AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I elbow Shaun, my low blow connecting with his jewels, his grip instantly releasing me as he doubles over in pain, and I rush forward down the passage and leap in between my dad and Ty, giving my dad no choice but to stop. He doesn’t stop in time, though, his fist connecting with my face in the exact same spot that Master Hill landed his fist.
I scream out in pain before Tyler’s strong arms wrap around me from behind, twisting me away from my dad as he covers my body with his, trying to protect me. More footsteps thump on the timber floors, but I can’t see anything with the way Tyler is shielding me. He jerks over and over as more fists land on his back, my dad not letting up.
“Stop!” Shaun bellows before he yelps, and then my mum’s voice cries out.
“STOP WILLIAM!”
Suddenly, the angry roar of my dad dies, and all I can hear is the frantic panting of Tyler’s breathing in my ear.
“Tell me you’re ok, Kitten.” He whispers, and I try to talk but realise I’m crying and can’t form words, so I clutch tighter to the arm he has wrapped around me.
“What have you done?” Cynthia cries, her heels clicking on the timber floors, stopping somewhere nearby. “You just hit a child, William!”
“I…I didn’t know.” My dad’s voice is tormented. I’ve never heard it sound so broken.
“It’s ok, Mrs R. It was my fault. I got in the way.” Shaun speaks then, and it’s a relief to hear his voice. “I was just trying to stop him. He was gonna hurt Rhys.”
“What?” Will hisses. “I would never hurt Rhys!”
“You hit her, man! Just like you did to me. She was trying to stop you. If Ty hadn’t rolled her under him, you would have been beating the shit out of your daughter!”
“You hit Rhys?” Cynthia cries. “Rhys! Rhys!” Her heels click frantically until I see them halt near my head. “Oh my God!” She gasps.
“Let’s get you up.” Ty rasps in my ear, and I’m still too distraught to speak, but he shifts behind me, anyway. Slowly, Ty stands, pulling me up with him. My eyes land on my mum as I stand, her eyes red from crying, black mascara running down her cheeks, her hands pressed to her mouth as she looks me over in disbelief.
“Rhys.” She whispers, and I try to calm my shuddered crying so I can respond.
“I-I-I’m o-ok.”
“What have I done?” My dad’s voice is laced with agony, so soft it’s nearly a whisper.
We turn to him then, and I watch as the sorrow on his face morphs into anger, his eyes focused on my side where my hand is entwined with Ty’s. Then Dad leaps at us again.
“I saw you in that filthy video. I saw what you did to my daughter!”
We stumble back, trying to get away from my dad, crashing into some of the packing boxes as we try to flee. Something smashes to the floor as the fight tumbles past the kitchen. My dad’s fury consuming him again, his eyes focused on Tyler, ignoring me at his side.
“Stop, William!” Cynthia cries again, but it’s no use. He’s lost to his anger again, and he only has eyes for his target.
Stumbling backwards to put more distance between us, we reach the small living area right before my dad swings his fist towards us. It misses me as Shaun tackles me to the floor, but I hear the loud smack of skin on skin, followed by the heavy thud of Tyler falling backwards again. I fight Shaun off, scrambling on the timber floor to get between my dad and Ty again, and this time, as my dad prepares for another swing, I scream at him, the same way I did to Brock at the Feast earlier tonight.
The vicious animal in me rears up, baring my teeth as a growling hiss explodes into my voice. “STOP!” My lips turn up in a snarl as my dad flinches back, the haze of his anger faltering as he realises I’m in front of him now. “You will stop hurting me!”
“W-what? I wasn’t hurting you. I’m not trying to hurt you, Rhys.”
I snarl at my dad again. “When you lay a hand on someone I love, you are hurtingme!”
My dad stumbles back, and Cynthia sobs behind him as the room fills with panting breaths again. With each step backwards that my dad takes, I relax a little more, until he stumbles into a bar stool, his shoulders drooping with defeat.
“Rhys.” Cynthia steps forward, but I ignore her, turning to face Ty. He’s sagged back against the couch, blood oozing from a number of open cuts on his face.
“Ty.” I whimper, grabbing a throw blanket from behind him and dabbing it against the gash over his eyebrow, which seems to be bleeding the most.
“I’m ok, Kitten.”
“Don’t call her that.” My mum’s voice is closer now, but I ignore her.
“Cass, can you get a wet face washer or something?”
