Dashing {The Flash/Barry Allen fanfic}

Chapter 9

A young girl, maybe eight or nine, sat on a black love seat, which had stuffing poking out in various places. She clung to a small stuffed husky, her body trembling around it as her green eyes watched the door.

With every small noise that came from either the kitchen or the road outside, the girl tensed up, afraid that her father was finally arriving home from a late night at the bar.

She glanced up, seeing a boy, around eleven or twelve, look at her sympathetically. He took the seat beside her, his brown hair sticking up in several places like he had run his hand through it several times. He rubbed his arm tenderly, looking at the bruise that took the form of a hand, which he had received the night before.

Suddenly, without warning, the front door burst open, revealing a gruff looking man, his hair messily thrown around on his head, and an empty beer bottle in his right hand.

He headed towards the kitchen, causing the little girl to let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Both children sat on the couch, watching the wall as they listened to the shouts, screams and shattering coming from the room where their mother had been washing the dishes.

"So, Bethany," the man said, announcing himself into the room. "Your teacher called me today. Apparently you got in a fight with some kid named Tony Woodward?" He walked across the room, picking up a billiard stick which had been leaning against the wall nearest to the pool table, before going back and kneeling in front of the blonde. "You know, that makes me look pretty bad."

"He was bullying my fri--," she started only to get whacked on the side of her head. This had become everyday for the family, so instead of crying or running to her room, she just stayed still trying not to make the situation worse.

"You don't have any friends," he shouted, hitting her back causing her to fall to the floor. "You have to be likable to have friends."

Over and over, he swung the stick, striking her back with as much force as he could muster up. She covered her head with her arms, something she learned from her brother.

After he had gotten several rounds in, she could hear him swinging once again, but she never felt it connect with her body.

"Son of a--," he started, causing the young girl to look up. The rod was on the ground across the room, and her brother was now attempting to pull their dad off of her.

Bethany watched them fight, which didn't take long seeing has the man was physically much stronger than the young boy.

He was pushed into the wall, hitting his head causing his body to fall limp.

Everything after moved quickly. Her father left taking her brother, or what she thought was just her brother's body, with him. Her mother could barely move, but was lucky enough to have a phone within arms reach. She dialed 911 and within ten minutes the street in front of the house was covered in police cars and two ambulances.

They had broke down the front door, running to the kitchen where the mother laid nearly motionless. When they found Bethany, she was in the same position as when her father was hitting her. Quickly, they took her out to the second ambulance, the first already long gone with her mother in tow, to get examined by two paramedics.