Little Do We Know(92)

His injury was the only reason I’d let him convince me to get Hannah’s family involved in the first place. I wasn’t about to let him step in.

“She misunderstood,” David said, changing tack. “When she gets home we can all sit and talk about it. I’ll explain. I’ll apologize.” He caught himself, or maybe Mom shot him a look, because he edited his words in real time. “I’ll apologize, even though I didn’t do anything wrong.”

He sounded convincing, even from where I stood. I couldn’t see his face, but Mom could, and I had no idea what she was thinking. She didn’t speak for the longest time.

“Come on. You don’t really think I could do something like that, do you?”

“Don’t touch me.” Her voice was trembling.

“Jennifer.”

“Stop it!” Mom yelled. “Get your hands off me.”

That was all I needed to hear. I pressed the SEND button.

And then I took off running through the hallway and into the living room. David was in Mom’s face, and he had a tight grip on both her arms.

I grabbed a chunk of his shirt and pulled as hard as I could. “Let go of her!” I yelled, and he spun around, looking shocked to see me there.

He put his hands in the air, like I was a cop and he was proving he wasn’t carrying a weapon. I backed away from him, but he walked toward me. “This was a big misunderstanding. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He reached out to grab my wrist, but I took another big step back. “You misunderstood, that’s all.”

Then Luke was right in next to me.

I could see the panic in David’s eyes. Not that Luke was much of a threat in his condition—at the moment, David was stronger than both of us put together—but the two-against-one thing suddenly seemed to click.

But it wasn’t supposed to be two against one. It was supposed to be six against one. I was sure Hannah and her parents would be there any second, but time seemed to be moving in painfully slow motion.

Mom stepped up behind him. “Leave,” she said. Her voice sounded steady. Strong. Brave. “I’m not going to tell you again.”

He didn’t even turn around to look at her. His eyes were fixed on mine, narrowed into slits, glaring at me like I was the evil one.

“Leave,” she said again. That time, she sounded different. Even fiercer.

He looked like he was about to do as he was told, but then he realized I was blocking the most direct path to the front door. I didn’t even have time to register the look on his face, I just felt him push me out of his way with both hands.

I stumbled backward. I tried to find my footing, but my body had too much momentum. I was off-balance. I put out my hands to try to break my fall, but it didn’t help. And when I landed, I landed hard, right on the corner of the coffee table.

I tried to stand, but my left leg was throbbing, and as soon as I put pressure on it, it gave out. I was back on the floor and within seconds, David was crouched down next to me.

“I’m sorry,” he said. He was right in my face, wrapping his hand around my arm to help me stand, muttering more apologies.

I slapped his arm away. I didn’t want him anywhere near me, sorry or not.

Suddenly, I looked up and saw Pastor J hovering behind him. “Don’t touch her,” he said.

David turned around, shocked to hear the sound of another voice in the room, and scrambled to his feet. I scooted backward, away from him and the coffee table and everyone else, until I felt the wall. I used it to help me stand.

David looked stunned as he scanned the room, taking all of us in. Mrs. J was now next to my mom with a protective arm around her shoulder. Pastor J was inches away from him, his hands balled into fists and his jaw tight, like he was ready for whatever came next. Luke was next to me, helping me balance. And Hannah was standing in the entryway, holding her phone to her ear and rattling off my home address to what was clearly a 911 operator.

My mom pointed toward the door. “Right now, it’s a restraining order, but only because that’s what Emory wants. But if you’re still here when the police arrive, I’ll press charges. For everything.”

He looked at my mom. At first, I thought he was going to walk toward her. Mrs. J must have thought the same thing, because she stepped right in front of her and threw her arms out to her sides, like he’d have to get through her first.

He turned and walked toward Hannah instead, and she moved to one side and let him pass. I heard the door open and close again. We were all silent as we listened to his car start with a hum, and then drive away.

Mom was next to me in a matter of seconds. She wrapped her arms around me, telling me she loved me and promising me I’d never see David again.

“You were a badass,” I said as I pulled away. I could tell by the way she was smiling that this wasn’t like the time with Dad. This time, she was going to be okay.

“So were you,” she said as she kissed my forehead.





I’d managed to avoid Aaron for an entire week. It wasn’t hard. Now that SonRise practices were over, I didn’t have any reason to go to the sanctuary outside Monday Chapel. And as much as I’d missed sneaking up to the sound booth after school, I’d found a place all my own to spend my time while I waited for Dad: in the Grove, at the table nestled in the trees, where I could study or meditate or just be. I liked it there. It made me feel especially alone, in a good way.