A fractured fairytale

79

"Dad!" I yelled as soon as I hung up the phone. I needed my keys. Needed my shoes. Needed my dad. "Dad!"

He came running from the kitchen as I charged across the foyer and stuffed my feet into my sneakers. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

Mom rushed out the room behind him, eyes wide and swivelling between me and where the guys had all come running inside behind me. I ignored all of them, meeting my dad's worried gaze with my own panicked one. "I need your help."

I snatched up my keys and rushed out the door. I knew he'd follow me and I needed to get moving. I needed to get to Rose. "What the hell is going on Matt?" his voice followed me out of the house and across the driveway. I unlocked the car.

"Rose is in trouble."

"What?" he caught up to me, stopped me from getting in the car. "What kind of trouble?"

I swallowed the lump growing in my throat. "Really big trouble," I said. There was shake to my voice that I know he didn't miss. "I'll explain on the way. We have to go." Tears pricked my eyes as I urged him along.

She was screaming. And now she's not.

I didn't think that was because he'd left her alone.

Dad snatched the keys from my hand and nodded. "Alright. I'm driving. Let's go."

He didn't need to tell me twice. I rounded the car and threw myself onto the passenger seat, slamming the door behind me. Dad didn't wait around, shooting down the driveway immediately. Meanwhile, I dialled Rose. My heart was thundering at a mile a minute and I thought I was going to be sick as I waited for her to pick up.

She didn't.

I tried again but she didn't answer. I left her a message, telling her to call me as soon as she could, and then sunk back in the seat. This was all my fault. I'd convinced her to spend the evening at my house. I'd promised I'd get her home last night and then let us both get carried away. I knew the consequences and I'd acted like there were none.

And now, he'd hurt her for it.

"Can you go any faster?" I snapped.

"I'm doing eighty," he answered. This road was a fifty limit. "What's going on Matt? Where is Rose?"

"Her house," I rushed out. I'd told him before where about she lived. I could point her building once he turned into her road. "Fuck," I muttered when he slowed to a stop, the traffic piling up in front of us. "Fuck, this is all my fault."

"What is?"

I dragged a hand down my face. I had to tell him; I knew I did. That didn't make it easy though. "She's hurt," I told him. "I don't know how bad it is, but I'm guessing pretty bad."

He glanced at me quickly before the cars in front of us started moving again. "How do you know that? Did she call you?" He pulled away and quickly gained speed again, focus entirely on the road as he navigated the traffic, but I knew he was paying close attention to what I was saying.

I shook my head. "No, her neighbour did. Fuck," I cursed, "I told her to call me if it was bad. It must be bad."

"What must be bad? Does this have something to do with her neighbour? A different neighbour?" he asked, trying to piece together exactly what I was talking about. That was the story I'd told him. She had issues with a neighbour. But I had no idea what we'd be walking into. He needed to know the truth.

"It's not her neighbour," I muttered. I couldn't look at him as I told him the truth. "It's her dad. Her dad is the one who's been hurting her."

Silence.