Page 6 of Four Times Taken

He broke crazed eye contact with my dad and focused his eyes on me. They softened as soon as we looked at each other. His voice was heavy with emotion when he spoke. "Come with me, Lily."

It sounded like an order. I didn't take orders from men. At least, not any man and not any order. But this was one I'd gladly obey.

"Oh, she ain't goin nowhere." My father got in front of me.

"Yeah?" Eric stepped to him. My father's breathing grew heavy. His skin was red with fury.

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" Eric asked. "Give it a go." He opened his arms, and my father got ready to throw a punch. "I'm sure my sergeant father and lieutenant mother would be more than happy to beat you like the little bitch that you are," Eric continued.

My father hesitated, and Eric smiled.

"Yeah, that's right. They're in the Army, and I'll tell you something else," he whispered. "I'm no soft touch, myself."

For the first time in all my sixteen years of life, I watched as my father dropped his fist. As I stepped past him in the doorway, he gave me eyes that could kill, but he didn't make a move. Eric took my hand, and my heart warmed, doing somersaults in my chest. He was able to get me out there without throwing one punch. He amazed me every day.

"You okay?" he asked me, gripping my hand tighter with the emotion I knew he's trying to hold back.

I nodded, as my father attempted one last dig. "Leave with her, but I hope you know that's kidnapping."

Eric smiled and shook his head, turning around. "Oh yeah? Why don't you report it? I'm sure the cops would love to hear what I just witnessed." He walked off before turning around. "Unless you think you're tougher than the military, don't go near Lily again."

My heartbeat raced. I'd love to see my father's face if the cops showed up. Even better, the military. But my mother would also get in trouble for the drugs if the cops were called. A part of me thought she'd be better off in jail.

Still, they'd let them both out in a few days, anyway. When it came down to it, my mother was an adult. As much as it pained me to leave her there with him, I couldn't be responsible for her decisions. I'm so tired of being the one who has to look out for her.

Eric didn't let go of my hand the whole car ride back to his house. It reminded me of the moment when we lay together on the beach, holding hands, and I grew overwhelmed with the urge to kiss him. It had frightened the hell out of me then. I'm not so frightened anymore.

"So, do you want anything to eat?" he asked as soon as we got to his place. He dropped his keys on the table and headed to the fridge. "I could order pizza." He shrugged, looking at me.

I shook my head. I couldn't eat anything now if I tried.

"Yeah." He closed the fridge door. "I'm not hungry either." He sat next to me around the dinner table. "Want to talk about it?" he asked. When I shook my head again, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He took care of me like no one else did. The familiarity of his hug warmed me. "Well, you don't have to go back there tonight. You can sleep in my room, and I'll sleep in my parents' room." He smiled. "How do you feel about that?"

"I'd love that! Thank you." I smiled back before leaning in and planting a peck on his lips. The kiss was brief, and my blood pounded when I leaned back to look at him. He's red, I'm burning up. Both of our eyes were wide.

He cleared his throat, got up, and scratched his head. "I'll... um... go and make my bed. For you to sleep in, not me." He laughed awkwardly before disappearing.

One week later

I thought gentlemen only existed in movies. Eric was the embodiment of the word. Gentle, sweet, kind, and patient. And better than any boys or men I knew. That night, he kept his word. He slept in his parents' room, and I slept in his. It was the weekend, so the next day, he didn't make me feel awkward about what happened. He didn't even bring it up. We played video games and binged on junk food. He dropped me off at home later that night, hoping his threats were strong enough to keep me safe. They were.

For the past week, my father hasn't looked at me once. He had even toned it down with my mother as well. Guess who else hadn't looked at me. Eric. I hadn't seen him since Sunday. He hadn't shown up at school. When I tried to call him, there'd been no answer. He'd disappeared off the face of the earth. Like a ghost. A figment of my imagination.

At first, I thought he was avoiding me and that it was more awkward for him than he had let on. But awkward enough to miss a whole week of school? Something was wrong and whatever it was, I didn't want him to go through it alone. He could be sick or have received some bad news. Jumping on a bus, I showed up at his house. Banging on the door produced no response.

"Eric!" I called, rounding the house and blocking the glare with my hands as I peeked through the windows. The furniture was still there, but everything's locked up. I kept calling until his neighbor, an older lady, stepped out on her front porch.

"Hey there, honey," she said. "You're that kid, Eric's friend, aren't ya?"

Oh, thank goodness. Someone who might be able to help.

"Hi." I cleared my throat, mumbling my next words. "Yes, I am. You don't happen to know where he is, do you? He hasn't shown up to school all week."

"Oh, sweetie. Didn't he tell you? Family packed up in the middle of the night and just left," she said.

My body expanded and still objects bounced around before me. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean, sweetie, is they moved." She turned to go back inside, leaving me staring back at the house, wondering why he hadn't even said goodbye.

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