Celo

Chapter 16

QUINN

The car went over a bump and I almost blacked out from the pain. I didn't dare try to talk. I didn't know whose car I was in but it didn't bother me at the time. All I could think about was what had just happened. Scenes flashed through my head. I was waking up to the whiskey on my dad's breath. I was opening my eyes and watching him toy with the dirty kitchen knife. I was looking into his empty eyes searching for some sign of a soul. I was watching him drop his hand with the knife stopping right before the blade drew blood from my neck. I was choking. His other hand caught me square in the side of the face. The knife scratched my throat. I couldn't breathe. I woke up in the dark. I heard someone groaning. Dad was gone. Kyle was next to me. I opened my eyes. His hand was crushed. Now I was in a car. I hoped he was okay.

CASEY

"Quinn?" I said. He hadn't responded to us for over an hour now. This time though he opened his eyes. I slowly walked over to the side of my bed where he was lying. Kyle was sleeping on the floor. I had put ice on his hand.

"Huh?" Quinn responded.
"Hey how're you feeling?"
"Is Kyle-"
"He's gonna be fine Quinn. Are you okay?"
"I thought things were getting better." Quinn said. It sounded like he was mad at himself.
"What happened?" He didn't respond. He tried to prop himself up. He was shaking. He couldn't do it. I propped him up on a pillow. 

"He was so mad at me. Why does he hate me?" Quinn said, his words were slurred, it seemed like he was having a hard time talking.

"He was drunk Quinn."

"Casey you don't understand alright? It doesn't matter that he's drunk. He tries to kill us okay? You can't blame a father trying to murder his own kids on alcohol." Kyle chimed in. "Quinn---"

"Hey man you okay?" Quinn asked.

"Me? I'm fine."

"How's your hand?"

"It'll be fine."

"Would you stop saying that.." Quinn sounded angry.

"Quinn what happened to you?"

QUINN

"I can't really remember."  I lied. Talking hurt like crazy. I closed my eyes tight.

"Quinn, how do you feel?" Casey asked. I looked down at my knee. It was throbbing and I didn't know why. My knee was bandaged over an inch think around. 

"You had a cut." Casey said.

"Some cut." 

"Does it hurt?"

"Ya."

"Does your jaw?"

"Very." I liked when she was straightforward because then I felt like I could be too.

"Quinn," Casey paused, "Your throat..." I was hoping she just hadn't noticed.

I tried to lift my hand to my throat but I could only get it halfway. I lay it down across my chest. 

"Your arm's also in pretty bad shape." I closed my eyes as I was remembering. I was being dragged along concrete. I couldn't remember why. My arm was swollen and scraped from being dragged. "But Quinn, your throat." Casey persisted.

"Ya..."
"Did you do that?"

"What? No!"

Dad?" Kyle spoke up.

"Ya."