A Harsh Reality | ✓

Chapter 38

Noah

I arrived at the small park where Mandy and I usually hung out. She had asked me to meet her there, and I obviously agreed. I finished parking my motorcycle and took my helmet off as I examined the plaza for pink hair. Before I knew what was happening, Mandy had thrown herself in my arms. I quickly wrapped my own around her torso, holding her firmly as she buried her face in my neck.

"Wha-" I was about to ask her what was going on, but I was interrupted by her chest heaving abruptly. I held her then because I knew that was what she wanted me to do. She sobbed for a long time, and honestly, it broke my heart.

"Mandy," I murmured into her ear before begging, "Tell me what's wrong." Her body stiffened for a moment, but she eventually let go of my neck and faced the ground, hiding her face with her hair. I trailed my hands around her waist and took ahold of her calloused hands. When I looked closely at them, I noticed that her fingers were red with blood.

That's when I finally fixed my eyes on her arms. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, but a bruise was showing just above her wrist. I lifted her sleeve gently upwards, revealing old scars and fresh cuts, accompanied by a lot of blemishes. Mandy's head was hanging low when I placed my index finger under her chin and slowly pushed her to look into my eyes.

I twitched involuntarily at the sight of her face. Her left eye was half-closed, and the skin around it completely black. A deep, dark red cut extended from her ear to her jaw. I removed my hand from her face and clenched both of them at my sides.

"Where is Tyler?" I asked. Mandy hid her face in her hands and sighed heavily.

"He's not home, I was alone with my Father," she replied, "My Mom is at work." She crossed her arms across her chest. "It was a mess, Noah, I-" Mandy choked on her words and quickly moved a hand to her mouth. "He threw a bottle at my head for not cooking." She wiped away the tears that had streamed down her cheeks. "I didn't even know he was going to be home." I quickly took out my phone and enveloped my other arm around Mandy's neck. She started crying again as I looked for Tyler's number in my contacts.

"Don't worry," I hushed her and brushed my cheek against her hair, "Everything's going to be okay."

"Noah?" Tyler's voice echoed through the device, "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, listen," I started, and Mandy sobbed loudly, "I'm with Amanda right now-"

"What happened to my sister?" he interrupted me, and I heard shuffling across the line, as he was probably getting ready to go away from wherever he was.

"Your Father-" I said, "-you know. One of her cuts is pretty deep, I'm going to be taking her to the hospital."

"I'll meet you there," he instantly replied and ended the call.

*&*

"Where is she?" Tyler rushes into the waiting room.

"She is seeing a doctor right now," I answered, "They are going to tell us how serious it is." He sat down next to me, his body completely tense.

"We really have to do something about this, Tyler," I stated, "How long has this been going on for?"

"I don't know," he said, "Neither Amanda nor my Mom ever told me, but I'm guessing it's years." I exhaled slowly.

"Can't we call the police?" I asked.

"Don't you think I've tried?" Tyler asked back, "Amanda tried, Mom tried, we all tried, but it's useless." He scoffed. "The officer in charge is a friend of my Father's, and he always  intervenes before he can go to jail."

"That's illegal," I blurted.

"Yeah, but they obviously aren't checking correctly."

"What about-" The door in which Amanda had disappeared had suddenly opened, making Tyler and I stand up immediately. Out came Mandy with a doctor following her firmly from behind.

"Is it too bad?" Tyler asked. The doctor examined us seriously before settling on Mandy's brother.

"Tyler Taylors?" she asked, "I'm Doctor Garcia." She took his hand in greeting. "Amanda will only be needing a few stitches, you may follow us to the operation room." She then looked at me. "You can wait here for the police officer I just called and inform him of what's going on." Mandy gives me a stern look before disappearing with Tyler behind another door.

*&*

"Yes," Mandy answered the officer's question, "He has been abusing my mother and me for about four years."

"And have you ever called for help before?"

"Yes," she replied and explained the situation with the other officer. We were lucky a different cop showed up. Apparently, Doctor Garcia had called the police station that was nearest to the hospital. We were hoping that the other officer wouldn't intervene after this.

"Do you have any proof that the injuries have been done by your Father?" he motioned to her face.

"We can go back home, and you'll see the shattered bottle on the floor," Mandy reassured him, "He never cleans anything." He nodded.

"Okay, I'm done," the police officer said, "I'll get back up and head to your house in about half an hour." He stood up. "Stay clear of it until I inform you it's okay to come back."

"Thank you," Mandy said. The cop nodded and walked out of the room. "Noah." I snapped my head to look at her as she stared at the ground. "Do you mind taking me back to your place?"

"Of course," I replied instantly. Tyler was about to interrupt when Amanda stopped him.

"I'll be fine, Tyler," she said, "You can go to your girlfriend's house, I know you want to." She smiled at her brother. He simply nodded and looked at me carefully before leaving.

"Come on, Mandy," I nudged her slightly, "Let's get you out of here."

I could feel the tension she was handling when she placed her arms around my body. We soon arrived at my apartment, and Mandy headed directly towards my floor. I unlocked the door, and she strutted in slowly, immediately sitting on the couch in the living room. I left my keys and helmet in their usual place and stretched my neck towards the small corridor. Zoey's door was closed, meaning she was studying since it was exam week.

I occupied the seat next to Mandy and stared at her for a long time. She was looking straight out the window, her back hunched and her hands intertwined. Her feet were fidgeting with each other, and her whole body was trembling. Mandy's cheek was now exhibiting a white patch, hiding her new stitches.

I slid closer to her and wrapped my arms around her, almost hissing when I felt her marble-cold skin. She inclined herself towards me and dropped her head onto my shoulder. Her frosty hands brushed the skin underneath my shirt when she snaked them around my waist. She fell asleep, and soon enough, I did too.

The sound of Mandy's phone ringing woke me up. Our arms were still wrapped around each other before she realized what was going on and stood up. She answered the phone, half asleep, and went into my room to talk privately. I patiently waited in the corridor for her to come back, but she was a long time.

When she finally emerged, she was crying, but the smile on her face confused me. Mandy laughed and lunged herself at me, jumping when she did.

"It's over, Noah," she squealed as she looked into my eyes, "My Father and the officer have been arrested."

"You're kidding!" I exclaimed and smiled. I was truly happy for her because I knew how much Mandy had longed for this to happen, and I was thrilled she wasn't going to get hurt anymore. "That's great news, Mandy."

"Thank you, Noah," she simply replied and embraced me again, "Thank you for everything."

*&*
two chapters left oop-
anyways, i hope you enjoyed this one even if it was not my best. don't forget to vote and i'll see you in the next chapter!

miss lp