You Keep Me Safe (Jalex)

17: Broken Home

Title from: "Broken Home" by 5 Seconds of Summer.

"About time you show up," my dad huffs as I walk through the front door. I brace myself for some sort of attack, but nothing comes. "Hurry, we have to set up for dinner."

"Isn't it just the two of us?" I ask as politely as possible.

"No, we have another guest today," he explains. "It's only one other person, but I'd like to make it somewhat nice."

"Do you need help cooking anything?"

"Well, you got home too late to help with that," he says with a sharp edge to his words. "You can set the table, though. She should be here in fifteen minutes anyway."

I nod, setting three spots at the dining table. I get some vanilla scented candles from the cabinet and light two of them, filling the room with a slight but pleasant aroma. With seven minutes to spare, I rush upstairs and comb my hair, spraying it into place. I change into a flannel with some black skinny jeans, taking a deep breath as I hear the front door open and close. The voice I hear is scarily familiar, so I creep downstairs to peek around the corner.

The woman I see speaking to my father is none other than the person I screamed at to leave my room a few months ago. She looked more composed, her hair curled, makeup on, and a dress flowing at her knees. I decide to step out into the light because I wouldn't find anything out by hiding.

My mom jumps a little when she sees me. I guess she was scared of how I would react. I muster a smile, which she returns.

"Hey, mom," I say quietly.

"Hi, Alex, it's been awhile, hasn't it?" she replies.

"Yeah... if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

My parents exchange looks before my mom answers, "We thought we'd tell you over dinner."

I swear to God, they'd better not be back together.

We sit at the table, eating mostly in silence, excluding the small talk my mom tried to kindle with me regarding school. I was anxious to know what was going on. I don't know why she's back. And why now? Why didn't she take me with her? Now isn't the time to be angry, this is the first time we've all been together in over ten years. I think that's what angers me the most, though.

I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, and I steal a quick glance at it under the table. It's a text from Jack.

Hey, is everything okay so far?

Not quite

I pocket my phone after replying, feeling it buzz again. I probably worried him, but I'll tell him everything later. I'm not allowed to have my phone at the table anyway.

"I suppose it's about time we tell you the news, Alex," my mom announces, shaking me from my thoughts. I nod slowly, glancing between her and my father.

My dad places his hand over hers, and I don't even need to hear the news to know exactly what was going on.

"What?!" I exclaim, standing up. "Mom, what are you doing? Did you just forget why you left this asshole in the first place?" Confusion washes over her face, so I push further, my voice raising with every word. "Yeah, Mom, I know. I know why you left. You left him because of the constant abuse. You wanted to get out. You wanted to get away from him, so you left. You left and you didn't even take me with you. You left me with him," I yell, practically spitting the last word.

"Honey, I-," she starts.

"No, Mom! I don't want to hear it. You know what you did, you knew exactly where you were leaving me. Thirteen years! You left me here for thirteen years with this excuse of a father, only to come back with this huge smile on your face to announce you're back with him. Do you really think things are going to magically be okay again? What, did he convince you that he changed?"

"People change, Alex," my mom stays, her voice sterner than I've ever heard it. Then again, I haven't really heard it in years. "The years away have made him a better person."

"That's bullshit!" I practically scream, my voice straining. "I'm sure he said that just to get you back, he just wants power." I know I'm only making my dad mad, but I'm too mad to stop now. "So before you come back into this house, I think it's a good idea for you to know that everything is still just as fucking shattered as you left it."

I walk away, ignoring the yells from my father to come back. I slam the door to my room, locking it behind me. I take my pillow, screaming into it as loud as I could. Such a teenage girl thing to do... I know. It's just too much. Too much, too fast. She's back and he's still here. I don't even know what's worse, dealing with my dad every day or my mom thinking she can just come back after abandoning me. It's not fair.

I realize after a minute that there's screaming downstairs. It abruptly stops, and the front door slams shut. I open my blinds, peering out into the front of the house. I see my mom hurrying to her car, closing the car door and hastily starting the engine as my dad comes running out the door after her. She peels out of the driveway, speeding down to road as my dad yells after her. I can't hear what he's saying, but he's angry.

Very angry.

I reach in my pocket for my phone, but it isn't there. My heart drops to my stomach as I realize that I left it downstairs on my seat.

Jack. I need Jack.

I turn toward the door, rushing downstairs and grabbing my phone just as my dad gets back in the house. I gasp, running as fast as my legs can take me back to my room. I hear his heavy footsteps behind me, knowing that this isn't going to end well.

I get to my room, slamming the door and locking it. I take a breath of relief, but the relief doesn't last much longer than half a second as I hear a small object in the keyhole.

He's picking the lock.

I hurry over to my window, trying to pull it up. I can safely get down from here due to the porch that stretches over next to mine from my dad's room. The window, however, doesn't budge. I start to hyperventilate, frantically pushing up on the window, but with no success. I grab my phone, quickly getting to Jack's contact, not trusting myself to dial 911 in my extremely shaky state. The door opens right as I tap on his contact, but before I can press call, I feel a sharp pain to my head, my legs give way, and everything goes black.