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To get to Pittsburgh by car would take approximately a day and a half, but Edward managed to drastically reduce the trip to just 16 hours. Devon thanked him because, although the journey was quite enjoyable, he had a certain uneasiness about arriving. He guided Edward on the route to his old neighborhood, and after fifteen minutes, they stopped in front of a lovely house that brought back various memories for Devon. That life now seemed truly distant, but he remembered it all very clearly.
Devon saw Margo in the front yard watering the plants and felt relieved. However, the feeling didn't last long, as when Margo turned to her left, Devon noticed huge black bruises around her eye and part of her cheek. She probably had a broken cheekbone. Devon recognized it from his own experience; that's how it looked when someone broke your cheekbone. It had only happened to him three times, but it was quite amusing that it had happened more than once.
Anger consumed him entirely, and Edward noticed, placing a hand on Devon's. He looked at Edward with a furrowed brow. He just wanted to go and kill the man who had hurt Margo.
"I know you're upset," Edward said calmly, "but it will be worse if you lose control here and now."
Devon nodded and tried to relax, although it was almost impossible. It didn't take long before he finally got out of the car, with Edward following him. They appreciated the large tree providing shade and preventing the sun from hitting them directly, even though it wasn't a particularly sunny day.
The woman continued watering the plants, not paying much attention to what was happening around her. But she felt someone looking at her, and when she finally looked up, she met Devon's gaze. Her eyes lit up for a moment, and a smile spread across her face. She left the watering can and ran towards Devon for a hug.
Devon welcomed her with open arms, and for a moment, the anger seemed to fade away. Margo's hugs always felt warm and comforting, and that hadn't changed at all. As soon as they separated, Devon gently took the woman's cheeks, a concerned expression on his face. He carefully examined the wound, realizing it was very recent, maybe a day or two. She could barely open her eye as the whole area was swollen.
"Why did he do this to you?" Devon asked, calmer than he thought he could be.
Margo lowered her gaze with sadness, trying to hide the tears that were about to fall.
"Let's go inside, okay?" She looked at Devon and then gave a quick glance to Edward.
Devon let go of the woman, and the three entered the house.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" Margo asked once they closed the door.
Devon smiled, "I decided to take a gap year. By the way, this is Edward, a friend from Forks. He also decided to leave school, and we're taking a trip together."
Margo gave a friendly smile to the stranger, "Nice to meet you, Edward. I hope my Devon isn't causing you trouble."
Edward also smiled politely, "Not at all," he spoke with some cordiality, but he gave Devon a brief smile before turning to look at the beautiful house.
"A gap year? Why?" They reached the kitchen, where Edward and Devon took seats on the island stools, and Margo went to the refrigerator to take a pitcher of water she had prepared earlier. She poured a glass for herself and a couple more for her guests.
Devon took a sip of water before answering, "Well, for many reasons. I just wanted to leave everything behind for a moment. After Eugene... I feel guilty. Besides, I feel like I haven't fully adapted to my new home. I wanted a bit of freedom. To mess things up now and regret leaving school later," he laughed, and Margo smiled a bit while looking at him.
"But you're not leaving it completely, right? It's good to take a break. Sometimes a college degree isn't everything in life. Of course, it gives you many opportunities, but there are many other things you can take advantage of. I'll always support you, Devon."
"Thank you, Margo."
There was a short moment of silence. Margo sighed and turned around to check something cooking in the oven.
"I took the opportunity to water the plants because the kids are asleep. They have so much energy that I end up more exhausted than them."
Devon smiled, but his smile didn't last long.
"Margo, please tell me what happened."
The woman was facing away, staring at the wall in front of her, and tears began to accumulate in her eyes. She avoided sobbing, but neither of the two men present missed the small sound.
Margo turned around while wiping her eyes.
"I shouldn't have exploded like that, Devon. I'm really sorry for breaking down like that."
Devon shook his head.
"Don't apologize, Margo. But please, tell me what's going on."
She thought for a moment before shrugging.
"I'm just not sure. Your father started getting into the world of gambling since you left, and with that, he started drinking more. He's lost more money than he makes, and you know it's a lot. I asked him to stop. He won't let me work, demands that I stay home to take care of the kids and handle all the household chores. But if he keeps it up, he'll ruin us. A couple of nights ago, he came home really drunk, and I tried to talk to him, ask him to stop, but he got angry. We started arguing, and he resorted to hitting me. It's not the first time, but I was terrified because he wouldn't stop hitting my face."
Devon furrowed his brow.
"How long has he been hitting you?"
She smiled sadly and touched Devon's cheek, but didn't mention anything about it feeling cold.
"When I met your father, he was the best man in the world, always so attentive and chivalrous. He won me over, and foolishly, I accepted to be his wife. It wasn't long after we got married that I discovered his true face."
Devon tensed.
"And why didn't you leave him?"
Margo looked at him with... tenderness?
"Because I didn't want all his anger to be unleashed on you." Margo caressed Devon's cheek but didn't mention anything about it feeling cold. "You were just a child, Dev, and he didn't care about that. After I met you, I just couldn't leave you, and I was so relieved when he sent you to Forks. He always refused to let you go with your mother, and when he sent you away willingly... I didn't want you to ever come back to this horrible place."
Devon now felt guilty. Margo had stayed in that hell just to protect him, and he didn't even know it. He knew his father
was a horrible man, but he didn't know he had also been mistreating Margo for so long. She didn't deserve that; Margo was like a drop of honey who deserved the whole world.
"Well, you don't need to stay with him anymore. You can leave with the kids now, and he'll never find you. You can report him; I'll go with you."
Margo smiled sadly.
"I have nothing, Dev. I have no family to turn to, no money, and you know your father and many of the judges in the city are friends. They won't do anything to him."
Devon felt helpless. He wanted to help her as she had done thousands of times for him, but he had no idea what to do. Suddenly, they heard Edward clearing his throat.
"My parents have some properties in various parts of the country. I can ask if they can be rented—at a low cost, of course. You can get a nanny or take them to a daycare and continue working. I think they have a house in California; it's on the other side of the country, and he'll never know you went there."
Devon looked at him with gratitude.
"I'll work and send you money whenever I can," Devon held her hands tightly, "but please, get out of here, Margo. You don't want those kids to live this hell too, right? I know it sounds terrible to live without a father figure, but it's worse to live with that man. Besides, I'll visit them whenever I can. If not for yourself, do it for them—they deserve a better life than this."
Margo looked hopeful. Suddenly, everything seemed possible, but she wasn't sure. She was afraid to leave and have that man find her or take her children away, as he had done with Amy. She had done everything possible to prevent Amy from seeing Devon or having any communication with him.
"But if he tries to take the kids away... he has a better chance of winning custody because he works, and as I told you, being a lawyer gives him more advantages in all legal matters."
"He won't," Devon assured her, even though he wasn't sure if he could keep that promise. If necessary, he would kill that man with his own hands.
Before Margo could say anything else, they heard the door open. Everyone knew who it was.
The man reached the kitchen, where he saw the three of them and quickly frowned.
"What are you doing here? You're forbidden to enter this house."
Devon distanced himself from Margo and walked toward his father to confront him. He had never been afraid of him, and now even less. Once in front of the man, he smiled, tilting his head slightly.
"I was just passing by. I left school to travel with my boyfriend. His name is Edward."
The older man changed color to an intense red while turning to look at Edward. He didn't hesitate when he grabbed Devon's hair tightly and pulled as hard as he could.
"Stop!" Margo shouted, feeling fear coursing through her body.
But Edward was faster and grabbed the older man's forearm with force. They couldn't use their full vampire strength, but they wouldn't be too gentle either.
"Damn freaks," the man muttered as he stepped back a few steps.
Devon smiled at him while fixing his hair.
"Ed, can you take Margo to pack her things and the kids'? My father and I will have a little conversation."
Edward smiled a bit but looked at Margo, who was still scared and didn't want to leave them alone.
"It's okay, Margo," he reassured her with a comforting smile, "nothing will happen."
Margo nodded and went upstairs with Edward behind her. Once they were out of sight, Devon's father took the opportunity to run away, and Devon almost laughed. He took the wallet; there was some money that he took along with the cards. Maybe he could get him to give the PIN to withdraw all the money.
However, the man returned and pointed a gun at his son. Devon looked at him without flinching.
"I'll kill you," the man said, "I'll do it, and then everyone in this house. That bitch and the other disgusting homosexual."
"Come on. Shoot," Devon looked him straight in the eyes, "have you really ever killed someone, or are you just trying to act tough?"
The man's hands trembled. Why wasn't he afraid? He had a damn gun pointed at him.
"You're a—" but he didn't finish the sentence when he pulled the trigger. Devon dodged the bullet without much difficulty, but the man emptied the entire gun without hitting his son once. Devon approached him and snatched the gun to break it in two with one hand.
"The card password," Devon said.
He saw terror in his father's eyes. He felt a bit guilty for enjoying the situation. The man trembled, and finally, the numbers came out of his mouth.
Devon gave him a final punch to make him faint, and finally, he left the house, where the others were.
"I heard a gun," Margo looked at Devon to make sure he wasn't injured, "are you okay?"
Devon nodded.
"He just tried to scare me and fired shots in the air. Now he's unconscious in the kitchen, but it's better if we leave because someone probably called the police."
Edward, who was carrying the youngest child in his arms, waited for Margo to get into the truck before handing her son over. The older child, who was quite sleepy and confused, got into the car with his mother and hugged her, falling asleep again.
They reached a bus stop. Edward had given Margo a note with the address she should go to and Carlisle's number to handle all the rental and other matters. Devon also handed her the money and cards.
"You should get a new number," he said, "I promise to visit you soon."
Margo nodded with a smile and hugged the boy, being careful not to crush her baby.
"Thank you so much, Devon. Seriously."
He shook his head.
"Take care of yourself. If there are any problems, don't hesitate to call; I'll always be there."
Edward, who had been making a call, approached them with a small smile.
"I just spoke to Carlisle. The house will be ready for when you arrive, and also," he looked at Devon and then at Margo, "he knows some very good lawyers. If you want, they can try to get you full custody and also make him pay child support for each of your children and get a restraining order so he can't harm you. They owe Carlisle some favors, so they won't charge you anything if you decide to accept."
"Thank you, Edward. I'll think about it. Now I just want to go as far away as possible."
Edward nodded.
"Call Carlisle if you decide to accept; he'll give you the number."
She nodded with a smile, and after a few more moments, they boarded their bus. Devon stayed in that place until the bus left the terminal. He just hoped that wherever she went, everything would be okay.
Edward approached Devon and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"So... am I your boyfriend?" Edward teased.
Devon pushed him with a laugh while rolling his eyes.
"In your dreams, Cullen. I just said that to make him angrier."
Edward let out a loud laugh while following him back to the car.
"Now, where are we going?"
Devon stopped and looked at him, shrugging.
"Surprise me."
Edward showed a big smile.
"I'm really glad I met you, Devon."