Page 6 of The Bookworm

In the past, I've been thankful he wasn't stupid enough to drive drunk at least. But now, having people from school recognize him as he sleeps one off outside is nothing shy of mortifying.

The three of us step inside and freeze by the front door. I always did my best to make sure the house was tidy, but it looks like a tornado ran through the living room. Pillows are tossed off couch, and the coffee table is upside down with the books and knickknacks on top broken and ripped on the floor.

“What the hell?” I whisper, looking between Talon and Sawyer with my heart beating rapidly in my chest. It looks like someone broke into the house and ravaged it.

“Stay behind me,” Talon says, immediately taking a defensive stance with his posture as he steps forward. Sawyer is right beside him, and the two of them walk through the house on high alert as if they expect someone to jump out from behind a corner.

Thankfully, the house is empty. There's no sign of my dad or any kind of robber or crazed lunatic. When we get to my room, it's obvious that nobody has broken in to steal anything. Everything in my room is ruined.

My clothes are yanked out of the closet and ripped down the center. The heavy scent of rum lingers in the air. I bend down to pick up one of my favorite sweaters—one that belonged to my mother and was one of the few things I had left of hers—to find it ruined.

Tears sting my eyes as I drop the shredded fabric on the floor and walk to my bookshelf. I didn't own many books, so my library card was my main source of new stories. The few that I have are ones I cherish. They’re copies I've read from cover to cover countless times, annotating my thoughts and feelings in the margins. I hold sentimental value to these stories because they've carried me through difficult times. Now, the pages are ripped, and Sharpie has been taken to the margins, scribbling out text and writing the words bitch and slut over them.

“This is seriously fucked up,” Sawyer says as he digs through the pile of clothes on the ground for any salvageable goods.

I can't help the tears that spill from my eyes. Talon approaches me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to bring me close to him. I practically collapse in his arms when I feel its safety net around me. “You don't deserve this.”

I try to say something back, but all I can manage to choke out are sobs at seeing everything I've known of my life destroyed at my feet. My laptop, which I need for school, is practically bent in half with a very clear fist mark on the screen. Sawyer digs through my drawers and closet and discovers that every article of clothing is ruined. We didn't have a lot of money, so a majority of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my mom's closet.

What hurts the most is seeing a framed picture of me with her on my bedside completely destroyed. As soon as I see the frame smashed and the picture shredded beside it, my knees give out, and I collapse to the ground, crawling over the wreckage of my life to grab the scraps of paper.

“Merrit, it's going to be okay,” Talon says as he sits across from me, reaching a hand to mine to try to comfort me. “Whatever you need, we’ll replace it. I'll get you a new laptop and a whole new wardrobe. What matters is you're out of this place now.”

I pick up every piece of the shredded picture and try to piece it back together on the ground, my tears staining the inside of my broken glasses. This is the only picture I have of my mom. My dad knows that too. He simply doesn't care.

Seeing that the picture will never be put back together again, I lose all control of myself. I had been trying to maintain some composure in front of Talon, but I can't pretend. My entire life was just ripped to pieces by the man who was supposed to love me and protect me no matter what. How could he do something like this to me?

How could he seriously blame me for what happened to my mom? I was a child.

Honestly, I don't know why I'm surprised. Ever since she died, he's always found a new low to sink to. He gets fired from a job? That's my fault. A woman he picked up at a bar and dated for two weeks dumps his ass? That's because no woman wants to date a man with baggage, and I'm nothing but baggage holding him down.

I hate him. I hate him more than anything in the world. He's taken my life and held it within his grasp, choking out any semblance of happiness for far too long. I'mdonewith him.

I'd be better off without him, and I know that without a shadow of a doubt. But nothing can compare to the pain of knowing that my own blood could do this to me. He's supposed to care about me. He is biologically programmed to love me and have my best interests in mind, and I have never seen that from him.

Talon's arms wrap around me again, and I sob into his chest for what feels like hours. My entire system is so shaken by everything I've seen that I hardly register him picking me up and carrying me out of the house.

I look back at it one last time, seeing as neither Talon nor Sawyer carry anything out with them, and I silently say goodbye to the hell I've been living in. I'll do anything to make sure I never have to come back here again.

FIVE

When we return to the house, Sawyer and I give Merrit time to herself. We sit silently in the living room, letting the weight of everything we just saw sit between us. Neither of us has to say a word to acknowledge how privileged we feel compared to her. Any argument I've had with my parents feels minuscule and unimportant compared to what she's going through. It almost makes me want to call them and thank them for everything they've done for me.

The alarm on my phone rings, and I pull it out of my pocket, looking at the practice reminder with a sigh. How can I possibly forget about practice?

“Right, he wants us to practice our defense before the game with Hatfield next week,” Sawyer reminds me, a look of regret in his eyes. “We shouldn't leave her here like this, right?”

“Absolutely not,” I agree, turning off the alarm and shoving my phone back into my pocket. “Just tell Coach I can't make it. Tell him I have food poisoning or something and can't leave the bathroom. Come up with something good.”

“You sure? Some of these maneuvers will be important for you to know.” Sawyer raises an eyebrow at me, but he stands and slips on a pair of sneakers anyway.

“Making sure she's okay is more important than that right now. Besides, we've never let Hatfield win before, and I'm positive we won't start now.” We share a small laugh, happy to think about something other than Merrit’s house for the first time today.

He says goodbye to me and grabs the keys to his car before taking off. I can't lie, I'm looking forward to having some real alone time with Merrit. I know she’s upset about everything that happened, and understandably so. If there's anything I can do to cheer her up, I'll gladly do it. Plus, now that she’s under my roof, I have to make sure she's taken care of. We've got some errands to run now.

Merrit finds me in the living room after about a half an hour, and I'm happy to see she's calmed down. Her eyes are still red and puffy after crying so much, so I invite her to sit beside me.

“Seriously, Talon, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me,” Merrit says, leaning in to hug me tight against her. “It hurts more than anything in the world to know my dad would do something like this to me. But that's not someone who cares about their child. I don't want to spend another minute thinking about him when he wouldn't do the same for me.”

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