Page 25 of Rocked: The Price of Dreams

I didn’t have time to blink before William shot forward. He pummeled Kyle with punches and blows. Into Kyle’s face. His ribs. His stomach. William was too strong. Kyle’s eyes widened. He gasped for air. Keeling over, he fell to the floor. As Kyle cradled his head, his father rained blow after blow into his son’s crumbled body.

Hunter and I bolted forward, grabbed William’s shirt, and hauled him backward.

“Stop!” I cried. “You’re hurting him. Please stop.”

“Get out of my way.”

William’s backhand struck me across the face, hard. Lights flashed before my eyes. Fuck! That stung. But I wasn’t going to let him lay another hand on Kyle.

Neither was Hunter.

Just as William raised his fist to smash Kyle’s head, Hunter charged forward. “NOOOO!” He rammed his shoulder into William, driving him onto the floor. One of Hunter’s swift punches connected with William’s nose. The next slammed into the man’s nuts.

William screamed and curled into a fetal ball. “You fucker. You absolute little fucker.”

Hunter and I scrambled over to Kyle and hauled him to his feet. Bruises and blood covered his hands and face. Hooking our arms around him, we rushed out the door. I locked it and jammed the handle with a chair. William wasn’t getting out of there anytime soon.

“Kyle, are you okay?” Hunter spluttered over his tears as we staggered into the hallway.

“No,” he sniffled. “But get me out of here. Just get me the fuck out of here.”

William bashed and rattled the garage door. “You little shits. Let me out. Now.”

We stumbled out of the house and ran. Ran as fast as our battered bodies could. We passed Hunter’s house. Art was at the football. Lillian was minding two of Jenny’s friends for the weekend, and we didn’t want to frighten them. At speed, we fled down the dark, treelined street and around the corner, and sprinted the short distance to my place. With Derek away for work, I didn’t expect my mom home tonight. We crashed through the front door. Kyle stumbled into the bathroom and threw up. He sank to his knees and cried.

Adrenaline and shock tumbled through me, numbing the pain from my own injuries. I rushed to his side and hugged him. I didn’t want him to be hurt anymore.

This ended tonight.

Hunter ran to my fridge and grabbed the icepack. I grabbed a face towel and wet it. As Kyle sat on the bathroom counter, I wiped the dried blood from his lip and nose, and a cut on his cheek. “You gotta get out of there. Your dad’s getting worse.”

He closed his eyes and nodded. Then they widened. The white around his irises blazed bright. “Shit. Mom.”

“I’ll call her.” Hunter pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Claire. But she didn’t answer. She must have been teaching. He left a message and sent her a text. We prayed she’d get them before arriving home.

Kyle caught my hand, drew it away from his face, and brushed his thumb down my cheek. “He hit you. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m okay.” A tear meandered along the edge of my nose. “I hate that I couldn’t stop him.”

He drew me into a hug and cried against my shoulder. I just held him, wishing I could take away his pain. Make everything better. Stop the hurt.

Hunter joined us. We shuffled into my bedroom and the three of us sank onto the floor underneath the window. Hidden behind the bed, we leaned against the wall. It was the only place that felt safe. Dark. Quiet. Away from our parents, our school, our daily shit. Away from the nightmare we’d just endured.

As I pressed the icepack over Kyle’s cut fingers, he trembled and winced. More tears filled his eyes.

Hunter, sitting on the other side of Kyle, hooked his arm around Kyle’s shoulders. “We need to get out of this fucked up town.” Desperation dripped from Hunter’s tone. “I hate it. The people. This life. We deserve more than this.”

“I’m so sorry, guys.” Kyle sobbed. “I never wanted you to see him like that or get hurt.”

Hunter puffed air through his nose. “You’re worrying about us when your face is all fucked up?”

“Is it bad?” Wriggling a tooth, he winced. “Fuck, this one’s loose.”

“Are you sure you don’t want us to take you to the hospital?” I swiped Kyle’s hair off his brow. “Your eye is black and bruised. The cut on your cheek isn’t bad, but the swelling is getting worse. You copped a fair hit to your nose, but it doesn’t look broken. What about your ribs and stomach? Are they okay?” My gut lurched as I relived each one of William’s pummeling blows.

“I don’t think anything is broken. Just stay with me.” He curled into my side and rested his head against my shoulder. His tears soaked through my T-shirt onto my skin.

Hunter leaned in and hugged him too. “I can’t believe you stood up to him. I was terrified but so proud of you.”

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