Sarah's Journey to Love

8

EVAN’S POV

     (The night before)

            I just got home, I stopped by Sarah’s after work to talk to her I was already mad, and having a bad day, I didn’t go to school today, I went to work, I didn’t want to be seen by the rest of the world. When Tina and Karen told me, what happened at school earlier it made it worse. Of course, when they got there, I had a black eye and they seemed almost scared of me. I wonder how they would act if they knew how I got the black eye. More than likely they would have the same look Alan did when I showed up at the shop and not school. He was sad, and had pity in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything just handed me print out of a list of cars that needed to be worked on, and he left me alone. Add one point he did ask me if I wanted to stay in the apartment and I told him no. He told me if I ever need to move in there for good that it wouldn’t be a big deal. He would like me to stay there and only make me pay $200.00 a month if I kept up with all my school work, I didn’t throw any parties, and didn’t drink. With what he paid me I could do it and still have money left over to take care of myself. Part of me wanted to, I wanted to get away from this woman that called herself my mother, but I didn’t want to leave my dad alone to deal with her either. I think Alan knows that, him and my dad go way back. They were friends in high school, so Alan knows all about my mother. He once told me that she was once a good-looking girl and was sweet kind and smart. But somewhere after high school she lost her way and slowing started taking up drinking, he remember nights were him and my dad would have to pick her up from bars and bring her home, when that happened she would stop drinking far a while and everything would be great she would be back to the girl he once knew. After college my parents got married and a few years later I came along. I remember my mother and how she was when I was younger, there were times she was great and happy, she would do stuff with us, I remember one time when it snowed we all got dressed up and went sledding down a big hill, we did it for hours, afterwards we came home had hot coco, and dinner all together, but that was many years ago. I open the garage door and park my bike, my dad wasn’t home yet so I left the door opened as I walked inside, he should be home in about twenty minutes or so.

            (Warning the next part is PG-13)

            “Where have you been?” my mother yells at me as soon as I close the door.

            “I was at work.” I say as I start making my way for my room.

            “You didn’t go to school today!” she yells grabbing my arm.

            “Let go of me.” I tell her as I pull my arm away from her. She looks at me hate in her eyes. Next thing I know I feel her hand smack me across the face.

            “How dare you talk to me like that!” smacking me again.

            I don’t say anything, I start walking again, and I feel something hit me in that back of the head. I turn to see the glass she was holding is now in pieces on the floor.

            “You little piece of Sh*t, do you want to be a loser for the rest of your life?”

            My blood is boiling I have had enough, this day had just gone from bad to worse, and I couldn’t stop myself.

            “Why would I want to be like you?” I say looking her died in the eyes. Her mouth flies open in shock, normally I would have just walked. I wouldn’t have said anything, but I had enough of this day and of her. First thing this morning she didn’t like that fact that I was leaving and said things, she says me roll my eyes and she hit me giving me a black eye. I didn’t go to school because of it I didn’t want Sarah to see me like that and ask me what happen, I wanted to keep her far away from this life of mine. Than her friends showed up and told me what happened today, I went over after work to talk to her and she blow me off and now I come home to this.  I get hit in the head bring me back from my thoughts. She throws yet another glass at me hitting the side of my head, it stings, and I can feel blood starting to fall down my face.

            “You are a no-good little f*ck, I should have got an abortion as soon as I found out about you, but no your father talked me in to keeping you and this is the thanks I get for bringing you into this world.”

            “I wish you would have no one in their right mind would want a mother like you.”

            She steps closer to him punching me in the mouth. I can feel it crack open. She pulls me up against the wall and hits me again, this time I block my face, however she goes for my ribs again, and again. Until I double over from the pain, I slide down the wall sitting on the floor, which is when she kicks me in the face. I can feel myself starting to black out, the last sound I hear is my dad.

            “Your drunk B*tch what did you do?”

            When I come to, it must not have been long, I can see my mother crying on the couch as my dad stands in front of my as if to block me from her. I can hear her screaming how it was my fault, and I pushed her to do it. She looks down at me and see my eyes are open.

            “You are a loser, nothing more than a piece of she*t, and you are never going to be anything.”

            “Angie, stop it now! You are drunk you are always drunk you always blame him. Like when he was five, and he ended up in the ER with a broken arm and covered in black and blue, we lied and said he fell down the stairs, but you beat him because he asked you why you drank so much. Or how about when you beat him the last time and he ended up in the hospital for two days, with two broken ribs, a black hit, and a broken leg. I lied for you again and said that he was riding his bike and fell, and I got asked why I would like a fifteen years old ride a motorcycle by himself. I told you that night that if this ever happened again, we were over that we were leaving.”

            “Steven please!” she screamed at him.

            “No! I don’t want to hear another word from you again.”

He turned to me and helped me up, as we made our way to his car he turned and said, “I hope we never see you again.”

            We are in the ER waiting for me to get looked at.

            “So, do we lie if so, what would you like me to say?”

            My dad had been looking down at the floor neither of us had said a word until now.

            “No, you tell the truth. I won’t lie for her anymore and neither will you.”

            With that I nod, and I don’t say anything else. My name gets called and we stand following the nurse to the back to be looked at. When asked what happened I told them what happened, how it happened, it felt good to tell the truth and not have to lie, but I also felt ashamed, I left my mother beat the crap out of me. Next thing I know there are cops the nurse had to call them as it was done by my mother. I tell them everything that happened earlier that night, the nod and write everything down. They asked if we knew where she was, we told her last we knew at the house. By time we got home she was not there, the cops had called and told us that she wasn’t at the house when they showed up, but they would be on the lookout for her. As soon as I lay my head down, I am out.

            The next morning, I am woken up by my dad.

            “Hey son,” he says looking at the ground sheepish, “I am sorry I was not here for you when you needed me.”

            “It is fine, it happened it is done and over now. There is nothing either one of us can do about it now.”

            He sighs, and nods, “I went and got your pain meds, they are downstairs, I talked to Alan already and told him that you would be coming in late if you do at all. Come down and I’ll make you something to eat after you take a shower.” He gets up and leaves.

            I look at my phone it is already 8:30am, even if I get out of bed now, I would be late for work, seeing how dad has already talked to him Alan knows what happened last night.

            I get up and make my way to the bathroom. I take out my clothes that I was wearing for last night, I see the blood on my t-shirt, and on pants. I look at myself in the mirror, the cut on my forehead has four stitches in it, from where the glass cut me, my already black eye was even blacker, my bottom lip is cut and swollen, the skin around my ribs are bruised, the spot on the back of my head, had bleed a little and there is blood in my hair, but it ended up not being that deep, it is just sore and painful. I take a jump in the shower, and as the water hits me, I wince in pain. The water turns red with my blood as I wash my hair. After I am clean and there is no more blood I get out of the shower and make my way back to my room, I pull a pair of dark blue jeans that have holes in the knees and a black t-shirt, after getting dressed I walked down the stairs. My dad is in the kitchen, on the phone when I walk in, he points over to the coffee pot, I walk over and pour me a cup, and see my pills next to it and pop on in my mouth and drink it down with my coffee. I can smell my dad cooking eggs and bacon. He gets off the phone and goes back to cooking, I look at him and I can tell that he hasn’t got much sleep. He doesn’t say anything, just finishes cooking, he puts down some plates and put food on them and sets them down on the table.

            “You know you don’t have to go to work right?”

            “Yeah I know but I need to keep my mind off things.”

            He nods, “I was just on the phone with the cops from last night and they have yet to find your mother, I think it would be best if you moved in to the apartment above the shop for a little while that way you wont ever be home alone when she can show up, and Alan knows to keep an eye out for her and to call the cops if she shows up at the shop.”

            Part of me want to tell him that I wasn’t going to move into the apartment even if it was just for a little time, I couldn’t leave him alone. The other part of me knows that she won’t do anything to him other then maybe brag for him to take her back. I just nod, after I get done eating, I head to the shop. Mark looks at me and then away, when Alan sees me, he gives me a weak smile and just hands me some paperwork and I start working on the cars. After a few hours I head home for lunch, my dad is there waiting for me with some lunch he tells me that he was some boxes up in my room and that after work he will help me move stuff over.

            “Just remember is it only for a little while.”

            “I know dad, I am just worried about you.”

            “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m never home I’m always working, and plan on working a lot more the next few weeks anyways. I am going to change the locks after you go back to work, so she can’t get in.”

            I nod, we eat our lunch, and I head back to work. It seems like everyone came in at the same time. There are two oil changes waiting to be done plus someone needs new tires, Mark is working on a car that needs an alternator changed out and had three more cars behind that one. I walk in and he gives me a head nod, I get through the first car and as I am starting on the next one I see Alan walk in, and he tells me that Sarah is here to see me, he tells me that when I am done with this car to take a ten minute break. I nod, knowing that I don’t want to see her, I don’t want to see anyone. I finish up and head into the lobby, I see Sarah walk over to Alan and me after I hand him the paperwork for the car I just finished, I take a deep breath and turn to face her. I see pity and hurt in her eyes and I feel shame all over again.