Page 46 of Salvation

Home. I realize.This is whathomefeels like.

Chapter 45

Blake

I’m cuddled up on the couch, flipping through the TV when a scream pierces the air, filling me with fear that has me throwing back the blankets and following the sound before my brain fully registers what’s happening.

“No! No. No, no, no!"

Elain.

I rush into the bedroom where Elain’s thrashing in the bed. Screaming at the top of her lungs and fighting off invisible hands I can’t see. A nightmare.

I run to her side, dropping to my knees and shaking her as hard as I can. “Elain,” I yell. I need to yell it a few more times before it stops, and her eyes pop open. She launches up, chest heaving and tears flowing down her cheeks. She continues to gasp for air as she looks around wildly.

Immediately, I pull her in, rubbing a hand down her sweat-drenched back. “It’s okay. It’s okay. It was just a dream.”

“No.” She sobs. “No, it wasn’t.”

I hold her for a few more minutes until her chest begins to slow. I loosen my grip and whisper, “scooch over.” Once she does, I tuck myself under the covers with her, laying on my side and facing her. She still sits up, staring ahead. She often asks me to stay the night, and I never tell her no. Some days, we’d crash out in the bedroom gossiping, but this time, I had trouble sleeping and went out to the couch to avoid waking her up. As far I know, she’s never had a bad dream while here. Vivienne took off to the airport a few hours ago, so it’s just us in the house.

“You want to talk about it?” I ask.

She looks at me, tears still pooling in her eyes. “You…you promise you won’t tell a soul?”

I shake my head. “I can’t promise something like that. Not when I don’t know what it is. But I do promise I can help if you tell me what’s going on.”

“My dad…he hits my mom.” Her lip wobbles.

I close my eyes for just a brief second. Letting the confirmation wash over me in waves. I knew something was going on. But this? This is not what I thought it was. And Ihateit. I hate that anyone is forced to go through life with a story even slightly similar to mine. Ihatethat I didn’t dig deeper in the beginning, that I didn’t see the signs of a little girl living in a broken home. Once I open my eyes again, I brace myself for the rest. Because I will be strong for her. For both of us.

“He’s never…come after me specifically. But there’s been times where I’ve got caught in the middle.” She hiccups but continues, “He always apologizes. To us both. And says it will stop, but it doesn’t. It only gets worse. It’s all getting worse. His drinking is getting worse. I don’t think he even realizes who is who anymore.”

Another sob racks her body, and my heart squeezes painfully at the sight. “I’m scared, Blake. I’m so scared.”

“In the morning, we can go to the Sheriff –"

“No!” She yells, jumping up and ripping the blankets off herself. “No, you can’t. I can’t. They’ll put me in the system. My parents willhateme.”

I cup her face in my hands so that she’s looking directly at me. So that she can see what my words may not convey. “Look at me, Elain. Iknowthis is scary. Iknowyou’re scared. I know it’s your father. But that doesn’t mean he gets the right to lay a hand on either youoryour mother, okay?”

More tears pool in her eyes and slide down her cheeks, but she doesn’t say anything. Just stares at me. A mirror of my younger self.

“When someone has an addiction, they need someone to take it out on instead of blaming themselves. If you don’t go to someone, it won’t get any better. It can only get worse. It can only get more dangerous. Do you understand?”

She sniffs in response, nodding her head, so I pull her in close. “Come here, kid. I got you.”

I hug her for as long as she’ll let me. And once her sobs turn into silent snores, I don’t leave either. I stay there, lying awake and making sure those dreams don’t come back to wake her. Tomorrow, I will take her to the police myself. I’ll stand by her side while she gives her statement that will forever alter the course of her life. But tonight, I’ll be that shoulder she can lean on. I’ll let her process what this will all mean for her and her family.

I’m not sure of this process because I ran instead of facing my monster. But I am sure that I can’t let this happen to her. If I had someone who spoke up for me, maybe I would have never left. Maybe my father would have gotten the help he needed. Maybe I wouldn’t chase after men who treat me like garbage. Maybe my mother and I would be as close as we used to be.

The idea of Elain feeling or going through everything I did…the feeling is indescribable. I may not have known this girl for long, but she’s become a vital part of my life. One that will make me lay downeverythingto make sure she never gets hurt again. She deserves to be a normal kid. To go to school, to have friends, to have two parents who love her more than life itself.

Elain and I met for a reason, that, I was sure of, but now knowing exactlywhyonly solidifies the fact that I will stop at nothing to make sure she lives the life she deserves.

I wasn’t sure why Elain came into my life when she did, or why we grew so close so quickly, but after tonight? It’s never been clearer to me why she was planted into my life. After tonight, I’ll make sure that the threads that bound us in the first place aren’t misplaced.

Chapter 46

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