed
out of the room with the little boy clinging around her
neck.

I stepped to
the side and almos
t ran out of the room
after her. Just as I passed him, he grabbed my wrist, yanking me to
a stop, almost making me fall. I felt the scream trying to rip
itself out of my throat but I swallowed it back down, I couldn’t
show him how much power he had over me.

“
You look
beautiful
, Amber. Just like your mother
when she was your age. You always were a fucking peach,” he purred,
licking his lips as he trailed his hand across my cheek.

I brought my
knee up and kneed him as hard as I could in the
groin
, yanking my arm from his hold and
streaking for the hallway as fast as my legs could carry me. I had
no idea where I should go though. I came here in Johnny’s car so I
didn’t want to just run out of the house with nowhere to go. So
instead, I ran up the stairs, streaking down the hallway until I
spotted a door with an
‘Enter
at your own risk’
hazard sign hanging on
it. That one
had
to be Johnny’s. I didn’t bother knocking as I
burst through the door, slamming it behind me and bursting into
hysterical sobs as I leant against it.