Holding Onto You

Ch. 20

Demi's pov

I watch Wilmer walk outside slowly before turning my head to Bella on the swing set, "Baby girl can you go to Maya's room for a little bit? I need to talk to Papá." I say.

She looks up as me as she stops swinging, "Ok Momma." She says quietly.

She hops down from the swing and runs inside and I stand beside the swing set and cross my arms as Wilmer approaches, "Did you punish her?" I ask.

He looks at me and I look up to see his eyes with a look of horror and his pale face, "There's a hole in her wall."

I look at him lost, "Uh ok?" I ask.

"She punched a hole in her wall."

"What do you mean she punched a whole in her wall?" I ask.

"I took the car keys and she punched a hole in her wall. She threw the remote into her tv and that's shattered."

I stand in front of him absolutely shocked, Ava's done a lot of things when she's angry. She's taken my phone and hid it when I took her phone for punishment. She's hid her fathers scripts when she's gotten upset with him. She's argued and yelled at us when she's gotten upset with us. But she's never punched a hole or broken anything before. Not once.

"Ok, what is she doing now?" I ask.

"She ran away."

"She what?"

There's no way she's run away. She wouldn't do that. She's smart enough to not do that.

"She got extremely angry when I wouldn't move and when I moved slightly, she pushed past me and shoved me into her door. I tried to run after her but she was no where to be seen by the time I got outside." He says.

"Did she say anything?" I ask.

"Nothing other than me to leave her alone, calling me a bitch, and that was really it. She didn't say anything other than that. She had tears when I got into her room but I don't know if it was because she knew I was about to get onto her, or if she was crying before she came home."

"I don't think she'd cry about getting in trouble, she never has. Yes she has a short temper but I don't think she was upset about that. If she was crying before she got here, something could've happened between her and Jacob. However I don't think him breaking up with her, or them getting into an argument would lead to this. I think she'd be crying because she's hurt, but not having the energy to fight or argue with anyone else." I say.

"So what do you think happened? This isn't like her Demi. She's never done this. Not when she was using, not when she was drinking, not when she's ever been angry." He says.

I take a deep breath and try to process everything, "I don't know."

This isn't in character for Ava at all. I don't know what would cause this. I don't know what'd trigger this to happen.

"She didn't have an ounce of guilt Demi." He says.

Part of me doesn't believe this. It's so not like Ava. On the other hand I've never seen Wilmer this fearful of something out kids have done.

"Ok can we go inside and think?" I ask.

He gives a small nod and I lead the way inside. I hear his slow footsteps behind me and I walk upstairs and go to Ava's room. Sure enough, there's a whole in her wall only a few feet away from her door. I look to her tv and see the glass on the floor and turn my head to the door frame to see red on it and I turn my head to Wilmer to see he's bleeding on his forehead.