I walked over and punched him in the arm. “Very funny.”
He smiled and raised the milk carton to take a swig when we both heard it.
“What’s that?” I whispered.
He slammed down the milk and rushed out of the kitchen.
“Nathan?” I yelled, chasing him upstairs. The sobs were coming from somewhere in the upper level of the house and my stomach twisted in horror.
Mom?
“Oh, my God,” he choked, entering her dark bedroom. She was lying naked on the floor next to the bed, her face swollen and bleeding, her body badly bruised.
We rushed to her side and she cracked open one of her black eyes. “Call the police,” she mumbled, barely coherent.
I started to cry as I grabbed the phone and dialed nine-one-one. I don’t even remember talking to the person who’d answered. All I know is that I was blubbering and she was trying to console me with the fact that help was coming.
I hung up and stared at my broken mother in shock, feeling helpless and frightened. Thankfully, Nathan handled stress much better than I did.
He grabbed a comforter and covered her gently. “Mom, what happened?” he asked, pushing her dark bangs away from her eyes.
The shame on her face was heart-wrenching and I pretty much knew by her appearance what had happened. She’d obviously been beaten and raped.
I brushed the tears from my face, kneeled down next to her, and lightly touched her hand. “The police and ambulance are on their way.”
She nodded and closed her eyes.
“Mom?” prodded Nathan. “What happened?”
“Nathan, think about it,” I whispered. “She’s been raped.”
His lips trembled as he searched her face. “Mom, some stranger broke in here and… did this?”
She opened her eyes and stared at both of us for a few seconds. “No… no stranger,” she whispered hoarsely. “It was your father.”
Chapter One
“Are we almost there?” I asked, staring through my sunglasses at the endless rows of cornfields. We’d been driving for hours through the countryside and I could no longer tell the difference from one town to the next. More than anything, I just wanted to get out of the car and stretch my legs, which were starting to tingle in an uncomfortable way.
Mom cleared her throat. “Pretty soon.”
Nathan was following us in his Mustang and I glanced back to see him talking on his cell phone once again.
“Oh, Lord,” I said, leaning my head back against the headrest. “He must be talking to Deanna for the tenth time. She just won’t get over the fact that we’re really moving.”
Mom tightened her hands on the steering wheel and glanced at me. “I’m sorry about this. I’m just so sorry… about everything.”
I groaned. “Mom, for crying out loud, it’s not your fault. I can’t even believe you’re feeling guilty about it. I mean, nobody had any idea that he could be so violent.”
It had been less than three months since my father had brutally attacked my mother. They’d been separated for the last couple of years because of his sporadic temper tantrums, along with his inability to stop screwing other women. When my mother had finally gotten up the nerve to leave him, surprisingly, he’d actually been pretty civil about it. Then, when he’d found out she’d moved on emotionally and started dating again, he’d went off in a jealous rage, striking back at her viciously. We were all still stunned about the horrifying ordeal.
“I just wish they could locate him,” she said, staring straight ahead. “He’s… crazy.”
I nodded. I was so ashamed, that any thoughts of him made me physically ill. It was still really hard to believe that my own father was capable of being so violent, especially since he’d been a cop and responsible for keeping people safe. After the attack, he’d disappeared, and my poor mother had spent several nights in the hospital recovering. When she finally came home, she wasn’t able to sleep at night without drugs, terrified that he’d show up and beat her again. Then, just recently, she’d been given a gift; a way out. Her employer offered her an accounting job in Montana and that’s where all three of us were now headed; to start a new life.
“I think it’s good that Nathan’s getting away from Deanna anyway,” I said, staring in dismay at my short, stubbly nails. Not that they’d been perfect before, but all of the packing and cleaning had taken its toll. “She’s so whiny and annoying.”
Mom smiled wryly. “Now, Nikki, you haven’t liked any of Nathan’s girlfriends.”
“It’s not my fault he attracts the psycho ones.”