Fighting to go on

Chapter 7

           “My dad passed away when I was seven. Charlie was only four, so he doesn’t remember him that well, but I do. We got our eyes from him, but our hair is from our mom. Anyways, my dad was a really good guy. He loved my mom and us completely. I can remember laughing with him a lot and feeling safe whenever he was around.

            “When he died, it hit my mom really hard. It was a sudden death and it nearly broke her. But eventually, she recovered and when I was ten, she remarried. Jason was a good stepfather, treating us as his own kids. We had some really good times with, but that all changed nearly three years ago. My mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer.” I had to pause here, as my voice was cracking.

            Ryan didn’t say anything, he just scooted over until he was beside me and then he put his arm around me. I rested my head against his strong shoulder and drew myself together. “The doctors didn’t give her long to live, but she hung on for a year. As she got sicker and sicker, Jason started to drink. I didn’t notice it at first, but soon he started coming home drunk all the time. My mom was too sick to notice, and by the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. He had become an alcoholic.

            “When my mom passed away, it got worse. He would come home and scream at Charlie and I, saying how he never wanted to be stuck with us and that he’d only put up with us because of my mom. Soon after her death, he started to hit us.” I felt Ryan tense and I instinctively cuddled a little closer to him. “He didn’t do it to often at first, but it steadily got worse. Until Charlie hit him back for the first time. Now Jason leaves him alone completely, and if he knows Charlie is around, he won’t touch me. On Sunday night, he didn’t realize that Charlie was upstairs. He came after me and my brother pulled him off of me. Charlie took care of me after that, which is why neither of us was at school yesterday. And that brings us to today.”

            Ryan was silent, staring ahead of him with an unreadable look on his face. His hand was lightly rubbing my arm, but I don’t think he even realized he was doing it.

            I let him have his silence, content to just be sitting with him. I felt safe for the first time since my mom had died, and I loved that feeling. I listened to the steady thumping of his heart and it lulled me into an almost doze.

            Finally, after ten minutes of silence, Ryan finally spoke up. “Why haven’t you gone to the police?” His voice was rougher then usual as he spoke.

            “They’ll just put us into the system and Charlie and I will be split up. I’ve talked to a lawyer and as soon as I’m eighteen, I can take over as being Charlie’s guardian and we’ll move away from Jason. My parents left us a fair amount of money, and we’ve both been saving it, so we’ll be able to afford a place.”

            “When do you turn eighteen?”

            “In three months.”

            He was silent for a few minutes again. Then he shifted so he could look down at me. “I’ll never hurt you Sammy. You have to believe me.”

            I smiled sadly. “I know. I’m sorry for avoiding you like that. I’m just used to not letting people in, and after Sunday, I reverted back to that person. I still don’t understand why I can be like my old self with you, but I like it, so I’m not going to question it.”

            “You don’t have to apologize, I can understand your reaction.” He rested his cheek on the top of my head. “I’m glad you can be yourself with me.” We sat like that for a few minutes before he sighed. “As much as I don’t want to move, you should probably call your brother. He’s likely going nuts because he doesn’t know where you are.”