Ties (Book 1)

20. The Force Still Hurled

The hardest thing is sitting a person away from someone you hate. What is worse is sitting so close for over nine hours. I thanked God for giving people the abilities to create phones and earphones, for they saved me. I also thanked him that I was able to sleep through most of the flight. Every time my father tried to speak to me, I would ignore him. It made me giddy to know how much it bothered him. Did that make me a bad daughter? I did not care, so I turned my face the other way again and again.

There was a day left before we went back to school from the holiday break; I decided it would be best to spend the night at Mike's and go to school from there. I had already arranged everything with my best friend, even before we stepped foot on the plane. I would get home, shower, pack a smaller bag, and leave. That sounded like a perfect plan.

It was a perfect plan, until I was about to walk out of the door. "Where do you think you're going?" With a drink in hand, my father was staring at me sternly.

"Obviously out." My sass was coming out.

"And who did you ask permission from?" He finished his drink, and waited for an answer.

"I asked my mother."

"I am your father, which means you need to ask me as well. You're just a stupid little girl who thinks that she can rule herself."

I lost complete control and laughed intensely. Every time I looked up, I laughed harder. His face was reddening with anger and his fist was clenching. I pulled myself together, sort of. "Don't pretend to be a strong father figure, or like you actually care what I'm doing. I never ask for permission because I live here by myself at least ninety five percent of the year." I shrugged my shoulders.

I picked up my duffle bag from the floor, then unlocked the door. Before I got the chance to open the door, his glass shattered against the door, inches away from my face. I let out a small scream of terror. Next thing I knew, I was pinned to the door by my throat. My father's large hands grasped around my skin and blocked the oxygen. My heart was pounding so fast and I was beginning to see dots around his face.

"Stop it, Nick," my mother screamed and hit him on the shoulders. He was out of his mind, like he was another man. I do not think he actually knew what he was doing, but he slammed the back of his hand on her right cheek as he turned. Her arms covered her face before his hand made contact with her skin, but the force still hurled her back. Her head struck the console table, then her thin body collapsed to the ground.

I crumpled to the floor and took in big gulps of air. Not in my life had I been so afraid, not even when I was lost in the woods. I pulled my knees to my chest and wailed; there was a whole burning in my chest, or at least it felt like that. I kept screaming as I crawled to my mother's unconscious body. I shook her but she would not wake up. "Mom! Mom!" I felt so helpless, unsure of how to help. "Call... Call an ambulance," I told my father's frozen figure as he stared at my mom's body. I got up and went to the phone since he didn't even seem to hear a word I had said.

"911 what is your emergency? This is Josh."

"My mom... hit her head on a table and... she's bleeding a lot," I could hardly speak; my sobbing was stronger.

"Is she conscious?"

"N--no," I stuttered.

"Is she breathing?"

"I don't know! Just get here, she needs professional help!" I was hysterical at this point.

A few minutes later an ambulance came, and the paramedics made their way to my mother with different machines and a stretcher. A police officer wanted to speak with us, but all I wanted was to go to the hospital with my mom. I wanted to know that she was going to be okay. The police officer seemed to sympathize with me, so he said that he would be back later.