“Oh God.” I don’t know what to say to all of this. It’s a lot. “I’m so sorry that you have gone through all of this.”
“Well, that’s why I worked so hard in high school and college, because I wanted to get away.” She slowly turns around to face me and her wet eyes break my heart. “I kinda held on to the belief that if my mother saw me blossoming and living a different life, then she would want to break away from it all. I wanted to be an inspiration for her. But it turns out that leaving was the worst thing that I could have done because…”
I suck in and hold a breath. I’m unsure about what way this is going to go and it scares me.
“Because now I don’t know what he’s done to her. She called me all hysterical and said that he has hurt her. Worse than he has ever done before which is hard because he’s always hurt her a lot. As far as I know, he hasn’t ever sent her to the hospital, so it could be that…” She chokes back a sob. “But she said that she’s frightened he’s going to kill her and then the phone went dead. I don’t know what he did to her, Will.”
Woah, this is a lot. This is the sort of thing that I have never been through. Violence has never been an aspect in my life, so I don’t know what to say. This must be horrible. To have grown up in such a closed off horrible way must have been intense. No wonder she has been hesitant when it comes to me and her, because she has only ever seen the negative sides of a relationship. I definitely understand her better now.
“Did you call the cops?” I ask immediately. “The police might be able to help things out.”
“No they won’t. David has always managed to talk his way around things before and I don’t want to risk that now. Plus, once the cops turn up and he gets rid of them, his temper intensifies and then he really will kill her.”
She called me because I offered her help and because she doesn’t really know anyone else, but I also feel like she’s trusting me with herself once more. She has given so much of herself to me, and I want to do the same for her.
“Okay, well we will fix this,” I promise her. “One way or another, we will sort things out.”
“You think so? Because I’m scared that it will all be a mess. That we will be too late.”
I have to admit, but only to myself, that I’m scared of that as well. I’m terrified for what me and Serena are about to walk in to. Everything that she has told me so far has sounded like the plot of a gory horror movie that can only end with a lot of dead bodies. Of course, that’s not something I will express aloud because I don’t need to make this any worse than it already is, but I feel it deep within my chest. I’m terrified. But at least I can be there for Serena. I’m glad that she isn’t going through this alone. That would be a million times much worse. Even if I can’t be of much help, just knowing that I am here and doing my best for her, is better than nothing.
“You aren’t by yourself,” I remind her as we drive. “I’m here for you. Okay?”
She reaches out and holds my hand to thank me, and I can feel her shaking. She is absolutely terrified. “Thank you, I appreciate you coming with me, helping me, it means a lot. I shouldn’t drag anyone into my family mess, certainly not the man that I have had a thing with, and definitely not my boss, but I appreciate you.”
Serena leans across and she rests her head on my shoulder, leaning on me for support. Now, I’m not only driving, but I can hold her as well. I can feel her and how afraid she is. I just hope that I can keep her strong, she can hold her head high up, and that we can somehow get through this together. Whatever this is.
Guys who abuse women are cowards, they are just the worst, I have always felt that way. But I have never come face to face with one before, so this will be the first time ever. I don’t know how I will react, it will probably be even worse because this is a man who has made Serena’s life harder. I figured that I would end up kicking some ass tonight, I just didn’t think that her stepfather would be involved.
Chapter 15 – Serena
“We’re here.” I whip my head off of Will’s shoulder as soon as the area surrounding me becomes familiar. I know it all too well and it doesn’t have any good memories for me. And, tonight we aren’t about to make any good memories either. “This is it. That’s the house over there. God, it looks dark, doesn’t it? Why does it look so dark? I don’t like it.”