Page 168 of Saving the Halfback

“There is nowhere to go, he was starving out there,” Chase argued.

“You don’t understand!” I began pacing back and forth. “He will kill him! He will die here!” Another body I’d have to bury. I couldn’t stop screaming, panic filling every cell in my body.

My dad came running around the corner. “What’s going on?” he bellowed.

“Daddy,” I begged, fat tears streaming down my face, “tell them. Tell them he can’t stay! He isn’t safe here! He will kill him. He will find him!” Dad would know what to do, Dad always knew what to do. “You have to save him!”

“Who? Who are you talking about?” Dad asked.

I ran into the stall to get the dog out, but the animal was frightened, backing up, and watching me warily. It was for his own good. I reached out to grab the dog, to save him, but arms wrapped around me, constricting me. I fought against them as hard as I could—they didn’t understand.

“He’s going to kill him, like he killed Marley,” I cried. “Please.”

“Who, tell me who,” Lachlan whispered in my ear.

“Ed!” I screamed, my body going limp, seeing how useless it was to fight. I couldn’t save her then, and I couldn’t save him now. “Ed killed Marley. She was protecting me. She ran at him, and he killed her. He will kill Pops too.” That’s all it took to break me. I collapsed onto the ground, and Lachlan went down with me, rocking me back and forth as I cried and cried. “He did it.”

“Ed?” Dad walked into the stall and kneeled before me, pushing the hair out of my face.

“He did it, Daddy. I told him I wanted to see Chase. I told Ed I wanted to be a senior in high school, and he got mad at me. He dragged me into the shed. He—” I looked up at Lachlan, and he nodded for me to continue. “Ed raped me.”

The words came out in a hiccup, because even though it was legal, even though I had first agreed to it, it had hurt, and I hadn’t wanted it then. I’d fought. It was rape, no different than what Lachlan had gone through.

“And when Marley wouldn’t stop barking, when Marley started attacking the door, he ran out and grabbed her.” My eyes focused back on my father as my body slumped into Lachlan. “He choked her, Daddy. I couldn’t let him choke her. I grabbed the shovel, and I hit him. I hit him over and over again until he stopped moving. And then I dragged his body into the pen with the bull.”

“When I came home…you were at the road with Marley,” he whispered. His face had gone pale, his eyes glazing over.

“I dragged her to the road, to say she was hit by a car, but I couldn’t leave her. He would’ve killed me. I know it. She saved me, I couldn’t leave her.” Lachlan didn’t let go of me, holding me tightly against his chest.

My dad stood up. “Donotlet her out of your sight. Do you understand?” he ordered, though I wasn’t sure who to.

“Sir,” Chase said, “he’s been doing this to her for a while. We learned not long ago that it’s been going on for years.”

“That goddamn son of a bitch.” Dad stormed out of the barn.

Lachlan kept rocking me until I was able to calm my crying. Pops, the old white dog, got brave and walked over to us, licking my face. “He’s not safe here—”

“John!” I heard my mom’s voice. “What are you… You can’t! Stop!”

“He’s got the gun!” I quickly said. “Stop him!”

There was a scramble as we all got to our feet and ran outside. Nolan made it to Dad’s truck first, even with the limp, and cut him off. Sure enough, Dad was holding the rifle in his hand.

Nolan held up his hands. “John, you don’t want to do that. Let’s just stop and think.”

“I assure you, boy, I very much want to do this, and if you don’t feel the same, you have no right being with my daughter. Get out of my way.” Dad was enraged. I had never seen him at this level in my life.

“Mr. McCormick,” Chase said, “you don’t even know where he is.”

“I do. That goddamn piece of shit is at the hospital. I’ve been paying for his fucking rehabilitation,” he bellowed.

Ethan slipped in next to Nolan, standing in front of my father. “If you went into the hospital with that gun, then security would shoot you before you even made it to his room. And then Bailey would be without you. I get you’re angry, but we have to go about this the right way.”

“John.” Lachlan’s voice was level, calm. “He’s not saying you can’t. He’s saying not yet.”

Men cry. Even growing up on a farm filled with dominant male farm hands, I knew men cried, and I was okay with that. I knew the wholeboys don’t crystereotype was ridiculous. But I had never seen my dad cry.

Dad turned to me, eyes overflowing with tears that didn’t look right on his face. Dad never cried. I broke down all over again. He reached out and grabbed for me at the same time Ethan grabbed the gun and took it from him. Dad crushed me to him in a hug, and I buried my face in his shirt. “I’m sorry, Boo. My little girl. I’m so sorry. I’ll kill him. I promise, I will. That bastard.”

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