Page 64 of Britain

“What do you mean by that? He’s shown no signs of being violent since we’ve met him. What proof do you have that he’s violent with my daughter?”

“He used to hit me. Silas is a sick pervert that gets off on beating women. I’ve seen him with your daughter. She had bruises on the back of her thighs.”

My ears start ringing and my blood begins to boil. She opens her iPad and starts messing with it and then sets it down on the desk. Britain is tied down while Silas strikes her with a paddle over and over.

“Turn that the fuck off,” my dad says loudly, standing up. I look at this Dorie chick and she actually looks frightened right now. “Please leave.”

“I was only trying to help. I wish someone would’ve warned me.” We watch her practically run out of the office.

Dad grabs his coffee mug and launches it at the wall. He storms past us, and I follow behind him with Marcus quietly bringing up the rear. He says nothing as he stands in front of the window staring out into the parking lot.

“Dad, we don’t know that girl…she could’ve been lying.” I can feel the rage coming off of him.

“That was my little girl tied to some sort of contraption getting hit by that motherfucker. I’m going to kill him.”

***

Silas’s Porsche pulls into the parking lot. He climbs out and goes around to Brit’s side. Before I can stop him, Marcus goes running outside. With quickness I didn’t know he had, Marcus strikes, punching Silas in the face.

“You beat on my sister, you piece of shit!” he screams.

Britain screams for Marcus to stop. It takes me and a couple of the guys in the garage to pull him off of Silas. Then Dad grabs Silas and slams him into his SUV a couple of times. “Do. You. Hit. My. Daughter?”

“Dad, stop it! He doesn’t hurt me,” Britain pleads as she looks at us. “Please tell me what’s happening.”

Marcus grabs Britain by her upper arms. “Show me your legs—let me see the bruises.”

“Marcus, back off.” I grab his forearm trying to get him to let go. “You’re scaring her.”

Britain finally shoves Marcus off and gets between Dad and Silas. “Dad, stop!”

“Does he hit you?” Dad’s voice is low and gravelly.

“It’s not what you think. Please, let’s just go inside and talk. I can explain everything, just give me the chance.”

Marcus, being the hothead he is sometimes, grabs her out from between Dad and Silas. “You’ve been brainwashed. He took advantage of you because you don’t know any better.”

“I fucking love her. I’d never brainwash her,” Silas says, his face bloodied.

“Shut the fuck up!” Marcus charges him again, but in the process knocks Britain to the ground.

I help her up, or try to, but she slaps my hands away. She grabs Silas and opens the passenger door, and with a strength I didn’t know she had, she shoves Silas in the SUV.

“You’re not leaving with him,” Marcus barks. “He knows about your past and about the motherfucker who tried to molest you.”

We all freeze, because our whole shop is outside watching this go down. I get in Marcus’s face. “You need to back the fuck up until you’re calm.”

Britain moves fast and slaps Marcus across the face. “How dare you,” she hisses and looks at all of us. “How dare all of you. You don’t know shit about me or the man I love. I will never forgive any of you for this.”

I try to grab for her, but she slaps my hands away again. “Sweetheart, let’s calm down and talk.”

“The time to talk was before Marcus hit Silas and before he told everyone that I was almost molested.”

“Britain, you’re not going anywhere,” Dad demands.

“The hell I’m not. I quit, and I don’t want to talk to any of you.” I watch it slowly happen. It starts with her chin wobbling and then the first tear falls, and then the second. She scrambles around the front of Silas’s SUV and climbs in.

We have to jump out of the way because she hits the gas so fast she probably wouldn’t stop if she hit one of us. I grab Marcus by the front of his coveralls. “What the fuck was that? Do you realize what you just did? Fuck…you too, Dad.”

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