The Dove And The Grenade.

Chapter 26: Bad Blood. Part I.

Eliese sat on the coffee table with her head hung low in her hands, long fingers raking through her dark brown hair as she tried to comprehend what her ten year-old daughter told them at the pier. As soon as they finished lunch Matt and Eliese packed Emily up and went straight home. Eliese spent the entire car ride on the verge of tears while Matt white knuckled the steering wheel and kept a heavy foot on the gas. Emily felt guilty for ever opening her mouth. She didn't want to leave the pier, she didn't want to splurge further into what she told them, she just wanted to go back on the rides and play the games.

Matt paced back and forth furiously. He kept swinging his arms from crossed over his chest to by his sides but his hands were balled into tight fists. His knuckles were turning white while rage reddened his face. Eliese lifted her head and looked at a sorrowful and uneasy looking girl sitting on the couch in front of her. The young girl sat with her hands clipped between her chattering knees and her head hung low with shame. She didn't want people to see the evidence of the attack on her face and arms. Bruises, cuts and scrapes covered her body like paint covers a canvas.

"Are you sure that's who attacked you?" Eliese asked in a confused way but her tone of voice was soft but assertive; almost saying 'tell me the truth or I'll kick your sorry ass.' Emily looked glossy eyed at her mother then back at Matt whom was pacing vigorously behind her. The full grown man was wearing away the wooden floor. Emily let her brown eyes fall back on her mother whom was obviously examining the black eye and cut lip closely.

"I need you to realize that this is a serious accusation you're placing on someone. You cannot be lying to me or Matt about this. So, I'm going to ask you again: are you sure Aron did this to you, and be honest with me." Eliese clarified that it was in fact Aron who was the evil villain in this twisted tale. Emily nodded softly and frowned.

"Yeah, he did that to me. Mom, I was only trying to do what you told me and stay away from him, but he wouldn't let me." Emily said in a soft voice. Eliese's gut dropped and her heart sank into a bottomless pit. She couldn't believe Aron did something like this -actually, she could believe it. She could believe a grown man would approach a ten year-old girl on School grounds, threaten her then physically assault her when she tried to be the bigger person and walk away. It's a baffling thought but it was still possible to believe when it came to certain people.

Eliese dropped her head back down into her hands; fingers tightly pushed back her hair. She could hear Matt cursing behind her as he paced back and forth in a frenzied rage. Emily watched him with wide glossy brown eyes, her eyebrows were twisted making her face look distressed. Her lower lip hung down slightly, keeping her lips parted a bit as her mouth drew a frown.

"Am I in trouble?" Emily pouted lowly. Eliese propped her head up; her hands went down to her daughter's knees as she shook her head in response.

"No sweetie, you're not in trouble. We're just trying to figure out why you didn't tell us sooner." Eliese muttered to her daughter with tears in her eyes. Emily could see that and that made her eyes well up and overflow. Frightened and ashamed tears skimmed down her face where there were obvious bruises and a couple scrapes from the attack that happened two weeks ago.

"I'm sorry mom." Emily sobbed then threw herself into her mother's arms and onto her lap. Eliese cradled her child closely and rocked back and forth, stroking Emily's hair gingerly. Her heart was breaking inside of her chest; she couldn't believe she failed Emily like this. Eliese promised herself that she'd protect Emily from being hurt by someone she trusted. She's failed. She's failed as a mother, a mentor, a protector.

"It's okay baby, we're going to fix this." Eliese promised Emily that the least thing she could do was to fix this. Matt stopped pacing and looked at the two females sitting on the coffee table. There was a rage boiling deep inside of him. He left the need to protect his family. Emily is like his daughter, and someone he once considered a friend has hurt her. Matt was seeing red.

Matt grabbed the car keys from the coffee table behind the two females and headed towards the front door. Eliese looked at him confusedly but deep down she knew where he was going and what he was going to do.

"Where are you going?" She asked, holding Emily close to her. Matt looked at the two distressed females.

"I'm going to kick his fucking ass." Matt growled lowly. Eliese gently put Emily back onto the couch and sprung up to her feet. Emily watched wide eyed as her mother bounded up to Matt, shaking her head.

"Matt, don't,"

"No, I'm going,"

"Please don't,"

"You can't stop me."

"Matt. Don't."

"Eliese, I'm going." The pair of them bickered back and forth; Eliese was trying to get between him and the door. She didn't want him going to make things worse. Matt gently pushed his way by her but she kept getting between him and the door.

"No, we can call the police." Eliese offered a less satisfying option but it was more legal. Matt shook his head at her and scoffed.

"He needs more than a gentle slap on the wrist, Eliese." Matt told her, pushing past her and went out the front door. Eliese followed behind him, calling after the enraged larger.

"You leave for tour tomorrow! And if you land your sorry ass in jail I am not bailing you out." Eliese told him furiously. Matt ignored her; he knew what he had to do to protect his family. Emily watched from the living room picture window, she didn't know how to feel about what was happening. Eliese didn't want to get physical with Matt; she also had to protect Genevieve, whom was an innocent bystander in all of this. Eliese tried to get between Matt and the car but he moved her away from the driver's side. Eliese stopped trying to stop him from going and stood aside as she watched Matt practically write himself his own assault charge and reserve a night in jail.

She watched as the small silver car left the driveway and veered off down the quiet street. Eliese noticed there were neighbors watching from their windows or on their lawns. She realized she was reliving her past, when her mom's boyfriends would leave and she'd try to make them stay. She'd watch from the living room window while the neighbors watched from their properties.

She sighed and turned on her heel, going back into the house to find Emily sobbing on the couch. Eliese knew she had to either prevent anything bad from happening or help fix the damage that will be done. Eliese grabbed the house phone and called a familiar number.

"Hello?" A familiar voice answered after a couple of rings. Eliese recognized George's voice immediately. Eliese paced around the living room, running her fingers through her hair impatiently.

"Matt's going to Aron's house to beat the shit out of him. I need you guys to go and stop him." Eliese didn't mean for that to be her greeting but she felt better getting it out there.

"What? Why's Matt going to beat the shit out of Aron? What the hell happened? I thought you guys were out on a family trip today." George had every right to be confused and curious about this situation but if Eliese gives him probable cause, he'll round up the guys and they'll go stop Matt from landing his stupid ass in jail.

"We were. I'll explain everything later. Just please, I beg you, go stop him." Eliese begged mercilessly.

"Okay. Okay. I'll go and bring his stupid ass home. But I deserve to know what the hell is going on. I'll call when we're on our way back." George agreed to go stop Matt and bring him home before he could do anything stupid. He said he'd call her when they were on their way back to the house. Now came the waiting game. Eliese hated this game. But she had a lot to do while waiting. She had to calm Emily down. That was the first thing to do.

Hey guys!

This is just a quick update to get the ball rolling. I'll start working on the next part ASAP.