Ada and I sit in my bedroom, our ears pressed to the door, waiting for the yelling to start. We concocted a flawless scheme to break up my dad and Mallory.
We opted with the classic make-her-think-he's cheating ruse. While my dad was asleep, we swiped his cell and sent a bunch of risqué texts to the burner phone Ada bought. Tonight, while he and Mallory are watching a movie in the living room, we're going to reply to those messages.
"Say 'I want to sit on your face,'" Ada instructs me. "Actually, scratch that. 'I want to sit on your dick' is better."
Cringing, I compose the message and then hit send. Just thinking about Hank's male parts makes me want to vomit.
"Okay, now say 'I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since our kinky night,'" Ada tells me.
"Eww," I mutter, but send the message, anyway.
"It's gotta seem real, you know?"
"I understand. I'm just... disgusted."
She chuckles. "I feel ya. I walked in on my parents having sex once, and it scarred me for life."
"I told you to go to bed."
"I... I heard noises. I... I thought...."
"You thought what, kid? You thought you could disobey me?"
"I wasn't trying to."
"Don't walk away from me!" He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me toward him. "You're a little shit, you know that? You're a fucking—"
"Hank! For fuck's sake, she's a child!"
"She's a brat."
Tears streamed down my face. "Can I... can I please just go back to my room?"
"You want to go back to your room, huh?" He rolled his eyes. "What you should have done is stayed there like I fucking asked."
"I'm so sorry."
"Stop crying!" He shoved me the ground with so much force that my head spun. I landed on my side. Pain shot through my wrist and up my arm.
"Layla! Earth to Layla!"
I feel a hand on my arm and flinch. Ada quickly recoils, her face painted with concern.
"You okay? You spaced out for a minute there."
"I'm... I'm fine." I take a deep breath, gripping the burner phone in my hand. "We need to give this mystery woman a name."
"Ooh, okay." She bites her lip. "What about... Mercedes?"
I shake my head. "It should be Teresa."
"Teresa. I like it."
I begin to type. Before getting Ada's approval, I hit send.
Over my shoulder, she reads, "'Your little Teresa misses you so much. When can I see you again?'"
"That one will get his attention," I assure her. "Trust me, he and Mallory will be at each other's throats soon."
We wait another half hour. Finally, we hear something promising.
"What the fuck, Hank? Who's Teresa?"
"I don't know, okay? Probably a wrong number or something."
"Oh, yeah? A wrong number that you've been texting?"
"What the fuck? Give me back my phone, you bitch!"
The familiar sound of a slap makes my heart stop.
"Did he... did he just hit her?" Ada whispers.
"This is all my fault. I should've known this would happen," I murmur.
"What? That your dad would go crazy and beat her?"
"I just wanted to break them up. I didn't want him to hurt her."
"Layla," she says, "it's not your fault, okay? Here, give me the phone. I'll call the police."
"No. No police." I'm adamant. "I'm going out there. I need you to crawl out the window and call Damian from the burner, okay? Just Damian."
"Are you insane? What's Damian going to do?" she demands.
"He can get here faster than the police."
She looks at me with wide eyes but doesn't question me. I hand her the phone and watch as she opens the window and makes her escape. Once she is outside, I open the door.
I race down the hall. Mallory is on the ground, black mascara tracks staining her face. My dad is standing over her, his fists clenched, his face red with anger.
He leans down and punches her.
"Stop it! Stop it!" I run forward and place myself in front of Mallory. "Leave her alone!"
"Get outta my way, you should-have-been-abortion," he grumbles, glaring at his injured girlfriend.
My distraction gives Mallory enough time to jump to her feet. She backs up toward the front door and says, "We are over, Hank! Over!"
And then she's gone, leaving me alone with a furious Hank.
"You little shit." His eyes are on me. "You ungrateful bitch. I keep a roof over your head, and this is the thanks I get?"
"You could have killed her," I retort, trying to muster up confidence that I don't possess. "What if she goes to the cops, Dad? That bruise on her face is enough to get you arrested and charged with assault."
"What? You mean when she tripped over the mess you made in the kitchen?" His smile is so wicked that it chills me to my core. "She ain't going to the cops. Hell, she'll probably be back here tomorrow."
"You're a bastard," I whisper, tears filling my eyes. "No wonder Mom left! She probably couldn't bear to spend another second with—"
I'm pushed to the floor. I scramble backwards as he approaches me, his cheeks scarlet with rage, his pupils the size of needle points. In fourteen years, I've never seen him this mad.
I've really done it this time.
He towers over me. "God, I wanna break your god damn—"
My dad falls to the ground as Damian and Ada appear beside me. Damian places his hand on my shoulder, and the next thing I know, we're in his bedroom.
No one speaks. No one moves. The way Damian is staring at me makes me want to curl into a ball and die.
"Layla," he says softly.
I shake my head. I already know what he's thinking. I don't need to hear him say it.
"Okay, what the fuck just happened back there?" Ada asks bluntly. "Is your dad always that psycho?"
"I guess you could say that," I mumble.
"How long, Layla?" Damian demands. "How long has this been going on?"
"Since I... since I was five," I whisper. "About a year or so after my mom bailed."
He lets out an audible sigh. "So you're telling me that he's been abusing you for nine years?"
I nod, unable to look him in the eye. "Something like that, yeah."
Damian paces the room. "And you never told me? Did you tell anyone?"
"No, and I didn't want to," I reply. "I've done my research. I know what will happen if he goes to jail. Child services will take me away, and I'll jump from foster home to foster home until I'm eighteen and then end up on the street. I don't want that, Damian."
"So you'd rather live like this? You'd rather get beat on by that drunk asshole for the next four years?"
"Tonight was... bad. It isn't usually like this."
"I can't believe you never told me." He's crying now. In all the time we've been friends, I've never seen him cry. "God, Layla, why didn't you tell me? You're my friend. You're my best fucking friend. I could've helped you."
"Because I knew you'd want to save me, and I can't let you get caught in the crossfire." I stand in front of him and take his hands. "Damian, I love you, okay? But this is my battle. You can't fight it for me."
He shakes his head, wiping his tear-stained face on his shoulder. "Well, I'll be damned if I don't try."
Ada clears her throat. "Listen, I know we haven't been friends for long, but if you ever need a place to crash, you can stay at my house. My mom's so busy trying to convince everyone we're a perfect family that she never pays any attention to me. She won't even notice you're there."
"Yeah, and I'm quitting the football team," Damian adds. "I need to be around in case you need help."
"Damian, no." I don't want him to quit. He's the best linebacker the Starkton Piranhas have ever seen, and it's obvious how much he loves it. "Don't quit. That's the last thing I want."
"But I—"
"But nothing, okay?" I cut him off. "Listen, I don't want this new revelation to change anything. Life needs to go on as it always has. Understand?"
"Got it." Ada brings her hand to her forehead and salutes. "This will never leave my lips."
Damian nods his head with obvious reluctance. I hate the fact that he has to harbor my secret on top of his own. I never wanted him to find out, especially not like this.
"So, Damian...." Ada plops down on the bed and fidgets with the crimson pendant around her neck. "How did we get from Layla's kitchen to your bedroom in the literal blink of an eye?"
Damian's jaw tenses. "I... uh...."
"You might as well tell her," I say. "After all"—I turn to Ada and smile—"she can talk to the dead."
A/N:
This scene was hard to write the first time and even harder to edit the second. I hope I did okay 😅😅