delicate ~ L.W

Chapter 24: The Aftermath

He doesn't leave, he throws his fist again. And again. And again. At first, I don't fight back. I never did. I'd always take it. I'd just wait for him to stop, wait until he'd gotten all of his rage out, even though I was the outlet. It was easier. It was easier to cope. Fighting back only led to more pain.

I don't know what came over me. Maybe it was the fact that Ffion was in the room. I always made sure she never saw him like this. I always made sure she stayed in her room when I could sense his anger when he stepped through the front door. The heavy steps. The harsh eyes. The tight tie. The buttoned suit jacket. The tense posture. The clenched jaw. I'd always been able to sense it. I'd always known what was coming. I always let him win. He always had the control.

This time, he doesn't have the control. This time, I don't let him. This time, I fight back against him for the first time. This time I land a punch to his face and flip our positions, hurling punches towards his face until the sound of the front door slamming open echoes through the house as I fight my father.

I look up, distracted momentarily by the look of fear I'm met with when I make eye contact with Leah in the doorway and Ffion quickly moving behind her. I'm distracted by Leah sending Ffion out of the room like I used to. I'm distracted. I'm distracted until I taste the metallic taste of blood in my mouth, the warmth of blood flowing from my bottom lip as his fist makes contact once again. I clench my jaw and hit him in the ribs, winding him long enough for me to stand up, ending the fight, taking the upper hand.

I speak quietly but sternly, “you got your boxing match you've been angling for since I left. Now, get out and stay the hell away. Go back to Caernarfon.”

He pulls himself to stand with a grunt, spitting at me. The moment his spit lands on my face, making my face feel dirtier than it did with blood pouring down it,disgust filling my body, threading through my nerves,but this time the disgust isn't directed at myself. It's directed at him.

Leah quickly moves to my side, breaking out of her frozen, shocked state. As soon as she moves to me, her hand reaches for me, but I flinch. It's subconscious. Involuntary. I see the hurt in her eyes. I gulp softly, “Leah…”

She shakes her head, silently conveying it's a conversation for later. She speaks softly, “are you okay?”

I go to speak, my hand automatically meeting her lower back out of habit. Before I can speak, my father cuts me off, noticing the placement of my hand on Leah's back.

He cutters venomously, “God, of course you found a slut. Stay the hell away from Ffion. She doesn't need to catch your disease. Goddamn dykes”

I clench my jaw, my gaze snapping to his, “what did you just say?”

He smirks, as if he's gained the upper hand, “you know what I said, kid.”

I take a deep breath and speak calmly, “I'm not your kid. I haven't been your kid in 6 years. Leave. Get out of my house”

I move towards him in a threatening step, grabbing his jacket off the couch and throwing it at him, “go before I call the fucking police.”

He laughs. He chuckles as if it's funny.

“You wouldn't call the police. You know better.” His voice is smug, like he still has control over me.

I speak calmly, squaring up to him, “try me. Get out.”

I see his eyes widen slightly, his smug grin falling. I watch the exact moment he realises he doesn't have control over me anymore. He hesitates before walking straight out of my house, speeding away in his car.

Leah speaks quietly, “what's going on, Ellie? You only left my house half an hour ago. What happened?”

I shake my head, emotionally shutting down, shutting her out, “it doesn't matter. You should go. I need to speak to Ffion.”

It's at that moment Leah loses her patience for the first time in front of me, snapping at me with a clenched jaw, “it does matter, Ellie! You're bleeding! You're hurt and I got a call from Ffion asking me to help because she was scared! I didn't even know your sister had my number! The point is, I just raced over here to find you and your dad beating the shit out of each other and he was throwing slurs around! Sit the hell down and explain, I'm sure Ffion can wait for you to talk to her until I know what the hell I've just walked in on!”

My eyes widen, taken aback by her tone and volume, not used to seeing anger within her blue eyes. I gulp softly and hesitate before sitting down silently on my sofa, silence filling the room for a few moments until I hear her sigh softly.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I'm just worried about you and you're trying to push me away and I'm not gonna let that happen.” She speaks calmly, leaving no room for an argument.

I flinch slightly when Ffion sits beside me, handing me an ice pack for my knuckles. As soon as I press the cold to my red skin, I let out a sharp hiss.

Leah speaks softly, “what did I walk into, Ellie?”

I laugh self-depricatingly and murmur, “with me? Or the situation?”

She sighs softly and walks into the kitchen, grabbing a wet cloth and crouching down in front of me, gently holding my chin while she cleans the cuts around my face. I hesitate before speaking softly, “when I parked outside, I'd had 5 missed calls from Ffion while I was driving. I quickly went inside to find my father sat on my sofa, acting as if he owned the place, acting as if he hadn't invaded my peace and safety. Ffion had let him in. She was trying to get me to listen to him but I couldn't. I just wanted him out. Well, Ffion shouted at me about leaving and about you in front of him. As soon as he heard about you, he started tearing into me and calling me a dyke. I provoked him. I made him angry. I know better, but in that moment, I…”

I shake my head and gulp softly, my throat tight, my eyes burning. I hesitate before continuing, “I knew better but I still argued back and then he hit me and he didn't stop. For the first time, I finally hit him back and that's when you walked in. I didn't notice Ffion called anyone. I'm not like him, Leah. I'm not.”

I watch her throat jump as she gulps before she mutters softly to me, “I know you're not. I'll grab your first aid box while you talk to Ffion and then we'll get you patched up.”

AN: The last couple chapter have been quite heavy haven't they... Never fear, fluff will appear! See what I did there? God, I make myself giggle sometimes