What This Is

Chapter 12

Lacey's POV

His text ran through my mind over and over again as I booked it back to my house. 'Oh my darling child, your mother better have bought some more liquor. I've been patient for long enough'.

I heard Luke shout my name behind me, but I quickly zoned everything out. I needed to get home. Tears threatened to pour as I sprinted, my vision becoming blurry. I ran up and over a hill, making my way past the public middle school. My house was just around the corner...
"Lacey! STOP!" Arms grappled me by the waist and despite the fact that I knew who it was, I screamed.
"Lacey, don't kick me," the voice softened, his grasp loosening, one hand releasing me to stroke my hair. He turned me around, and I stared into his blue eyes, filled with worry and strength.
"What's going on?" He whispered.
"I need to go like right now," I stated, shocked at how calm my reaction was.
As Luke started to reply, I dove my body into him, in attempt to hide, but it was too late.
"What the-" Luke yelled, collecting himself from my burst and silencing when he heard the old diesel.
"HEY LACEY! You should know better than to try and replace Keylo, you know. You're to fucking fat and ugly for that guy! Just go die, go visit Keylo, do everyone a favor!" The raspy, deep voice shot. It was all to familiar. In the sequence of words, Luke's grasp around my body tightened. Once the middle aged man passed us, I could see him turn into my road; I needed to get home, now.
I strangled against Luke, freeing myself and bolting down to my house. Nimbly, I silently opened the ajar front door and walked down the hall, Luke following at my heels.
At the intersection of the other hall I froze, shoving a fist into my mouth to keep from crying out.
My mother thrashing in a useless attempt to free herself from dad's weight. Why, do you ask? Because he was on top of her, blade in hand.
I looked up at Luke just in time to see him pull out his own knife.
He strode down the hall and I could see from my vantage point 15 feet away, my mothers look of terror turn into pure confusion.

Author POV

'Who the HELL is this boy?!' Larissa, Lacey's mom, thought.
"You sick bastard," Luke growled, stabbing Lacey's father in his right arm, remembering what Lacey had said,
"...if I were to be able to hurt him, I would injure his right arm. He can't do anything without his right arm, because coordination is his left arm is horrid..."
Everyone screamed in surprise as they watched Lacey's intoxicated father stagger backwards, to fall against the wall behind him again.
Her father glared at Luke, and growled between his teeth, "You, you bad boy, getting in the way of a mans' work. Your father must despise you."
In order to shut the freak up, Luke jammed his foot into the fallen man's groin; it worked.
Luke quickly helped Larissa up, grabbing the man's weapon along the way. They walked to Lacey, who despite all that the horrible things the man had done to her and her mother, had called an ambulance and police.

An hour had passed, everyone had gone through interrogation, the crime scene vanished, Lacey's father gone, finally, for good.

In the living room, Lacey rocked slightly in her chair, staring off into space. She hadn't said a single word since coming out of the interrogation room.
Luke sat on the other side of the room, not taking his gaze of Lacey.
'What on Earth is going through her head, what has she been dealing with?' Luke was beyond terrified. Lacey stopped rocking her chair, frozen for what seemed like forever.
"He almost killed her..." She muttered under her breath.
Luke startled at her sudden noise. He tuned in better,
"That ass hole almost killed my mother..." She said, a little louder this time, Luke could actually hear her this time. He stayed where he was, unsure of what to do.
A scream ripped through Lacey's lips, making her throat instantly burn,
"THAT ASS ALMOST KILLED ALL I HAVE!!!!!" She yelled, earning strange looks from surrounding police officers. She didn't care though, she screamed again, feeling her nothing of a body begin to throb. She grabbed her hair and tried to tug hard, but all her strength seeped through her, only a whimper leaving her lips.
Luke shot to her and fell to his knees at her feet, his eyes searching to find her own.
"Lace," he stated, knowing she needed strength.
He grabbed her hands from her head, and placed them on her knees.
Lacey looked up at Luke and whined to the blue eyes in front of her, "Make it go away, please."
"Darling, everything in going to be okay," Luke assured, feeling doubtful, but right about calling this beautiful girl darling.
"But she's hurt, he almost killed her," Lacey stated, sucking a breath in between her teeth. Her body ached, her throat was raw, and her lungs burned from hyperventilation. She scratched at her knees, a habit she picked up after bottling everything up: her father, her bruises, Keylo, her silent tears. the bullying, and most of all, her mother's cries of pain.
Luke obviously noticed, and pressed his hands against Lacey's harder so that she couldn't move her hands.
Luke brushed his lips against Lacey's flawless little forehead, and after, she pressed her forehead against his.
"Everything's going to be okay, I promise it's going to get better," Luke soothed.

In the kitchen, Larissa leaned against the food bar while speaking to a police officer.
"...and then we just left. All he did was follow..." Larissa trailed off when she saw the unimaginable.
"Um, officer, can you tell me what you see in the living room?" Larissa asked, bewildered.
"I see the young man soothing your daughter, why?" The officer stated unsurely.
"That's unbelievable..." Larissa whispered, shocked at the sight of this boy, in the chaos of all the paramedics, police, and other people, soothing her daughter. Her daughter who cannot be calmed down. If Larissa tried hard enough, she could zone out everything and hear that the boy was telling her it was okay, and did he just call her darling?! She asked about me, and scratched at her knees, I've know about that habit. It has always been a habit, but it got worse along with everything else. He stopped her and...Larissa squinted to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.... kissed her? She almost missed the part of the boy telling her little Lacey it would be okay...
She was taken back at the warmth of the scenario, this boy was doing the unimaginable, during what Larissa thought would never happen, but she really hoped the boy was right, that it really was going to be okay.