Once in a lifetime.

⚠️37

September

I woke woken up to banging and my phone ringing. My heart did a flutter and I had to remind myself that Dalton wasn't going to call me, and even if he was I shouldn't answer. He can take his own treatment for a while, meaning I won't answer the phone for him. But it wasn't Dalton, it was Tori.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Come open the door."

I don't understand, "What?"

"I'm outside, come open the door."

"Why?"

"Can't you ask me that when we're inside?  Come. Open. The. Door." She said each word broken up. The nights are getting colder, and I don't really want to get out of bed but I do. I walk down zombie-like to the door and open it without checking. There Tori and Johnny stand.

"What?"

She pushes past me, "It's a story."

Johnny follows. "Hi, Juliet."

I mess with his hair, "Hey little man." When he steps into the light I gasp. Johnny has a busted lip. I turn to Tori and I know why she's here. I'm fuming, it's never okay to hit your child, especially one who you're supposed to be teaching how to act. "Please tell me he didn't."

"Can we stay here?" She asks ignoring me.

I close the door, "Oh you're not going back."

I set Johnny up on an air mattress while Tori and I shared my bed. I didn't tell my parents because I didn't want to wake them to bad news. I was also afraid that they would push Tori and Johnny out. I needed time to figure this all out. My parents aren't stupid, they know that Tori has a bad home life, but Tori and I are good at hiding it. I don't want to hide it but Tori does. She's scared that they will take both of them and they will get separated. Johnny needs her, but now that their dad has hit him, I don't know what she's thinking. She's eighteen so she can fight for custody, can't she?

"Thanks for letting us stay," Tori says filling the silence.

"Any time."

"I'm scared that this is the end."

"The end?"

"Of us staying together. Johnny and I. I can't hide his busted lip, and wow I can't hide from him what really happens to me."

"He was going to find out sooner or later."

"I was hoping that later was a long time from now. I was figuring out how to get custody. We can't go back now, not with what happened."

"What did happen?" She glances at Johnny and even though we can hear his slow even breathing she doesn't tell me.

"I'll tell you tomorrow."

I woke up early so I could try and catch my parents before they left for work, preferably my dad. I don't think my mom would mind but I know my dad will say yes. I only think my mom will.

I get out of the shower and begin wrapping the towel around me when Tori comes bursting through the door.
"Sorry I didn't realize you were in here." Tori has seen me in a towel before so it's not that big of a deal, that is until she says, "Dang Jules, I didn't realize how bad it was."

I wrap the towel around me tighter not saying anything.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"This morning."

"What did you eat?"

"A Clift bar."

"I'm serious, when was the last time you ate a full meal?" I shrug. "Well, I can tell cause you look like shit."