The Runaways

Chapter Sixteen

My body continues to tremble as Luke sits down next to me.

"I swear, I won't even let him come in the same room as you," Luke says, putting his arm around my shoulders. I huddle against his chest.

"Do you really think he'd try to kill you, though?" He asks quietly.

I swallow hard. He's tried to before, but I won't tell Luke about it. I don't want to feel like more of a burden to him.

My mind goes back for an instant to that terrifying night. Dad had just gotten from the bar. He had just started to drink regularly, but he hadn't started to abuse me yet. I was eleven years old. It was about 1 in the morning, and I was in my room doing homework I'd forgotten to finish. I had filled up the bathtub, hoping I'd be able to wash and go to bed before he got home. Early maturity was an important thing in my life. The front door slammed shut, and I heard my father's voice yelling out jibberish as he laughed. He really scared me when he wasn't conscious at all of what he was doing. He kicked open my door.

"Wakey, wakey, little rat!" my father laughed loudly.

I stayed seated and watched him as he stood there, glancing at me, then behind him. He was so, so drunk.

"Dad, it's 1 a.m. I think you need to go to sleep," I said calmly as I stood up to usher him out.

"No! No, it's too early for sleep! You need to get ready for school!" He grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the bathroom doorway.

"Dad, really, you need some sleep. Please," I said as I tried to get free of his hold. He mumbled to himself about some topic I couldn't understand while he pulled me along.

"Why is there water everywhere?" he asked, looking shocked. There wasn't any water on the floor.

"It's just the water in the bathtub. I think you've had too much to drink tonight.. Maybe you should-"

" Don't tell me what I should and shouldn't do!" he slurred as he jerked at my arm, making me bump harshly into the side of the tub. I lost my balance and tumbled into the water.

"Skyler!! Look at the mess you made!!" He yelled as he surveyed the damp floor.

My clothes were sopping wet. Trying to stand up, my father's arms shoved me back down into the tub.

"Dad, let me stand up, and I'll clean this up, okay?"

He shook his head. "You cause too much trouble, Skyler! All you do is make excuses!" His eyes were glazed over, and he kept glancing left and right as if there were other people there.

I shoved at his hands holding my shoulders down, but he pushed me into the water. My head went under for a few seconds, but I managed to get back up for air.

"Huh," my dad said slowly and blankly, "You're not annoying when you aren't talking.."

I caught onto what he meant just as he shoved my face and held me underwater.

My brain raced to find a way out of this situation. I clawed and shoved, but his hands tightly held me in place. I was running out of air. I kicked, punched, tried everything to make him let me go, but he didn't budge one bit.

My lungs were screaming.

My heartbeat doubled its pace.

I couldn't hold it anymore.

I opened my mouth to breathe, but found only hot water. I coughed, sputtered, and screamed as the grip on my face released, and I desperately inhaled air.

The room spun. I was completely drained of energy, and obviously, so was my father. He stood there, staring at the wall with an empty expression on his face.

"Well.. goodnight," he said as he slowly walked out of the bathroom.

I sat there for the longest time curled in a ball, crying. He didn't even remember it the next morning.

"Skyler?" Luke soft voice snaps me back to reality, "Are you okay?"

"Uhh yeah. I'm okay," I say as I give him a smile.

The commotion out in the hallway only a few minutes before is now gone. I wonder what happened..

"Can-can you help me to the window?" I ask Luke.

"Sure, but.. Be careful, okay? Just hang on to me."

He somehow maneuvers my cords and needles to let me have enough freedom to move across the room.

His strong arm holds my body at balance as I go over to the window. I'm sure if he wasn't there that I wouldn't make it four steps. My head still aches, but I ignore it.

I crane my neck to see through the small cracks of the blinds. My father sits on a chair between two security guards, his head down. He must be listening to the important-looking man in a suit in front of him who's pointing toward the frail nurse that he had yelled at earlier.

"Feel better since security's got things under control?" Luke asks quietly.

I shrug slightly. The business-looking man is obviously explaining my dad's actions and consequences to him. I see my father glance up, looking so confused. His dark eyes are bloodshot and swollen. As the man motions toward the window where Luke and I stand hidden from their sight, I notice my dad's expression change. My heart hurts as I see him realize all the harm he's caused. His look of confusion and frustration is long gone. It is replaced with heartbreak. His eyes slowly tear up while the man gets more aggressive in his lecturing.

Luke watches and notices every detail. I don't even have to explain to him whats going on. I can't stand to watch them anymore. He reads my thoughts and goes back toward the hospital bed while helping me walk. The pain in my head still surges, but I'm thinking way too much to pay attention to it.

"Skyler," Luke asks as he sets me on his leg, "Be completely honest. Do you hate your dad?"

My immediate reaction is to blurt out yes, but I sit and think for a few seconds instead.

"No.. No, I don't hate my dad. But I'm sure I've said it plenty of times. I-I hate who my dad becomes when he has alcohol," I pause to sort my thoughts. "Well, now that I think about it, I can't even remember how he would act when he didn't drink."

My eyes tear up a little. "Do you think he even knows what he's done?"

"I don't know.. I'm so sorry," Luke says as he gently hugs me to his chest.

I don't remember how long Luke held me while my emotions threatened to tear me apart, but I fell asleep in his arms.