Tradition Comes Third

Roof Top

Author's Note: Sorry this update is a little short. I will try to update again soon!

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 Dad had dragged us out of the basement, and had put Ava and I in my room. He told us that we better not fall asleep, and to stay in the room. He left and I heard a faint click of a lock. I ran over to the door and grabbed the knob to see he had locked us in. Dad must have changed the locks on all of the doors in the house.

I sat on my bed, and watched as Ava paced back and forth across my room. I noticed behind her that my television was missing. I leaned over and looked under my bed. I usually slide my laptop under there every night, so that I do not step on it. It was gone.

My nose continued to throb. I touched my top lip and noticed that there was still dry blood on my face. It seemed like that fight with Chris happened weeks ago, but it must have been no longer than a day ago.

While Ava was pacing, she turned around on her heels and headed straight for my window. She pulled back the curtains, and fiddled with the knob until she could slide the window open. She turned to face me, and her eyes were wide.

"It's open," she told me.

I jumped off the bed, and ran toward her. I looked around to see that it was dark outside, and the street lamps provided a yellow glow to the sidewalk. My room was on the second floor, but part of the roof stuck out right under the window. The garage was a bit to the left, and stuck out even further. I would be able to climb out and go from bit to bit to crawl down.

"Stay here," I said. "I'm going to get out of here and go get help."

"I'm going with you," Ava said.

"You won't be able to make it down with your back," I said. "Adrian lives down the street. I'm going to run down to his house and call the cops. They'll be here right away."

"And what do I do if your Dad comes?" she asked. "He'll want to know where you are, and punish me for the best of us. I'll be okay, Hunter. I'll be able to keep up with you."

"Are you sure?"

I knew Ava was in a horrible amount of pain. She bit down on her lip, and nodded her head. I pushed my desk across the floor, and it started to screech.

"Grab the other side," I told Ava. "I don't want to make too much noise."

Ava grabbed the other end, and we lifted the desk off of the ground. Ava gritted her teeth as we shuffled the desk over so that it was under the window. Ava leaned against the desk with her hand on her back and panting for breath.

"Are you sure you want to go?" I asked. "I'll be quick, and if my Dad comes you could always hide in the closet."

"I'm going," she said. "I'm good."

I hopped up on the desk and slid the window open. The cold night breeze blew in, and I took in a deep breath. I hoisted myself through the window. My knees were shaking as I stepped down onto roof. Ava grabbed the edge of the window, and I helped pull her out with me. I held onto her hand with one hand, and my other was on the house for balance. We stepped lightly, as we headed toward the garage.

"You and Ava are getting along?"

My heart pounded in my chest when I heard a male voice under us. I looked over my shoulder to see Ava froze, and her eyes grew wide. I held up my hand motioning to tell her to stop, and she nodded her head.

"Yes, she's really nice," a female voice came from below us.

I got down onto my knees, and I crawled to the edge of the roof. I looked over the edge to see Jared and Leah sitting on the porch. Their feet were on the step, and they were looking out onto the street. Jared had his arm around Leah, and her head was resting on his shoulder. She had her hands folded over her belly.

"That's good," he said. "I know she's pretty scared right now. Has she been saying anything bad about the family?"

"No," she said. "She's been nice."

"You're such a good girl." Jared kissed her temple. "You should go to bed soon. You and the baby need rest."

"Are you coming to bed too?"

"No, not for a few hours. Jimmy wants one of us to be out here."

I got up off of my knees and turned to face Ava. I motioned for her to go back. She took a quick glance at the window, and then shook her head. I crept toward her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward the house with me. I shimmied my way through the window and back onto the desk. I helped pull Ava into my room.

"Why aren't we going?" she asked.

"Didn't you hear them?" I asked. She shook her head. "My Dad is making them sit out there. They know we'll try to climb down."

"Do you have paper?" she asked. "Maybe we could make a sign and put it in the window?"

"None of the lights are on in any of the houses nearby," I told her. "No one would see it. We'll have to wait for the morning. Let's move the desk, so it doesn't look suspicious."

Ava and I lifted the desk and carried it back over to where it was before. There was a key jiggling in the lock. Ava ran over and pulled the curtain shut. Dad walked in. I noticed he was holding a set of keys on a long chain.

"Just checking in on you kids," he said. "Are you hungry yet?"

Both Ava and I shook our heads. Dad let out a sigh, and tightened his grip around the keys in his hand.

"Can I talk to Leah?" Ava asked.

"Why?" Dad asked.

"I like her," she said. "I want to talk to her, and get to know her better. She's like my cousin now."

Dad raised an eyebrow. I tried not to look confused as I stared at Ava. She must have some kind of plan.

"Leah needs some sleep right now," he said. "You two can talk over breakfast. I'm sure Jared would be happy about that."

"Thank you," Ava said. She plastered a fake smile on her lips.

"Taylor will check up on you two in a bit," he said. "Don't fall asleep or he'll punish you."

"Yes, sir," Ava said.

Dad's lips lifted into a smile. Ava slipped her arms around my waist and put her forehead on my shoulder. Dad left my room, and I could hear him lock us in.

"I think I can convince Leah to help us escape," she whispered to me.

"What can she do?" I asked. "The men in my family are pretty misogynistic."

"She may get the key from Jared while he's sleeping, or maybe she can do something," Ava said letting go of my waist. "Anything she can do will be better than us staying here."

"I guess you're right."

I yawned, and that was when I realized how tired I was.