Page 77 of My Vows Are Sealed

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my cell phone out of my purse and handed it to him, then picked up the shirt he’d grabbed for me and went into his bedroom, closing the door behind me.

I couldn’t explain why, but even being a room away from him right now made my chest tighten and my breathing become more labored. I knew it wasn’t logical. He was literally right on the other side of the door. But his arms were the only place where I felt safe right now.

I quickly changed out of my clothes and threw Brendan’s shirt on, chuckling a little when I found that it went almost all the way to my knees. Then I unplugged his cell phone and crawled into bed. My fingers shook as I dialed my mom’s cell phone number, and bile churned in my stomach as I held the phone up to my ear and heard the ringing, anticipating the sound of my father’s voice coming through on the other end.

“Hello?” came my mom’s hoarse voice after three rings.

“Mom?” I whispered, my voice shaking.

“Hana,” she sighed. “Hi. Did you talk to Naomi?”

“Mom, it’s me,” I said, completely confused about why she thought it was Mrs. Rhee on the other end of the phone. Didn’t she know her own daughter’s voice?

I heard some shuffling and a door shutting, and then my mom spoke again.

“Darla,” she whispered. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

Of course. She didn’t want my dad to hear her talking to me. Why hadn’t I realized that?

“I’m okay,” I sniffled. “I’m with a friend. But I’m not coming home. Not after what Dad did. I don’t feel safe there anymore.”

“I know,” she murmured. “I don’t want to know where you are. That way I don’t have to lie if he asks. But I want to see you. Can you meet me at the used bookstore after school on Tuesday? I have a doctor’s appointment, so I’ll be out of the house anyway.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. On the one hand, shehadstopped my dad from hurting me today. But on the other hand, the times when she took my side over his were few and far between. How did I know my dad wasn’t telling her to say that so they could get me somewhere public where they thought I wouldn’t cause a scene?

I debated it for a few seconds, but my need for more than just half a dozen articles of clothing won out over my fear. And I couldn’t explain why, but something just told me that I could trust her.

“Okay,” I told her. “Do you think you can bring me some more clothes? I didn’t have time to pack very much.”

“Of course,” she sniffled. “Is there anything else you need?”

A lump rose in my throat as I realized that my mom would have to lie to her husband about where she was going and what she was doing just so she could see her own daughter. And there was a chance that if he found out, he’d hurt her for keeping it from him.

This was so many levels of wrong, I didn’t even know where to begin.

“No, that’s it,” I choked out. “I’m so sorry, Mom.”

“Don’t you dare apologize, sweetheart. I’m just glad you had somewhere to go where you felt safe,” she whispered. Then I heard a door opening, and she raised her voice a little. “Okay. Thank you for trying, Hana. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I heard a click, and then the call disconnected. As I set the phone back on the nightstand, I let the tears I’d been holding back break free.

There was a soft knock on the door.

“Baby? You decent?” Brendan called quietly.

“Yeah,” I called back, my voice thick with tears.

The door opened, and he was at the bedside in three strides. He climbed onto the bed and pulled me into his arms, and just like that, the tightness in my chest went away.

“Did you talk to your mom?” he asked.

I nodded and sniffled. “She’s going to meet me at the used bookstore after school on Tuesday to bring me some clothes. She said she doesn’t want to know where I am, because then if he asks, she doesn’t have to lie.”

“That’s smart,” he sighed. “I wish she’d done more to protect you, but I know she loves you. She at least deserves to know you’re somewhere safe, even if she doesn’t know where. And now we’re going to try to put this out of our minds for the rest of the night. Okay?”

I nodded again as I curled closer to him.

He reached across me, grabbed the remote control, and handed it to me, then pulled me over to sit on his lap without my even having to ask. It was like he just knew that I couldn’t stand for there to be any distance between us right now.

---