Naomi POV:
I stood frozen, staring at the scene in front of me. What else could I do in that situation? It was almost funny. I'd wished so much hurt on Raymond. I wanted him to suffer just as much as me and feel exactly what I felt. But now that I'm here and it's actually happening... I think I might throw up.
I'm torn between watching in silent satisfaction as Raymond gets what he deserves and stepping in to give his father an even worse beating. Now I see where he gets it from.
You're probably wondering what's happening, so let's start from the beginning. Or... you know... biology. The teacher, Mrs. Schultz, just loves giving us partner projects and, even more so, she loves picking our partners for us. I'm usually not to upset about that part since I'd be unhappy with my partner whether I chose them or not, and they'd feel the same way. I do, however, mind it when I could be partnered with anyone else in the class and I end up with Satan Jr.(if you haven't already guessed, Satan Jr. is Raymond.)
We had agreed(a rare occasion between the two of us) to meet at his house after school to work on the cell model we were supposed to make. I had waited several minutes after knocking multiple times before letting myself in(Yes, I'm aware it's a rude thing to do. No, I don't care, because this is Raymond we're talking about and I'm not at all concerned with being polite when it comes to him. Also, it was twenty degrees outside and if I didn't get inside soon I would probably get hypothermia.) The first thing I was greeted with was the sound of yelling and then a loud smack. So of course I followed the sound and found myself in the kitchen, watching as Raymond struggled to dodge his father's blows, who was swinging his arms around and, from both the way he acted and the multiple empty bottles of alcohol on the counter, was probably drunk.
And now I'm led to this point. A part of me, a darker, more sadistic part of me fills my mind with satisfaction. But then the other, more humane part of me(the part that Raymond doesn't have) screams for me to stop it.
Any sane person would probably just call the cops or try to find a neighbor. They might even do nothing if he had done to them what he'd done to me. But who ever said I was sane? Acting on instinct, I find myself running towards the ape-like man and trying to pull him away. Both of the men were caught by surprise, seeing as how their fight had distracted them from noticing me before. I have just enough time to yank him a few feet away from Raymond before my back is slammed into the wall. The force takes me by surprise, and I immediately forget about my grip on him. He swiftly turns around and I meet his burning gaze. I try not to shrink away in fear at the man who had seemed so normal and calm at the dinners our families shared. I guess Raymond wasn't the only one who was acting.
He raises his fist, and I flinch away, bracing myself for the hit. But it never comes. I open my eyes after several seconds to see Raymond holding his father's fist back.
"You can't hit her. Her parents will find out," he tries to reason with his dad. I don't mention that they've never found out before. It probably wouldn't help my case. Raymond's dad hesitates for several seconds before dropping his fist, grabbing another bottle of beer, and leaving the kitchen as I stare after him in shock. I really didn't expect Raymond's reasoning to work on him.
"Why did you do that?" My attention is snapped back to Raymond, who is now looking at me with shock.
"I... I came to work on the project," I say, still in a daze from the events that had just happened.
"I can see that." He rolled his eyes. "You didn't answer my question."
"I don't know," I admit. He nods in response and turns around, starting to walk out of the room before stopping to look over his shoulder.
