Lethal Love

11 ; They Keep Falling

"Dad stop it!" I scream. My voice is hoarse and my tears stream down like I'm melting.

He doesn't do anything and neither does Tyler. I can hear all our breaths. Ragged, sharp and staccato.

"Please...dad..." My voice breaks.

"I want you out of this house by Monday,"dad says, staring Tyler dead in the eyes.

Dad is stood on the first step, leaning against the banister. His white shirt is halfway unbuttoned and his forehead glistens with sweat.

Tyler squares his shoulders and crosses his arms. "Fine."

"No! Stop it! Both of you. You can't fucking do this dad-

A bottle shatters against the wall right next to me. Shards fly everywhere and the bottle leaves a mark on the wall, beer splashing everywhere. "Shut the hell up!" our Dad roars.

I don't do anything. I don't know how to react but I think my heart just smashed like the bottle and the pieces are cutting me from the inside and I don't know how to stop and I don't know how to start.

Tyler is livid but before either of us do anything dad storms off.

And thats when the rest of me breaks. My knees give in but I never hit the floor because Tyler is holding me now.

Tears stream down my cheeks before I even register the pain. I squeeze my eyes shut and for a second I do it so tightly that it hurts. As if I just squeeze tight enough more tears won't be able to fall through. But it doesn't work. Because they keep falling and I keep fighting it. But in the end I lose.

I let my tears drown out everything. I let them pour into my wounds and I swallow them whole. My breath comes out in whimpers and my arms are clutching my stomach. I need to get out. I need to feel some type of warmth.

Tyler is whispering nonsense into my ears but I eat them up anyway. I need to fill myself with something other than sharp knives, even if that is empty truths.

I don't know how long we're sat there in the hallway hugging and sobbing, but when I feel my heart beating again I finally speak.

"You can't move out. I'll die," I say.

"I'm not going anywhere," he assures.

"But dad said-

"Dad won't even remember it in the morning... He won't remember any of it."

...

"What happened to your eye?"

"What?"

"Right there," Hailee says as she touches the tender skin right next to my left eye. When she touches it I feel a slight pain.

A shard must have scraped me yesterday, I realize. The memory of the bottle shattering flashes through my mind but I quickly remove it.

"Oh, ehh... Dunno, probably just scratched myself or something," I say.

"You know you can tell me anything right? This is a safe place."

I give her a dead look. "You're not my therapist Hails."

She gives a slight glare in response but side hugs me as we walk to the canteen.

"But thanks. And I know," I say.

"How's Tyler?" she asks, worry laced in her tone.

I furrow my eyebrows and look at her. "You haven't talked to him?"

Hailee avoids eye contact. "No, not since Saturday. I think he's been avoiding me these past few days."

I get a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. The fight was on Saturday and It's now Monday.