Still. . .Thank You

Chapter 5

 As I looked at the scene in front of me I tried to stop shaking. I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to use my voice when I noticed that no one had paid attention to my unexpected entrance.

"M-Mister let him go," I took a deep breath and, in a voice louder than the last, said, "Leave him alone!"

 Both of them turned to me and the look that the man had given me had almost made me pee my pants. I still looked directly at the man  because I was afraid of what I would find if I looked down. Before the man could open his mouth, I spoke again.

"You can't hurt him! I won't let you!"

  I then sprinted across the room and -with all the force that I had in my 10-year-old body- pushed him. Of course, it only made him wobble but when he was going to step down to steady himself, my brother kicked his leg. The man fell to the floor while I rushed to position myself in front of my brother.

 "A-Aphrodite, what're you doing? You're supposed to be safe where he couldn't get you!"

 My brother's bangs covered most of his face and he didn't look me in the eye. Instead, they were focused on the man who was having difficulty standing up in his drunken state. Feeling my stare, he pulled on his pajama top trying to cover the bruises that were forming on every inch of his exposed skin.I hugged him as softly as I could and I felt him swallowing deeply in an attempt to hold back his tears.

 "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I that I left you alone. I-I'll never do that ever again! I'll never let you hurt alone! I'm the worst big Sis ever.Bad.Bad. I'm sorry..." My voice cracked in the middle and I was crying at the end.

 "It's okay, I only needed to protect you a little while longer."

 He had wrapped his little arms around me and hugged me - even though I knew that it must have been very painful to hold me tightly. He wouldn't let me go until I had calmed down, never taking his eyes off the man(who had finally managed to stand).

 "I wasn't planning on staying there forever either, I wasn't planning to stay there safe while you were in danger.I was supposed to protect you... BUT i-it's alright now...I"

 As the man walked slowly towards us, I had quickly whispered: "I got a plan."

 "Mister, calm down," I said as he got closer to us (When we saw that he was too close, we ran to the other side of the room where the closet was located). I tried to distract him so that he wouldn't try to pull any 'funny business' before the cops got there. I remember that I had cleared my throat and tried to sound like the girls on TV that seemed to be full of confidence.

"Mister, Who's your baby? What happened to her?" I had gagged when I smelled the alcoholic breath on my face.He scrunched up my shirt and lifted me high enough that my toes were brushing against the floor.

"Someone took her away from me. Do ya know who it was? I need to find her, yer momma told me she was gonna find her!"

 He was talking too fast and he had expected me to answer the question. I think that he had actually thought that I had known everything about his situation. When he saw that I was silent, he lifted me up higher.

"Stop! My mom said that you should respect everyone - especially girls because they hold long grudges and they love gentlemen" My brother had mumbled the last part as the man held me like a toy. My brother started to visibly shake when the man turned his attention towards him and flinched when he gripped his shoulder. The man slammed Eros against the wall as I was dragged along.

 He reached down, grabbed Eros roughly by the throat, and made him look at him. Eros's eyes watered and I felt worse when I saw his pants darkened  in color. I had licked my lips, closed my eyes, and smirked. When I opened them slowly, I had seen Eros looking directly at me, ignoring the man.

"Mister, if you let him go...I'll tell you something. You wouldn't like it, but it's the truth." I looked at Eros who was slightly shaking his head.
 
I looked away from Eros, ashamed.I had lied to my brother, I didn't really have a plan.The police were coming soon and I had only told him that so that he wouldn't try anything that could've worsened the situation. I didn't really plan anything.The only things in my 10 year-old mind was to:

•Distract him
•Protect Eros
•Don't get hurt
                              Oh!
-and to choose my next words very carefully.