Page 26 of Come Back To Me

My grip tightened on the steering wheel until the leather bit into my skin. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

His voice was barely above a murmur when he said, “Because it was just once.”

That’s how it started, one hit. But it wasn’t enough for people like my Mother. I was seven the first time she laid a hand on me, and I also thought it was just once. I told myself I deserved it too, but as I got older I realized it wasn’t me at all. My Mother was the problem.

We were pulling into the trailer park our parents called ‘home’ and when I cut the engine, I turned in my seat to look at my little brother. “If she does it again, call me, okay? She has no right to hit you.”

He nodded but didn’t look at me.

“I’ll make sure you get new skates before your next practice,” I added, turning my attention back towards the front door of the trailer. My Mother stood on the front step smoking a cigarette, her hair a disheveled mess. She’d seen better days, that’s for sure.

Seeing her standing there brought the realization home that I couldn’t leave Daniel in this situation much longer. If it weren’t for the trust fund my grandparents left for me, I would have probably still been stuck here too, but my brother wasn’t as lucky. He jumped out of the car, and I followed suit, offering to take his hockey bag inside. He ran ahead, cowering away from our Mother when she sneered at him.

Dammit.

Was it worse than what Daniel let on?

“Nice of you to drop by.” My Mothers voice was like nails on a chalkboard, with a rasp from smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. How I came from this was still a mystery. At least my Father ignored me growing up, and from what I heard he was the same way with Daniel. It was our dear Mom that handed out the beatings when she felt it was deserved. Or when she was drunk off her ass. It was a long fall from grace for her, she came from a wealthy family but when she married my father her parents wrote her off. And they took pity on me, making her hate me more.

God, I despised coming here, and it made me sick to leave Daniel here any longer. But my hands were tied for the time being, at least until I could get some legal advice.

“You take Daniel’s money?” I asked harshly. This woman didn’t deserve any kind of pleasantry from me.

She chuckled, but it was such a sick and twisted sound it made my skin crawl beneath my clothes “He was keeping it from me, Vaughan.”

I ground my teeth. “I gave it to him.”

“You should have given it to me. I’m the one taking care of the brat.”

I’d never hit a woman before, but damn if I wasn’t tempted to change that right then. I closed the distance between us until mommy dearest had to crane her neck to look at me.

My voice was low, but no less rigid when I said, “Hit him again, and I’ll have you arrested. You want me to keep giving you money? Keep your dirty hands off my little brother.”

My Mother’s face remained impassive, but her eyes were far too expressive to hide her trepidation. “You can’t prove a damn thing.”

I leaned a little closer, and almost gagged when I inhaled a whiff of the liquor on her breath mixed with the stench of stale smoke and sweat. Disgusting. “Try me. I dare you, mom.”

I turned around before she had the opportunity to spew more bullshit from her dirty mouth, but inside I was seething, barely hanging on to my composure. I needed to get Daniel out of there. My wheels spun on the dirt, and the trailer disappeared in my rearview mirror. There was only person I could ask for help.

Coach Davis.

He was the only option I had.

I was about to pull my phone out and call him, it wasn’t too late, but Aiden’s name started flashing on my screen. I paused, he never called me, even though we’d become kind of friendly lately.

“Hey man.” I drove towards the apartment I shared with Staci. “What’s up?”

“I need your help.” His voice was panicked, frantic. I sat upright.

“What’s wrong?”

“Maddy just called me. She said Kenzi hasn’t been home yet and she’s not answering her phone.”

I thought back to when Kenzi was at her Dad’s house. She was in Maddy’s Prius, which was surprising. Last I heard she hadn’t been behind the wheel of a car since her accident.

That gave me an idea, and I was already turning my car around.

“Maddy’s got tracking in her car right? For insurance?”