"You didn't tell me you were coming," I said when I stepped into my apartment that evening.
My dad looked up from the drink he was nursing. His eyes were bloodshot, evidence that this wasn't his first one. He also looked pale and clammy, which was a little odd for him. "You didn't invite me so I was curious."
I frowned. HIs explanation didn't make sense, and his words were much more slurred than they normally were. I looked closer at the table and saw some stuff I didn't recognize. Was he now doing drugs? "I didn't invite you because I didn't think you'd come. You don't like crowds."
"Why wouldn't I want to see my precious, deceitful daughter give a speech and make herself look stupid? Well, stupider. I tried to protect you and look where we are. You didn't have the right to go to that place without my consent."
"I did a good job on my speech, thank you very much," I said, trying to not sound as defiant as I felt.
"You look stupid up there, pretending to be smart. You're worthless. I can't even count on you bringing home a consistent check."
"That wasn't my fault!"
He barked a laugh. "Right. Blame it on the naive boy running things. You're shameless and worthless. A bad combination. Maybe I should make sure you're not carrying the other idiot's baby. The last thing we need in this world is an outbreak of stupid."
Without warning, he lunged from the table and punched me hard in my lower abdomen. It just about knocked the wind out of me. The momentum of the hit knocked him off balanced and pushed him hard into me. We both fell to the floor. It hurt to move my legs, but I tried to crawl backwards to get out from underneath him.
Once I was free, I flipped onto my stomach and tried to scramble to my feet, only to have them pulled out from under me. I face-planted onto the floor. He pulled on my ankle, releasing the other one. I kicked him as hard as I could. He let out a cry and released me. I got to my feet and ran to his bedroom. I grabbed his cell phone from his bedside table and tried to run back to my room.
By the time I got to the doorway, Marvin was in the hallway. He ran to try to keep me from going into my room, but I was too quick. I closed and locked the door right as he got to me. I tucked my desk chair under the doorknob right before he started kicking my door.
I dialed 911 and waited. "Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" came a masculine voice.
"My dad is out of control," I said quietly into the phone. There was another loud kick at the door. "He's been drinking and I think he's been doing drugs. He's trying to get to me to hurt me. Come quick." There was a thump in the hallway. "I'm at 322 Maple Street, apartment 16. I think he's passed out now."
"Are you okay?"
I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine." I rubbed my abdomen. It still ached where he punched me. Nothing I hadn't dealt with before though.
"Okay. I'll send someone out there to check on things. Are you safe right now?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Stay there until the police get there. I'll stay on the line with you if you want."
"No, I'm fine. I need to call someone and I don't have another phone."
"Okay, then. Are you sure you're safe?"
"I'm pretty sure he's passed out, so I'm sure." We exchanged goodbyes and I took off my purse so I could search it. I quickly found the phone number I never thought I'd call and dialed. When the ringing stopped, before any greetings could be said, I said, "I need you to do something for me."
There was a sigh. "What do you need, Jenny?" Brayden asked.
"I need you to buy a suitcase for me. The biggest one you can find. Then I need you to come to my apartment."
There were a lot of muffled noises in the background. "Why do you need it now? Why didn't you ask for a suitcase before? Can't I bring it in the morning?"
I shook my head before remembering he couldn't see me. "No, I need it now. I'll pay you back for it in cash. I promise. I'm not asking you to donate that money. Oh, also, I need to leave tonight. I can't wait a week."
"But-"
"I have my reasons." Sirens were sounding in the distance and getting closer. "You may want to hurry. The police are almost here."
"The police? Are you okay? What happened?"
"I'll explain when we're outside of Rapid Falls. You can tell your parents we're leaving so they don't worry, but don't tell them where we're going. Otherwise, they'll just tell Marvin."
"Okay, fine. I'll be there as soon as I can."
I hung up before he could, counting on him being here soon. So much to do, so little time. I had to get as many of my things ready to throw in a suitcase as I could before he got here with one. It was only a matter of time before the police got here and a matter of time before he decided to try again - if he wasn't just trying to wait me out.
The sirens stopped outside the apartment building, filling my corner room with blue and red light. Within a few minutes, there was a loud knock on the door. I pushed down the urge to get up and answer, knowing they'll come in sooner or later.
I heard someone shuffling in the hallway and then there was more banging on my door. "Did you call the police?" Marvin shouted. "Give me my phone back! Get your butt out here and tell them it was an accident!"
While he shouted, I crawled under my desk. My eyes slid closed as I pulled my knees to my chest. I clutched the phone as if it was the last thing keeping me grounded. The apartment door banged open. I heard Marvin shouting, but I tuned him out. He was nothing to me. Especially now. After these last two years, I wanted nothing else to do with him.
I heard a commotion in the hallway and then someone knocked on my door. "Miss Herrington? Are you in there? Are you okay?" The knob rattled. "Could you come out, please? I promise you're safe now."
I crawled out from under the desk and removed the chair from the door. Slowly, not trusting that it was an officer completely, I opened the door and peered out. A young man in a police uniform stood on the other side, looking relieved. "I'm fine," I told him. "Is Marvin gone?"
"The man that was out here is in the back of a police car. Do you have any injuries? Do you want to get checked out real quick by the paramedics?"
I shook my head. "No, that's okay. I'm fine this time. The last few times I wasn't as fortunate. I'm fine. What's next?"
He gave me a small smile. "We need to give you a ride down to the station and ask you a few questions. You need to decide if you want to press charges. Is he your father or partner?"
"Father."
"Well, you probably have a tough decision-"
"I want to press charges," I said quickly, cutting him off. "I want to get this man away from me for as long as I can get him."
The office looked at me for a long moment before nodding once. "Understandable. I'll let them know at the station, and you can get fixed up."
---
"You asked me to meet you at the apartment, then you ask me to pick you up at the police station," Brayden said hours later when I was cleared to go. "You could have asked me to just come here if you knew you'd be here. I wouldn't have sat outside your place for nearly two hours if you'd done that."
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry. I didn't know that they'd keep me here for so long. Can we just go back to my place? They gave me the okay to go anywhere do anything. I want to take them up on this chance."
His eyes widened as I got in his car. "Wait. You mean now? You want to leave right now?"
"That's what I said." I closed my door, cutting off his reply.
He ran around the car and jumped into the driver's seat. "Let me get this straight. Your dad is in jail and you're not the least bit concerned about him? You've got the apartment to yourself! You can relax for once. Why are you so afraid of staying there?"
"Can we just drive back there? Please? I'm getting a headache."
He stared at me for a moment before starting the car. "Fine. But you owe me an explanation."
"I don't owe you anything," I muttered. We drove along in silence. When we got close to my place, I finally took a deep breath and gave him what he wanted. "He tried to attack me. I got his phone and locked myself in my room. He tried to break down my door to get to me. I called the police and am pressing charges for attempted assault. There's nothing in that apartment I want other than my few belongings. There's nothing for me here in Rapid Falls except for the people I work with. Lila and Jas are going to college, and not even somewhere close by. Lila is going to California and Jas is going to Louisiana. They've both found something they want to do."
We pulled up in front of my building and he parked. "What about you? What do you want to do?"
I glanced at him before opening my door. "I never thought about it." He got out and followed me to the stairs. "It's never mattered what I want to do, but I guess it does now, huh? Eighteen years of being used by other people, two years of being beaten down and berated and told I'm trash, and a lifetime of being beaten, talked down to, and pushed around doesn't exactly make a person confident in their own choices. If anything, it sets them up for failure."
"Then you need to learn how to make choices you're proud of."
I opened the apartment door and looked at him. "Oh? And how do you suppose I start doing that? I don't think I have the right to make any to begin with."
He took a few large steps and stood in front of me, making me stop. He took one of my hands. "I think you're already making the choices that are best for you. If getting away from here is what will make your life better, then do it. If you think you need something else, reach out for it. Every time you make a choice for yourself, especially life altering ones like leaving this place, is just one more time you're proving yourself wrong. Keep it up."
I pulled my hand away from him and shook my head. "I think you're wrong, but we're entitled to our own opinions. Can you let me just pack in peace, please?" He frowned, but stepped aside. I took my suitcase from him and walked to my former bedroom.