10Here We Go Again
By somuchformyhappyending
Part One
A door slams downstairs. Then the screaming starts…And something is thrown against the wall. I'm assuming its glass because I hear it shatter. I bite down on my lip and cringe when yet another probably expensive glass dish of my mom's is thrown against the wall.
"What the fuck are you doing down here, you stupid bitch?"
I hear my little sister crying, and without hesitation I rush downstairs. It's four A.M. What the hell was Emily doing up this late? She was only seven. It wasn't as if she'd been out partying. I didn't even party, and I was sixteen.
When I reach the kitchen, I stop dead in my tracks. My sister is lying on the floor, eyes wide open, glass surrounding her little, delicate head. My dad stands above her, completely smashed, holding a large knife up in the air.
I swallow. "Dad," I say softly, as I notice my sister's bleeding on her arm, and on her forehead. I need to get her out of here.
He turns around and his eyes are full of fury. Just get her out of here.
"Why don't you go upstairs?" I suggest. "You look exhausted."
He glares at me. "F-fuck y-you. D-don't t-talk t-to me l-like I'm a five-year-old!" he shouts.
My eyes begin tearing. I'm so terrified beyond belief. I'm completely torn. What am I supposed to do?
"C-clean h-her up and then g-get off t-to bed!" he commands, dropping the knife to the floor and stumbling out of the kitchen towards the living room. The couch had replaced his bed since he started drinking heavily again.
"Okay, Dad," I say gently as he walks off. As soon as he's gone, I rush over to my sister. I forget about the glass as I kneel down. Glass digs into my knees, and I yelp in pain. I don't have time to pull the glass out of my legs. I simply pick up Emily, who isn't even crying anymore. She just has this look on her face that clearly demonstrates how terrified she is.
"It's okay," I say softly, as I rush towards the back door. I hear my dad stumbling back towards the kitchen.
"Annie? Wh-where y-you g-going?" he shouts. I run. He chases me out of the house, but he passes out on the lawn before he can reach me. I continue running, glancing over my shoulder every so often so as to make sure he hasn't magically woken up and is chasing after me again.
I don't know exactly where I'm running, but my feet keep pounding against the side-walk. I stop dead in my tracks when I see a party up ahead. Drunken teenagers, some who I recognize, are spread across the lawn. There's loud music coming from the large house, and I realize that in order to get to my friend Brittany's house, I have to pass the party. I also realize that the chances that Brittany is home are very rare, since she is at every party ever thrown by an upperclassmen. I keep my head down as I pass the house, and much to my dismay, Courtney Meyers, one of the most popular girls in the school, recognizes me.
"Annie?" she shouts drunkenly. My eyes widen, and I keep my head down, continuing walking. Then I feel her hand on my arm.
"Are you okay?" she asks, sobering up instantly as she glances at my bloody legs and my little sister crying in my arms. Everyone on the lawn is now staring directly at me. Suddenly, who I fear the most, walks out of the house, surrounded by several other popular boys. I swallow.
"I have to go," I say hurriedly to Courtney Meyers, knowing very well that it's almost impossible that he doesn't see me. I attempt to run anyway, hoping he's at least buzzed so that he either doesn't recognize me, or that he's too lazy to chase me.
"Wait!" Courtney shouts after me, and I can almost feel his eyes on my back.
"Annie?" I groan, and continue walking, until I feel his warm hand on my shoulder. He spins me around.
My eyes are wide.
"Annie, what the hell?" he whispers.
Emily starts crying louder now.
"Not now, Matt. Please," I beg. "I need to get out of here."
I start walking again, very conscious of everyone's eyes on me. Everyone knows about Matt and my history, and I know in school on Monday the rumors will be flying around about the two of us. Fuck my life.
"Don't think I'm letting you walk away," he says forcefully.
"Matt!" one of his friends shouts.
"I've got to go, man!" he shouts back. He places his hand on the small of my back, and I flinch.
"Don't touch me," I say instantly.
He sighs, but takes his hand away.
"You're coming with me," he says quietly, so that no one can hear.
"No, I'm not," I reply.
"Oh, really? Where did you plan on going, exactly?"
My lips shut. Think. I know that my only answer is pathetic. "Brittany's."
He rolls his eyes, but manages to still look sympathetic. "She's completely trashed, Annie."
I burst into tears instantly. I feel completely humiliated, so I follow Matt towards his car. He opens the back door for me, and I place Emily in the seat, buckling her seatbelt for her. She's in so much shock that she can't respond, and I know Matt's going to suggest we take her to the hospital. But after all our hospital visits, people start asking questions and start figuring out what's going on. I can't have that happen.
I slip into the front seat.
"Have you had anything to drink?" I demand.
He shakes his head. "Nope."
"Are you lying?"
"No, Annie." He begins driving towards his house.
"You can't take me back to your house," I say instantly, as I recognize where we're going. "What's your mom going to say?"
"Stop being so worried about what other people are going to think, Annie. You have to think about yourself and your safety," he says softly.
I shake my head as the tears continue falling.
"So are you gonna tell me what happened?" he asks gently.
I shake my head. "I don't want to talk about it."
"You never want to talk about anything."
"If you're going to be an ass hole about this, then let me and Emily out of the car."
"Where else would you go?"
I'm silent. "I'd find a way. I always do."
He sighs. "You have to let people help you, Annie."
"Oh, like you helped me?" I spit back at him.
He groans. "Not this again. It's been three months, Annie. You have to learn to let go sometimes."
I shake my head. "Whatever. I'll get Emily cleaned up and then we're out."
"You know I'm not going to let you do that."
I grit my teeth. "Don't mess with me right now, Matt."
"I'm not messing with you, Annie. I'm looking out for you."
"I don't need anybody to look out for me."
"Oh, really? It looks to me like you're in some pretty deep shit."
I swallow. "Shut the fuck up," I hiss, ignoring the fact that Emily is in the backseat.
"No, you know what Annie? I'm tired of letting you get hurt over and over again and not doing shit to stop it."
"I don't need your fucking help!" I practically scream as he pulls into his driveway.
He gets out of the car and slams the door. He lifts Emily out of the backseat, as I get out.
"You okay, Sweetheart?" he asks gently.
"I missed you, Mattie," she says softly.
I slam the car door and look around for his mom's car.
"She's not here. She's away in Germany," he says.
I sigh, incredibly thankful. If she was here it would've made everything so much more complicated.
Matt pulls a key out of his jeans and opens the front door. He turns on the front hall light, and I glance around, taking in the familiar, comforting atmosphere of his house. So maybe I did miss this a little.
He carries Emily upstairs to the larger bathroom, and I stand in the doorway as he cleans her up, wiping the blood away expertly. He was used to cleaning the two of us up.
When he's done, he gently takes hold of her hand and leads her towards his room. I feel silent tears rush down my cheeks as I listen to him tuck her in to bed.
"Get some rest, Em, alright? If you need anything at all me and Annie will be downstairs, okay?"
"Night night, Mattie."
"Night, Em."
Then I close my eyes and lean against the bathroom wall as he enters and closes the door behind him.
"Sit on the toilet," he instructs.
"I can clean myself up," I say rather angrily. I start walking towards the sink, but he grabs onto my arm.
"Annie, don't do this to me. Don't shut me out."
I ignore him and take a washcloth out of the linens cabinet. I dampen it with warm water, and I glance at him through the mirror. He's leaning against the tiled wall, simply staring at me.
I look away hurriedly and begin dabbing at my face. I wince and briefly wonder how I got glass all the way on my face. Then I lean down and without wincing, I pull the glass fragments out of my legs. Then I slowly wash them off with some antiseptic that lies on the counter.
Matt just watches me, his arms crossed over his broad chest.
When I'm done, I turn around and look at him.
"I'll let Em sleep for a little and then we're out of here."
"I'm not gonna let you leave," he says softly, and he walks towards me. I back away from him, but he continues walking towards me until he's backed me up against the bathroom wall.
"Matt, we'll be fine," I say nervously. He's close. Too close. I attempt to push him away, but he catches my hands and places them back down by my sides.
"Really?" he says, raising an eyebrow. He pulls up the sleeves of my long shirt, revealing the new cutting scars from the past few months. "Because this shows just how in control of the situation you are." My eyes widen as he lifts up my shirt. I try to push him away again, but he pins me harder to the wall.
"Matt, stop," I plead. He examines my bruised stomach from where my dad had hit me lately. Then he examines the rest of my arms.
"This is out of control," he says softly. I close my eyes, trying to ignore the fact that he's close and that I like it, and that he smells incredible. "You're just too stubborn to admit it. But you know it, Annie. You know it just as well as I do."
I finally manage to shove him away and I walk towards his room, where Emily is sleeping. I'm about to open the door and get the fuck out of here, but he grabs onto me. I flinch.
"Don't touch me," I hiss.
"Don't wake her up, Annie. Let her sleep while we figure this out."
"Figure what out?" I demand loudly. He places a hand over my mouth.
"Shh…While we figure out what we're going to do."
"This has nothing to do with you. I'll figure it out by myself."
He looks incredibly frustrated as he run his hands through his dark hair.
"I'm not leaving you alone again. You asked me once and this is what happened!" he practically screams, and I shove him towards the stairs.
"Fine. You wanna fight?" I whisper harshly. "We'll do it downstairs."
When we reach the kitchen, the screaming match ensues.
"You fucking shut me out of your life and you expect me to sit on the sidelines watching your dad beat the living shit out of you and Em?"
"It's none of your business!"
"It's none of my business?" he shouts back. "Annie, you're practically family! What the hell do you expect me to do? You just don't know what loving someone means. That's all it is. You don't understands the concept of loving. You think that people who love you can just stand by and watch you continually get hurt? I'm not standing by anymore! I'm not going to fucking watch you slip away!"
I burst into tears again. "I don't want you involved!"
"Sucks for you. I'm involved and I'm not letting you go again."
"Everything is fine!"
"Stop fucking around, Annie! You're cutting deeper than you ever have, you have more bruises than you ever used to, and Em got completely battered up tonight! You think it's fair to her to let this happen? You think it's fair to let you go through this? It's not fair to anyone!"
I lean against the fridge and I just cry. I cover my face with my hands and just let it out. I'm completely embarrassed to lose control in front of him, but then again he's seen it before.
This time I don't push him away as he approaches me. I'm too exhausted to stop him as he places his warm hands on my cheeks and forces me to look up at him.
"Let me help you," he says gently. "Let me be here for you."
I shake my head, and his hands drop down to my waist. I don't fight him as he pulls me into his arms, holding my head against his chest.
"Baby, just cry, okay?"
So I do.
He holds me for a good fifteen minutes, and then drags me towards the guest bedroom. He gently pushes me towards the bed, and lies down next to me. I place my head on his chest, and he plays with my hair. And I'm so exhausted that I'm completely out within the next five minutes.
Authors Note: Hey guys! So I think this story is going to have three parts to it, so stick around for the next two if you enjoyed this!