as I can be. It’ll be the football players and their girlfriends.”
“You don’t like them?”
“Did I ever hang out with them before Damian?”
“No, but that’s because we never ran with that crowd.”
“It’s a good thing we didn’t. The guys are all pseudo-macho-wannabes and the girls are wrapped up with being seen and acting like they have a personal stake in their boyfriend’s athletic prowess.”
I giggle. “Tell me how you really feel about them, Riss.”
“I think we should double date from now on. I’d have more fun with you and Jason than those other guys.”
“Have you thought of just breaking up with him?”
“No way!”
“Why?”
“He’s hot. And the other stuff, well…you know.” She winks at me.
I roll my eyes at her in jest. Arissa lost her virginity in May. She was more curious about sex than investing in a relationship with Bobby.
“Let’s go to a movie or something,” she says.
“The mall?”
“Yeah!” She jumps up, ready to go.
“Let me put the mower away and check with my parents.”
“I’ll go get my mom,” she says, already in motion.
I step inside the house after closing the garage door.
“Get off your fucking ass and fix lunch!” Father yells from his seat in the family room.
“Fix it your damn self!” she shouts back from their bedroom.
“Good for nothing lazy ass bitch!”
Mother marches into the family room and looms over him, hands planted on her hips.
“There you are,” he says, “finally off that fat ass of yours.”
She snatches his drink, throws the fiery liquid in his face, slams the glass on the coffee table, and storms back to their room. Father screams and claws at his eyes.
“Father, I’m going to the mall with Arissa,” I tell him instead of asking, afraid to be anywhere near them after that, then rush back to the front door.
“No, you’re not!” he yells, jumping out of his chair wiping his face with the collar of his shirt.
I quicken my stride, but it’s not enough. He seizes my arm and hauls me backwards. “Get back in here and clean up this mess!” he orders.
I grab hold of the doorjamb with my other hand and fight to stay outside. He can’t hurt me outside.
“I said, get back in here!”
“No!” I scream, straining against his pull.
He releases my arm and I fall onto the porch, catching myself with my hands. He moves fast, kicking me in the ribs. The contact knocks the wind out of me and I curl up, protecting myself with my arms covering my head and face.
“Good for nothing bitch! You’re just like your mother! Worthless!” he yells, kicking me again and again.
The sound of a car engine purring, the screeching of brakes, and the slamming of metal on metal comes in over his shouting.
He stops without a word. The familiar smacking of fist hitting flesh comes next, but it’s not his fist hitting my flesh. I remain balled up with my eyes pinched shut. Mother’s shriek sounds next over the fight.
Someone picks me up and carries me, running. A woodsy aroma fills my nose.
Jason!
I hold on to him and a frayed end of hope as if my life depends on it, because it does.
He sits on something soft, cradling me in his arms. “Parker, you’re safe,” he says, kissing my head and stroking my hair.
I want to believe it. I want to be safe. I want it all to end. But it won’t. It never will. This is just a pause in the game. An intermission between acts. Halftime.
Tremors overtake my body and Jason squeezes me close. “It’s okay,” he murmurs.
“No, it’s not.” I choke on sputtered sobs. “I’ll never be safe.”
He draws back with my head in his hands. “You. Are. Safe.”
I open my eyes warily. His golden irises focus on me, full of concern. We’re on one of the Jerichos’ living room sofas with Rose, Andrew, and Arissa watching over us.
They saw. They all saw.
The sobbing comes in full force and I cinch my arms around Jason, burying my face in his neck. My world is shattered, laid before me in chaos like a 3-D puzzle with no picture to use as a guide.
Jason doesn’t let go. He holds on to me as tight as I cling to him.
Soon, I tire from the crying. The tears dissipate, leaving salty streaks on my face. Sleep pulls me under.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I wake sheathed in warmth, still in Jason’s embrace, but on a bed. I pry myself out of his arms like I’m ripping off a band-aid and scoot to the edge of