chapter 6 | welcome home
"Put it back, dad, put the money back."
"Or what? You'll get your pussy boyfriend to beat me up?"
"Get out of my house." My father, who I called Richard more often than dad, often had run-ins with my family. He would come looking for money and then he would leave with it all. My mom never had the guts to stand up for us, when she was here, so it was always up to me and my siblings to handle Richard.
"Your house?" He asked, scoffing loudly. "Do you even know who pays the bills?"
"Yes! I pay the bills! Jonah pays the bills, Tony pays the bills, and that is I money that I got to feed this family, so put it back. Or I'm calling the police." Tears burned at my eyes as I shook silently. I was so scared of my father, and he just watched me crumble, amused.
"Tony call the police," my brother raised a shaky hand to the phone on the wall.
"If you touch that phone son, I will personally break your hand."
Tony turned to me, nervous. "Ave maybe this isn't-"
"Call the police, Tony! I can handle Richard."
A knock came at the door and everybody looked at it, confused. "So now you bring friends along to rob this family?" Jonah asked, frowning at Richard. Jonah walked over to the door and opened it, and there stood Logan.
"I heard yelling," Logan stated, waltzing into our home before meeting the eyes of my father.
"Logan, go home-"
"Oh, here's the boyfriend here to save the day! How sweet of him, Avelyn, your prince charming!"
"He's not my boyfriend, Richard, now put the money back or I'm really going to call the police."
"You don't have the balls."
"Watch me," I reached for the phone and typed in 911. Someone immediately picked up. "Hi, a strange man is-" it all happened so fast- my father came running towards me, slapping the home phone out of my hand so it slammed all over the kitchen tiles. And then Logan went running for my father, and the two of them engrossed in a fight.
"Richard, let him go, you're gonna hurt him!" My screaming was drowned out in the crowd as Tony and Jonah attempted to yank my father off of my best friend. They were both throwing punches, but it was when Logan got hit square in the jaw I really snapped.
"Enough! Both of you, stop it!"
And the fighting seized at the sound of my screening and loud cries. "Get out Richard, you don't belong here. This is my house and nobody wants you here. I mean it this time, Get the fuck out!" I was surprised when he dropped the money from the family's secret stash and eyed me up and down, then turning to Logan to do the same.
Then Richard left.
I looked to Logan and frowned at how bad his nose looked, quickly wiping away my tears with the back of my hand. "You guys it's late, go upstairs and brush your teeth." None of my siblings argued with me, and I watched one by one as they went up the stairs.
I walked over to where Logan was sitting at the kitchen counter. I tilted his chin up towards me, so I could get a clearer view of his injury. Then I grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink and set it down next to my bloodied best friend.
"You should've gone home," I murmured.
"And what? Let him hurt you and your siblings?"
"I'd rather be the one hurt."
Logan scoffed. "I still don't know why you wear his jacket religiously. He's a cunt." I ignored his continuous banter as I cleaned the blood out of Logan's nose. His eyes suddenly met my own and he said: "You're beautiful."
To which I chuckled and replied, "what a load of bull." He only ignored my pessimistic comment and held his index finger to my lash line, gently wiping away at any remaining tears. I cleaned my best friend up in silence, and when I finished I said: "There. All better."
Logan murmured a soft, "thanks," and rose to his feet as I packed away the first aid kit. I turned back to him with my hand on my forehead and disappointment soaked in my words: "Don't do anything that stupid ever again, okay? You know how Richard can be. He could've killed you, and we both know I'm serious."
"Hey, he didn't kill me. I'm fine, see?" Logan tugged at his hoodie, smiling down at me as I walked toward him, my arms crossed. "I wouldn't have let him kill me anyway." He said cockily, rubbing at the nape of his neck but so obviously showing off his nonexisting muscles.
I chuckled "The day my father kills you is the day I kill him."
ns 15.158.61.8da2
