Not My Hero

She nods, and her bottom lip juts out as she takes hold of my right hand. “Look at your knuckles. Let’s go inside so we can clean the blood off.”

Walking to the front door, I notice Brie standing on the porch, her face pale. I dart forward and taking hold of her shoulders, I say, “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Brie shakes her head and wraps her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. “I’m just glad he’s gone.” She pulls back, and her eyes lock with mine. “Are you okay?”

I wait for Mom and Brie to walk into the house and shutting the door, I say, “I am now.”

It felt good standing up for myself for once and getting rid of the pent up anger. Now that I’ve fought back, he’ll hopefully stay away.

When I walk to the bathroom, Mom and Brie follow behind me. I let Mom clean my hand, knowing she needs to do it. Also, I love having her fuss over me.

“I’ll make an appointment to meet with a lawyer,” Mom murmurs. “It’s time to divorce him.”

“I can help with money,” Brie suddenly says. When we look at her, she rambles, “I overheard what he said, and I don’t want you worrying about finances.”

Mom wipes the last of the blood away, then turns and drops the cloth in the sink before turning to Brie. “You’re going to invest that money, Brie. I spent twenty-two years with that man, and he’ll pay for every one of them.”

“Okay,” Brie replies. “I just wanted you to know, I don’t mind helping.”

Mom pulls Brie into a hug. “Thank you, sweetie.” When they pull apart, Mom adds, “We’ll go to the bank tomorrow after school. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

Mom glances back at me. “I’m going to heat the chicken so we can finish having dinner.”

Once she leaves, Brie moves closer to me. She takes hold of my hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. “It looks like it’s going to swell. Does it hurt?”

I shake my head and lift my left hand to her face, brushing her bangs away from her eyes. “Are you okay?”

Brie nods. “You were handling it, so I wasn’t scared. I knew you’d take care of it.”

The corner of my mouth lifts at hearing how much trust she has in me.

Brie’s eyes search my face. “Are you really okay?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t while he was here, but now…” I shake my head, “I need to show him I’m not scared of him. I’m fine now.”

Brie looks at my hand again. “Let’s put some ice on your knuckles.”

We go to the kitchen, and while Brie grabs a pack of frozen peas, I head to where Mom’s heating the chicken in the microwave. I place a hand on her back and wait until she looks at me. “Do you want me to go with you to the lawyers?”

She shakes her head, giving me a comforting smile. “I’ll be fine. It’s not like he’ll be there.” Mom gestures to Brie. “Go sit and ice your hand while I finish up here.”

Once we’re all seated, my gaze moves between the two women in my life, and knowing I protected them from my father fills my chest with pride.Chapter 26BRIEDear me,

Colton’s dad showed up. Things didn’t go well. Actually, it was terrible, and I shouldn’t be glad Colton hit his father, but I can’t help it. After everything that man put them through, he deserved that beating and more.

I know Cassie is worried about money and that Mr. Lawson will stop sending any, but she shouldn’t. I’ve made up my mind to take the money from my grandfather. I’ll look after Cassie and Colton the same way they looked after me.

I hope he never comes here again.

B.“There’s an art competition at the University of Black Mountain,” I tell Colton on the way to school. “With everything that happened, I forgot to mention it.”

“Yeah? Are you going to enter?” he asks as he steers the truck through the morning traffic.

“I want to. I’m not sure what to draw, though,” I admit.

There’s a moment’s silence, then Colton mentions, “You’re really good at expressing emotions. Maybe draw something that relates to how you feel now?”

I begin to nod as ideas stream into my head. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” I worry my bottom lip while I think, and then ask, “Maybe something to do with love?”

“Like a heart?” Colton pulls into the parking area and finds a space to stop the truck.

“Maybe more like darkness spreading out into light? A lot of shades?” The more I think about it, the more an image begins to form in my minds-eye. “Or hope? A chain of butterflies breaking?”

Colton turns the truck off and looks at me. “I really like that idea.”

“Yeah?” Happy that I finally have something to work with, I grin as I push open the door and climb out.