"Where’s my beer?" my father yelled, signaling my mother to bring him one. I rolled my eyes and trudged upstairs, trying as hard as possible to ignore the slurs in his voice. Once upstairs, I found my sister Claudia sitting in the closet, her hands over her ears.

"Are they done yelling?" she whispered, as if she would be hit if someone heard her. I nodded my head and pulled her out of the closet, wrapping her feet around my waist.

"Let’s go up to the attic, huh? How about a game of Chutes and Ladders?" Claudia’s face brightened up and I carried her up the steps leading to the attic. Piled high were books and games that surrounded the walls. I placed Claudia on the floor and grabbed the game from the top of the pile. Many times before, we had come upstairs to hide from the hollow voice of our Dad, and the terrified quiver of mom’s as she obeyed his every word. Just the thought sickened me to my stomach but I bottled it inside.

"I win," Claudia giggled, dragging her piece to the last ladder.

I smiled, but moved it back. "How about we actually play the game first?"

"Alright," she agreed, still smiling. Then I saw the bruise on her arm.

"Where’d you get that mark?" I asked, grabbing her arm.

"Nowhere," she whispered, looking at the floor. I stood up quickly and towered over her.

"Did dad do that to you, Claud? Did he give you the mark?"

"He was only trying to get me out of the way. I was in his way. No big deal. Katie, don’t tell him I told you! He’ll get mad."

Without listening to her, I marched to the door and stomped heavily down the steps. My eyes met my father’s blood red ones and anger surged through my body again. "What did you do to Claudia?" I asked, my fist balled in anger for the second time that night.

"None of your business, brat." Dad’s putrid breath made me back away, but immediately I recovered and spoke again.

"I warned you before not to lay a hand on her, but you did anyway. If I ever find out you touched her again, I will knock you into next week. You’re lucky I’m not doing that now."

"Katie, stop it." My mother pleaded from behind me. I gritted my teeth and ignored her. "Its not big deal."

"What is it with you guys and your ‘no big deal’ crap? He hit your own daughter, but it’s ‘no big deal?’" My eyes blazed with anger and mom bowed her head in shame. I scoffed in disgust.

"Once again. If I ever catch another bruise on Claudia’s arm, I will call the police. After I’ve gotten my piece of you." My father stood up, as if to challenge my words.

"Claudia!" he called after my 7-year-old sister. I heard her feet pound down the steps.

"Stay away!" I ordered her, and she halted to a stop. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"Get over here!" he yelled again. Claudia obeyed this time. "Tell this worthless sister of yours what you did to deserve to be punished," he said.

"I didn’t do nothing," she whispered. Father’s hands reached for Claudia’s dress but I was too fast for his slow reflexes.

"I said don’t touch her!" I screamed, pushing him to the side and grabbing Claudia. I carried her to the kitchen and told her to stay in there. She nodded her head and climbed under the sink. It was her usual hiding spot for when Dad was on a rampage, hitting everything in its path.

I ran back into the living room and told mom to get out of there too. She shook her head and wouldn’t leave Dad’s side. "Get out!" I hollered, my voice becoming deeper then my fathers. Before I could push Mom out of the room, a hand grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind my back. I screamed in pain and Dad knocked me to the ground. I felt my nose begin to bleed and wiped it with my pain-free hand.

"Katie!" Mom screamed, coming close to my side.

"Get away from me!" I screamed. Mom backed up and walked into the kitchen. I heard her dial the phone and noticed Dad hadn’t.

My nose and wrist throbbed but I sat up again and stood face to face with the attacker. "I want you to leave this house now." I ordered, through clenched teeth. "And if you ever come back, they will lock you up quicker then you can say ‘Not guilty’, got that?"

Dad sneered and rolled his eyes, laughing hysterically. "You think you can kick me out of my own house? I’ll show you not to order me around." With that he grabbed me by my waist and carried me to the steps, with me kicking and thrashing my way free. Slamming me against the steps, he kicked me once. I tried to dodge the next but my rib cage felt as if it would burst. He kicked me again. Anger jetted through my body like blood runs through my veins. Before I could stand up, mother came running up behind Dad with a pan. She swung it into his back and he doubled over in pain. Recovering quickly, he sat up straight and threw mom to the side. Realizing my chance, I bolted to the kitchen and threw open the cabinet doors. Claudia was nowhere to be found. I could hear Dad coming towards me so I ran out the back door, calling her name as loud as possible.

Running through the gate I noticed Claudia in the street, talking to a guy whose truck had pulled up beside her. Sirens could be heard in the distance and I grabbed Claudia quickly before she could say anymore to the guy.

"Katie?" the guy questioned. I glanced up and saw Bruce’s blue eyes staring quizzically at the police cars surrounding the house and the blood that covered my nose. "What’s going on here?"

Before I could answer I noticed my father run out the back door, but instead of barreling towards us, ran straight past us towards his car. He jumped inside and sped off. Bruce jumped out of the truck and ran into the house. I followed him inside with Claudia inside, but pushed Claudia’s head away. The living room hallway was covered in blood and my mom lay in a bloody heap on the carpet. I could tell she wasn’t conscious and Bruce ran to her side.

"Out of the way!" one of the paramedics yelled at him.

"I’m a trained nurses assistant! Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked, but grabbed a neck brace from the medic’s bag and wrapping it around mom’s neck before getting an answer.

"Just stay out of the way and take care of her bloody nose," he requested of Bruce. He nodded and ran to my side. He led Claudia and I into the living room and sat us both down. I winced in pain when he checked my ribs for bruises as he had just an hour earlier.

"I think they’re broken this time," he said with confidence. I winced again when he pressed. "Yeah, for sure."

"Claudia," I whispered. "Are you hurt?" Claud shook her head slowly, and I nodded. "Honey, I want you to grab a couple outfits from your room, okay? We’re staying at a friend’s house tonight, got it?" Claudia nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I don’t think so, Katie." Bruce said, shaking his head. "You’re staying at a hospital tonight. We’ll find a place for your sister, though, all right? No need to worry."

I sat up quicker then I intended to and screamed in pain. "Just relax," Bruce whispered. He stood up off his knees and walked to a paramedic nearby. He whispered something and pointed towards my sister. The medic nodded and radioed something in. Two minutes later a blue car pulled up outside.

"Bruce!" I called after him. "J.B just pulled up. Tell her to come in."

Bruce nodded and ran towards the door. He motioned outside and J.B ran up the steps towards the house. She gasped when she saw me and ran to my side. "What happened?"

I shook my head, and J.B nodded. That meant I’d tell her later. "Do you think your mom’ll let Claudia stay with you guys for a couple days," I asked hopefully. She nodded her head and led Claud up the steps.

"How did this get started?" Bruce asked me when we were alone again. I bit my lip.

"I don’t know," I said truthfully. "I really don’t know."

"Was it your hot temper, or his?" he asked, showing he wanted a simple answer.

"Both, I guess. I saw a bruise on Claud’s arm, and knew he had hurt her. I snapped and came downstairs. He tried to hurt her again, and the fight just escalated.

"Yeah, well you’re lucky Claudia came outside to get somebody."

"The cops were already here," I muttered. Bruce sighed and shook his head.

"I meant that if she hadn’t, she would have gotten hurt worse."

"Alright, we’re ready for your statement." A cop said, coming up beside me. I groaned but told my story again. "Thanks," he said when we’d finished. "The paramedics are ready to take you now. We’ve got a social worker on the way to take your sister to a family member."

"No!" I said, shaking my head violently. "Claudia stays with J.B as she always has when Dad gets violent. She stays with nobody else, ever."

"I’m sorry, young lady, but social services has to step in on cases like this. She has to stay with a family member."

"But I’m not leaving her alone!" I screamed. Bruce pressed my shoulder down, emphasizing how I needed to calm down. "She goes with J.B, or I don’t go to the hospital." I protested. The cop sighed but silently agreed.

"Alright," he surrendered. "But you’re coming with the medics, now."

"Where’s my beer?" my father yelled, signaling my mother to bring him one. I rolled my eyes and trudged upstairs, trying as hard as possible to ignore the slurs in his voice. Once upstairs, I found my sister Claudia sitting in the closet, her hands over her ears.

"Are they done yelling?" she whispered, as if she would be hit if someone heard her. I nodded my head and pulled her out of the closet, wrapping her feet around my waist.

"Let’s go up to the attic, huh? How about a game of Chutes and Ladders?" Claudia’s face brightened up and I carried her up the steps leading to the attic. Piled high were books and games that surrounded the walls. I placed Claudia on the floor and grabbed the game from the top of the pile. Many times before, we had come upstairs to hide from the hollow voice of our Dad, and the terrified quiver of mom’s as she obeyed his every word. Just the thought sickened me to my stomach but I bottled it inside.

"I win," Claudia giggled, dragging her piece to the last ladder.

I smiled, but moved it back. "How about we actually play the game first?"

"Alright," she agreed, still smiling. Then I saw the bruise on her arm.

"Where’d you get that mark?" I asked, grabbing her arm.

"Nowhere," she whispered, looking at the floor. I stood up quickly and towered over her.

"Did dad do that to you, Claud? Did he give you the mark?"

"He was only trying to get me out of the way. I was in his way. No big deal. Katie, don’t tell him I told you! He’ll get mad."

Without listening to her, I marched to the door and stomped heavily down the steps. My eyes met my father’s blood red ones and anger surged through my body again. "What did you do to Claudia?" I asked, my fist balled in anger for the second time that night.

"None of your business, brat." Dad’s putrid breath made me back away, but immediately I recovered and spoke again.

"I warned you before not to lay a hand on her, but you did anyway. If I ever find out you touched her again, I will knock you into next week. You’re lucky I’m not doing that now."

"Katie, stop it." My mother pleaded from behind me. I gritted my teeth and ignored her. "Its not big deal."

"What is it with you guys and your ‘no big deal’ crap? He hit your own daughter, but it’s ‘no big deal?’" My eyes blazed with anger and mom bowed her head in shame. I scoffed in disgust.

"Once again. If I ever catch another bruise on Claudia’s arm, I will call the police. After I’ve gotten my piece of you." My father stood up, as if to challenge my words.

"Claudia!" he called after my 7-year-old sister. I heard her feet pound down the steps.

"Stay away!" I ordered her, and she halted to a stop. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"Get over here!" he yelled again. Claudia obeyed this time. "Tell this worthless sister of yours what you did to deserve to be punished," he said.

"I didn’t do nothing," she whispered. Father’s hands reached for Claudia’s dress but I was too fast for his slow reflexes.

"I said don’t touch her!" I screamed, pushing him to the side and grabbing Claudia. I carried her to the kitchen and told her to stay in there. She nodded her head and climbed under the sink. It was her usual hiding spot for when Dad was on a rampage, hitting everything in its path.

I ran back into the living room and told mom to get out of there too. She shook her head and wouldn’t leave Dad’s side. "Get out!" I hollered, my voice becoming deeper then my fathers. Before I could push Mom out of the room, a hand grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind my back. I screamed in pain and Dad knocked me to the ground. I felt my nose begin to bleed and wiped it with my pain-free hand.

"Katie!" Mom screamed, coming close to my side.

"Get away from me!" I screamed. Mom backed up and walked into the kitchen. I heard her dial the phone and noticed Dad hadn’t.

My nose and wrist throbbed but I sat up again and stood face to face with the attacker. "I want you to leave this house now." I ordered, through clenched teeth. "And if you ever come back, they will lock you up quicker then you can say ‘Not guilty’, got that?"

Dad sneered and rolled his eyes, laughing hysterically. "You think you can kick me out of my own house? I’ll show you not to order me around." With that he grabbed me by my waist and carried me to the steps, with me kicking and thrashing my way free. Slamming me against the steps, he kicked me once. I tried to dodge the next but my rib cage felt as if it would burst. He kicked me again. Anger jetted through my body like blood runs through my veins. Before I could stand up, mother came running up behind Dad with a pan. She swung it into his back and he doubled over in pain. Recovering quickly, he sat up straight and threw mom to the side. Realizing my chance, I bolted to the kitchen and threw open the cabinet doors. Claudia was nowhere to be found. I could hear Dad coming towards me so I ran out the back door, calling her name as loud as possible.

Running through the gate I noticed Claudia in the street, talking to a guy whose truck had pulled up beside her. Sirens could be heard in the distance and I grabbed Claudia quickly before she could say anymore to the guy.

"Katie?" the guy questioned. I glanced up and saw Bruce’s blue eyes staring quizzically at the police cars surrounding the house and the blood that covered my nose. "What’s going on here?"

Before I could answer I noticed my father run out the back door, but instead of barreling towards us, ran straight past us towards his car. He jumped inside and sped off. Bruce jumped out of the truck and ran into the house. I followed him inside with Claudia inside, but pushed Claudia’s head away. The living room hallway was covered in blood and my mom lay in a bloody heap on the carpet. I could tell she wasn’t conscious and Bruce ran to her side.

"Out of the way!" one of the paramedics yelled at him.

"I’m a trained nurses assistant! Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked, but grabbed a neck brace from the medic’s bag and wrapping it around mom’s neck before getting an answer.

"Just stay out of the way and take care of her bloody nose," he requested of Bruce. He nodded and ran to my side. He led Claudia and I into the living room and sat us both down. I winced in pain when he checked my ribs for bruises as he had just an hour earlier.

"I think they’re broken this time," he said with confidence. I winced again when he pressed. "Yeah, for sure."

"Claudia," I whispered. "Are you hurt?" Claud shook her head slowly, and I nodded. "Honey, I want you to grab a couple outfits from your room, okay? We’re staying at a friend’s house tonight, got it?" Claudia nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I don’t think so, Katie." Bruce said, shaking his head. "You’re staying at a hospital tonight. We’ll find a place for your sister, though, all right? No need to worry."

I sat up quicker then I intended to and screamed in pain. "Just relax," Bruce whispered. He stood up off his knees and walked to a paramedic nearby. He whispered something and pointed towards my sister. The medic nodded and radioed something in. Two minutes later a blue car pulled up outside.

"Bruce!" I called after him. "J.B just pulled up. Tell her to come in."

Bruce nodded and ran towards the door. He motioned outside and J.B ran up the steps towards the house. She gasped when she saw me and ran to my side. "What happened?"

I shook my head, and J.B nodded. That meant I’d tell her later. "Do you think your mom’ll let Claudia stay with you guys for a couple days," I asked hopefully. She nodded her head and led Claud up the steps.

"How did this get started?" Bruce asked me when we were alone again. I bit my lip.

"I don’t know," I said truthfully. "I really don’t know."

"Was it your hot temper, or his?" he asked, showing he wanted a simple answer.

"Both, I guess. I saw a bruise on Claud’s arm, and knew he had hurt her. I snapped and came downstairs. He tried to hurt her again, and the fight just escalated.

"Yeah, well you’re lucky Claudia came outside to get somebody."

"The cops were already here," I muttered. Bruce sighed and shook his head.

"I meant that if she hadn’t, she would have gotten hurt worse."

"Alright, we’re ready for your statement." A cop said, coming up beside me. I groaned but told my story again. "Thanks," he said when we’d finished. "The paramedics are ready to take you now. We’ve got a social worker on the way to take your sister to a family member."

"No!" I said, shaking my head violently. "Claudia stays with J.B as she always has when Dad gets violent. She stays with nobody else, ever."

"I’m sorry, young lady, but social services has to step in on cases like this. She has to stay with a family member."

"But I’m not leaving her alone!" I screamed. Bruce pressed my shoulder down, emphasizing how I needed to calm down. "She goes with J.B, or I don’t go to the hospital." I protested. The cop sighed but silently agreed.

"Alright," he surrendered. "But you’re coming with the medics, now."

Chapter 5

My hands started to shake as my fists tightened. "Who was it?" I asked, through clenched teeth. My wrists throbbed from the force of my anger.

"What happened to crying?" Bruce asked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

"Who was it?!" I screamed again, turning towards him this time. "Tell me or I’m getting out of this car."

"You wouldn’t dare." He said, pulling away from the curb. I glared angrily, burning holes in his eyelids. I stared him straight in the eye but kept my anger under control.

"Tell me who it is now." I said in the calmest voice I could at the moment. Anger still boiled inside me, but I tucked it down. "Bruce, I just want to know."

"You don’t need to know, though. Too much more stress on you. He’s already caused problems in your life."

"Who?" I asked again, my eyes were filling with tears again, not anger. Pain coursed through my body as I slammed my bad hand on the dashboard, cursing myself for the tears again.

"Don’t do that," he scolded. "How’d you get that brace on you anyway? And why were you drinking the night away like that? You realize, you might be dead now if J.B hadn’t warn me to grab you from the party after she saw me." David looked away at the mention of J.B’s name and I looked away at the mention of my brace.

"None of your business," I sneered. "I hurt it in the fight with Jacob,"

"I checked your entire body for bruises pretty much. Your wrist was not injured then. What happened, Katie? Don’t lie to me like that. Jacob had nothing to do that."

At the sound of Jacob’s name again, realization struck. "It was Jacob wasn’t it?" I screamed, raising my voice. "He did it! I have to tell Jackie! I know it was him!"

"Don’t change the subject on me, Katie. We’ll deal with that later. What happened to your wrist?" Bruce tone changed quickly and he sighed. "Forget it," he muttered. "I give up."

"You and the rest of the world," I whispered to myself, but not soft enough.

"I take that back, Katie, okay? I’m not going to give up on you." Bruce wrapped his arms around me as we pulled up to a stop sign. "Ever."

I couldn’t help but burst into tears again at the sound of that. Everybody had already given up on me, except Bruce, who was practically a stranger to me still.

"Just get me to the hospital," I said, choking on my words. "Quickly."

Bruce drove off again and we pulled into the hospital parking lot 10 minutes later.

"Can you tell me where ‘Jacquelyn Bishop’s room is, please?" Bruce requested. He had is arm around me and my eyes were still puffy and red. Oddly enough, his arm around my neck gave me a strange sense of comfort.

"Yes, I can. Room 515C. Just a warning though. The doctors say she’s in critical condition and may not make it out of her coma in time. Just be prepared for anything, okay honey?" The nurse seemed to be looking at me the entire time she said that. I looked away.

"Let’s go, Bruce." I muttered underneath my breath. "I want to get there by next Christmas."

"Alright, alright, Kate. Quit dragging me." Bruce groaned and trudged up the steps. Why we were taking the steps, I don’t know. Bruce seemed overly concerned about taking the elevator.

"It’s right here," I whispered, practically to myself, encouraging my adrenaline to kick in and my feet to move once again. "I can do this."

My feet carried myself into the room and I painstakingly looked away quickly. J.B lie in a bed, a hospital gown on her body instead her usual punk rock mini-skirt. Her usually spiked or teased hair lay tangled against her pillow.

Bruce closed the door and pulled a chair up beside the bed. "Sit," he ordered. "I’m leaving the room… you stay and talk to her. They always say people in comas can hear you more then they do when they’re alive and awake."

I laughed slightly and smiled. I sat down in the given chair and grabbed my hand in J.B’s. Sighing deeply, I bought her hand up to my lips. "How could you be so stupid? You know not to drink the punch at Blake’s parties! This is all my fault, isn’t it? If you hadn’t been so upset about me, you wouldn’t be lying in this hospital bed in a coma. God, I feel so horrible." Tears tried to escape my eyes again, but I held it in as I had my anger.

"It’s okay to cry," I heard someone say behind me. I spun around and narrowed my eyes.

"What are you doing here, Jacob?" I said, balling up my fists already.

"Just came to see how you were… and J.B of course."

"How’d you know I’d be here?"

"Your boyfriend, Mike Tyson 2 told me. Boy, he’s got a sucker punch."

"What’d he do?" I asked.

"Punched me… hard."

"For what?"

"He thought I’m the one who slipped the drugs in the punch. Some kind of rumor that went around the party after the ambulance arrived. You know they picked up three other kids that passed out? Everyone is blaming me, too. I just batter my eyes and look innocent. I mean, why would I do such a thing?" Jacob chuckled and leaned off the wall. My head was pounding again and my wrist throbbed from my idiotic dashboard anger management.

"What happened to your wrist?" Jacob asked. I narrowed my eyes further. "Did you try a pathetic attempt to fight your father? You know, I saw him storm out of your house. You forget sometimes that I live across the street, don’t ya? After the cops picked me up, my parents did too. Was home within an hour tops. I’ve got good connections."

"You deserve to rot in a jail cell," I barked at him. The urge to punch him grew.

"Ha! I know some people who thought differently. Well, I guess I’m just gonna have to watch my back around you, aren’t I? You might sick your boyfriend on me. We all know that’s the only man who’ll stand by your side. Your dad sure won’t. I’m just glad he finally put you in your place. See ya later, Kate."

"Don’t call me that!" I screamed, ready to lunge. Jacob whistled innocently before turning the corner, leaving the room. I breathed heavily until my anger subsided and turned back to J.B. "He did this to you," I whispered. "And I’ll make him pay. Even if it’s the last thing you get to see me accomplish, J.B… I’ll make him pay."

I don’t like this post… but its your decision! Comment please!