We Are Free

Opening Old Wounds

The 28th comes and I take Emily to dance. I stay there and watch her. When she is done she comes up to me. I hug her.
     "You did so good I'm so proud of you!" I say to her.
     "Really."
    "Yeah your amazing." We leave and go home. When we get home I start dinner. Halo is leaving the 30th to go home. She has to wash her clothes. The 31st comes and Halo is gone. I clean the house. Emily has dance everyday.
     I got her schedule for it. Anna will take her to dance from 3:30-4:30 weekdays. I take her weekends. I'm excited I turn 17 tomorrow. I finally go to bed around 9:00. I wake up the next day and go to the kitchen.
     "Happy birthday Jace." Emily greets me.
     "Happy birthday." Andrew says.
     "Thank you." I make breakfast and we eat. I do this dishes when I'm done with the dishes I get a text. It was from Halo. She said that she needs me at Anna's at 1:00. I text back okay. We lay around and do nothing until 1:00 we get dressed and leave. I walk inside the house with the kids at my sides. The house was dark.
     "Hello Halo, Anna." I say. This is odd. The lights turn on and they all jump up and say surprise. Zac, Halo, Anna, and Zane all where there. There were balloons, streamers, confetti, and a banner that said Happy birthday Jace. I put my hand over my mouth.
     "No way!" I say.
     "Yes way." On the kitchen table was a blue plastic table cloth. There was snacks, cake, plates, forks, napkins, and streamers hanging from the table. In front of the fire place was presents. I give Halo a hug and kiss. I give everyone else hugs.
     "This is amazing. Thank you so much." I say. I am still in shock.
     "You are very welcome hon. You deserve it so enjoy it." Anna says. She picks Andrew up and puts him on her hip. We sit down and enjoy the party. The kids get noise makers and confetti blowers.
    "They are making a mess." I say.
     "Don't worry about it. I will vaccume it up." Anna says.
     "You sure?"
     "Yeah I'm positive. Making a mess it's part of growing up." Zane starts throwing a fit. He starts grabbing for me. I take him and he calms down.
     "Damn crab butt." Zac says.
     "How does it feel?" I ask him.
     "I will never make fun of you again." We laugh we eat snacks and the kids and Halo play twister.
"Come on Jace play with us." Emily says.
"I'm not very bendy."
"I beg to differ that." Halo says to me.
"Am I under oath?" I ask.
"Maybe." She grabs the collar of my button up flannel. We kiss.
"Ohhhh hey be careful guys." Zac says. I flip him off and Halo and I kiss again.  I wink at Halo she smacks me in the chest. I grab my chest with my free hand.
"Owwwww my nipple!" I say and she tries not to laugh. It doesn't work.
"Good!" She says in between gasps of air from her laughter. We decide to have cake. They put the candles on it a one and a seven. Anna gets the ice cream. I blow the candles out take them out.
We each get cake and ice cream. When we are done with cake and ice cream I open my presents. When I'm done opening my presents I put them all in one bag and set them by the couch.
"Thanks guys this means a lot. To most I look like I don't have anything but I really have everything." I say. I put my arm around Halo and she puts her hand on my chest. When 4:30 comes around we decide to go out for dinner. After dinner we head are seperate ways. I go home and put my stuff away.
     I give the kids a bath and put them to bed. When 8:00 comes I go to sleep as well. The next day I wake up and it is down pouring outside. Cloudy and dark I turn a light on and hear thunder. I have an eary feeling like something bad is going to happen. It is most likely the rain.
     The kids wake up and I give them breakfast. When they are done with breakfast I do the dishes. When dishes are done I help Emily brush her hair. I put it in a messy bun. We go to Emily's room and I play with them. In the middle of it I hear a noise and I know it wasn't the cat because he was sleeping on Emily's bed. I hear more noises. My heart starts racing and my palms start sweating.
"Kids hide." I say quietly. They climb into a tote in the closet I lay the lid over the top. I slowly walk into the kitchen where I see my dad. He looked angry and he was holding a picture of me, Emily, and Andrew.
"You know Jace I have missed you. You are so grown up now. You have a girlfriend, your 17, Emily is in school, Andrew is talking, Zac has a baby." He says. He throws the picture to the ground and it shatters, the glass flies everywhere and the frame bounces off the floor. I flinch he pulls out a knife.
"To bad that all ends today. Where are the kids?" He says and I won't let him hurt them. He can do what he wants to me because I know if I die someone will take them.
I put on a brave face and try to keep my breathing easy. I have never really been a good lair but I have to try.
"They aren't here. They are with a friend." His face softens.
"Then this will be easier." He lifts the knife to me I put my hands up.
"I love you." He lowers the knife.
"What?"
"I love you."
"Then why did you leave?"
"You came home every night drunk off your ass. You hurt us you beat us. You hurt me a lot. I couldn't just stand there and watch them grow up in that. Dad do you remember the first time you held Emily?" He drops the knife to his side and his face softens. I am so scared I might die today. My heart is still racing and I'm shaking, close to tears.
"You looked at her and said " I will do anything to make sure you are happy and safe. I love you my little princess." She loved you she was such a daddy's girl. You never missed one of my sports games.
     Andrew looked at you and saw a superhero. You were the best dad ever. You tucked us in at night. You took us to the park and played with us. I looked up to you as my male role model. Now I can't because of how you act. Dad you can change you did it once you can do it again.
      You can get help and we can be a family again. We can live together and you can be are role model again." I say trying to reason with him. He looks at me I'm fighting back tears. He walks closer I lean back against the counter. He grabs my shoulder. He pulls me forward.
"You are right I can. I just don't wanna." He says with no mercy and hate in his voice. He pulls the knife back and shoves it into my stomach under my ribs. He pulls it back out. I clutch it he shoves me to the ground I start spitting up blood.
He kicks me in my wound I cry out and tears fall. He gets down.
"Thanks to me one more piece of garbage will be gone here soon. See you in hell. He walks out the door closing it." My white t-shirt turning red. My hands coverd in blood. Emily comes out. She runs to me. She puts her hands on my wound over mine.
"Jace what do I do? Please don't die.
I need you." I try to answer but I can't.
"911." I manage to get out. She runs out of the room. She comes back with my phone. She calls 911.
"911 what's your emergency?" I hear on the other end. Emily is a very smart girl. She knows my full name, Zac's Halo's and all our phone numbers along with the addresses. If she is lost she knows what to do and she knows what to do if someone she doesn't know approaches her.
"My brother is hurt." She says and when the operator realizes she is talking to a kid she gets down to Emily's level.
"Okay honey how is he hurt?"
"He was stabbed in his belly."
"Okay what is his name and how old is he."
"His name is Jace he is 17."
"Okay help is on the way what is your address."
"56 Apple road."
"Okay is Jace short for anything?"
"It's short for Jason."
"Okay what is his last name?"
"Parks." They continue I groan in pain. I feel weak and struggle to keep my eyes open. I hear sirens my vision is blurry. Emily runs outside Andrew comes out. I hear him run across the floor. He starts crying.
Two men and one women comes into the house with a stretcher. They take my pulse and my vision slowly goes away and the world around me becomes dark. They lift me into the stretcher and into the ambulance. They cut my shirt off and start working on me. Everything eventually goes black.
*6 hours later*
My eyes slowly open and I see Halo sitting next to me in a chair. I feel groggy and high like I'm on cloud nine. My side is numbed and I can't feel it it feels bulky. I have an IV in my hand. I have a oxygen mask on my face. My arm has a blood pressure cuff on it and I have an oxygen tracker on my finger. Halo starts crying. She wraps her arms around my neck being careful not to hurt me.
"How do you feel?" She asks me.
"High and I can't feel my side." My voice comes out soft and weak. It is barley there.
"Do you remember what happened?"
"Yeah everything up until I passed out."
"Okay oh my gosh, I'm so glad you are okay." The nurse comes in with Emily and Andrew. Zac behind them holding Zane's car seat but Zane was on his side.
"You are awake I will get the doctor." She leaves the room.
"Are you hurting?" Emily asks me. Her hands are clean and she has different clothes on.
"No I can't feel it."
"Oh." The doctor walks in. He checks my eyes and vitals.
"Any pain."
"No." I say to him.
"Okay you are very lucky young man. You stomach and daframe where just missed. The knife went right inbetween them. Nothing was permanently damaged you did lose a lot of blood though. Halo donated some to you." I look at her. She moves are arm showing the skin colored band-aid that covered where the needle had been.
"You got 20 stitches. It will be a slow healing process but you will be just fine. Thanks to your sister here." The doctor smiles and shakes my hand he leaves the room. Zac gives me a hug.
"Still tough as nails." He says.
"You bet your ass." I say. We laugh.
"While I'm in the hospital who will take care of the kids?" I ask.
"Zac and I are going to alternate." Halo says.
"What do you mean?"
"I will take them for a couple days and then Zac will. They are going to stay with him so that way my mom and I can clean the house."
"Have you been there?"
"Yeah I had to go there because the officer that was with them couldn't get their car seats so I had to bring mine."
"Oh is it bad?"
"Well there is really only the picture and blood."
"Oh."
"Halo called me I came here you were still in surgery we went to get some lunch then you were out. Halo has been in here with you but they weren't allowed just yet so I stayed with them." Zac says.
"Sounds chaotic."
"Yeah and my mom was working today. I called her and she said she will leave when she can." Halo says.
"Okay." A nock on the door and two officers walk in.
"Hi I'm officer Jake. This is my parter officer Max. We are here to ask you some questions." One says. I nod my head.
"Okay."
"We believe to have the person that hurt you in costudy." They show me his picture.
"That's him."
"Okay he is in are costudy and will be tried on account of drunk driving, 3 counts of child abandonment, 3 counts of child abuse, and attempted murder." Before anymore can be said I have Zac take the kids outside so they don't have to hear it.
"Okay."
"We do need to know what happened."
"Um I was in my sister room I was playing with them. I hear a noise I though it was are cat but he was in the room with us. I kept hearing noises. I told my brother and sister to hide.
      They hid in a tote in the closet. I went to the kitchen and my dad was standing there. I didn't see his knife at first. When he pulled it out I told him that my siblings were with a friend. He started stating facts that he shouldn't know.
     Like how I have a girlfriend and many other things. He tried to stab me but I was able to talk to him. He put the knife to his side and grabbed my shoulder. I told him he can change and we can be a family again.
     He said that I was right but he didn't want to. He stabbed me and shoved me down. He  kicked me where he stabbed me. He got down and said here soon there will be one less piece of trash on the earth. Then he left. My sister called 911."
"Okay we can assure you that he will be locked up. With all he has against him there is no way he will get off the hook." They leave and both the kids hug me they are gentle though so they don't hurt me. I'm very lucky I'm alive and sitting here. Anna comes in and gives me a hug. She sits down. They all divise a plan to watch and take care of the kids. I smile and shake my head. I really am so lucky even right now.