“See, the thing is, I can keep you here. And if you try to leave, there will be consequences. We don’t want that, do we?”
I look over at my mother, who has made her way back to the couch, and beg her silently to put a stop to all of this. To, foronce in her life,fight for me. Instead, she cowers, keeping her eyes on the ground, running a shaking hand through her messy blonde hair. Davis laughs beside me, knowing that my mother isn’t going to help me, before releasing his grip.
“Now be a smart girl and go back to your room.”
I want to run. I want to chase after Luke and beg him to take me with him. Beg him not to leave me here with this monster. But I have a better idea. I turn without looking at either of them and run to my room. I shut the door softly behind me, grab my cell phone, and pull on a thick jacket and a pair of tennis shoes. It takes me a while to push open my window without creating too much noise and remove the window screen before hopping out and landing in the bushes.
I run toward the street, ignoring the sting in my lungs from the cold air and the pain shooting down my arm, and I search wildly for Luke in the dark until I finally see movement across the street.
“Luke!” I whisper-yell, air puffing from my lips. He stops in his tracks and looks over his shoulder at me. I make my way over to him, and without second-guessing, I slap his arm.
“Ow! What was that for?” he asks, rubbing against the spot dramatically, even though I know it didn’t hurt him through his thick jacket.
“You left me back there.” I hadn’t noticed the tears until I hear them in my voice. “Why would you leave me with him?”
His face falls, defeat pulling down his shoulders, and he runs a hand through his messy black hair. “I can’t do this anymore, Raine. I can’t deal with him. I’m done. I’m sixteen and can make my own decisions for my life, and I’m finally choosing what’s best for me.”
“But what about me?” I say, hating how weak I sound. “Luke, I can't live there without you.”
“Then don’t,” he replies, his eyes lighting up with an idea. “Go live with your grandparents.”
As if I hadn’t thought of that before. I would love nothingmore than to live with them. To wake up feeling safe every day, to be able to help them throughout the week rather than just the weekends. Especially since Davis moved in. But I didn’t want to abandon Luke or my mother.
Before my mom met Davis, things weren’t as bad as they are now. She still had a drinking problem, but our relationship wasn’t as strained. So, I stayed for her. And once Davis moved in, I stayed for Luke. If Luke is gone and my mother couldn’t care less about how Davis is treating us, why should I stay?
“What if your dad follows me and makes a big deal out of it? I don’t want to cause my grandparents any problems,” my worst fear slips out. Luke eyes me for a moment before replying.
“What can he do? He doesn’t care about us. We’ll be doing them a favor by leaving.” Luke waves a hand in the air, like this isn’t a big deal, and I want to believe him.
“What about my mom?”
His brows furrow in confusion. “She made her choices, Raine. It doesn’t mean you have to suffer right along with her.”
My gut is telling me otherwise. Part of me doesn’t want to leave her alone with Davis. What if I leave and my choices end up hurting her even more than she is hurting herself? But in a way, Luke’s right. She has chosen this for her life, and I’m done suffering. I refuse to live here without Luke. I’m choosing to listen to him and ignore the sickening feeling that’s swashing inside my stomach.
Headlights shine toward us, and out of reflex, I move to stand behind Luke. An unfamiliar red car pulls up beside us. Luke opens the passenger door and hops inside.
“Where are you going?” I protest, placing a hand onto the door to keep it open.
I look inside the car and see that it’s Jake Himswell from school—one of the punks Luke has been hanging out with lately. I roll my eyes at the sight of him and the fact that I can smell weed flowing from his vehicle. Iglare at Luke.
“Really?” I question, not understanding why Luke chooses to hang out with a guy who used to bully him in middle school.
“I gotta go. Call your grandparents,” is all he says to me before he wiggles the door free from my grasp and shuts it in my face. He doesn’t give me the chance to beg him to take me with him. I watch the car drive away, and my heart breaks from Luke’s betrayal.
I was upset at first when Davis moved in. However, knowing that every other week Luke would be there with me brought me a sense of relief. All of that vanishes along with the red headlights of Jake’s car.
I stand on the sidewalk, frozen in place, not knowing what the right thing to do is. I know I don’t want to go back inside the house so my only option is to leave. I could crash at Olivia’s house, but I really don’t want to cause her family any issues. At least my grandparents are family and will understand my situation better.
I make my decision and pick up my phone to dial Ryland’s number. As the phone rings, I walk down the street, pulling my jacket closer to me and putting distance between me andthem. I can see the tiniest hint of snowflakes trying to fall from the sky as my breath puffs out from my lips with each fast-paced step I take.
“Hey, Rainbow. What’s up?”
The sound of his voice is like soothing ointment over a wound. Luke left me bleeding, and I know I can count on Ryland to help bandage me up. He’s the one person I can always rely on. And besides Luke, he’s also one of the only people who understands what I’m going through.
“I, uh…” I clear the dryness from my throat. “Could you come pick me up?”
I hear shuffling in the background—a click of a lamp, feet hitting the floor, fabric moving around. “What’s going on?” he asks.
