To Be Her First

Chapter 14 - Bloody Knuckles

The only reason Steven didn't go to jail was because Journey Durant stuck up for him. She told the officer that he was protecting her from Kurt. By the time he was finished with the cops, Journey and her friends had gone. He walked to the Chevelle and found a note under the wiper on his windshield. He pulled it out and read it in the light from the street lamp.

Sorry I couldn't stay longer. Thanks for saving me tonight. - Journey

He smiled and got in his car. He folded the note and stuck it in the glove box before pulling out of the lot.

It was almost eleven o'clock, and even though he didn't want to go home, he turned his car in that direction. When he got there, he immediately regretted the decision. His father's car was in the driveway and every light in the house was on. Even with the doors of his car still closed, he could hear raised voices inside. If it hadn't been for the sound of his mother crying, he would've never gone in the house.

The trailer looked like it had been burglarized when he walked in. The coffee table was turned on its side, the television screen was busted, and a beer bottle had been shattered against the wall. His mother was sitting on the kitchen floor, holding a bloody paper towel to her lip.

"Where is he?" Steven demanded.

"Steven, don't," she pleaded.

He let out a huff. "I've had enough of this shit." He picked up the house phone and dialed the police.

She clambered to her feet. "No, you can't!" she cried, trying to pull the phone out of his hands.

Heavy footsteps fell in the hallway from the bedroom. A moment later, his dad was standing before him, his eyes red with anger and whiskey. "You calling the cops, boy?" he yelled in Steven's face.

Steven dropped the phone and let it dangle by the cord. "Did you put your filthy hands on my mother again, you son of a bitch?" Steven shouted back.

The backside of Ricky's hand landed square on Steven's jaw, and that was it. Nineteen years of resentment was unleashed, fueled by the rage from the brawl with Kurt. Steven's right hook split open the skin beneath Ricky's eye, and blood streamed down his cheek. Stunned, Ricky wiped the blood on the back of is hand and looked at it. Then, like a bull let out of a pen, he charged his son and slammed him into the living room wall. A framed picture of Jesus crashed to the floor and shattered.

Steven pushed his dad off him with all of his strength, but Ricky outweighed him by more than fifty pounds. When he ducked to ram Steven into the wall again, his forehead slammed against Steven's eye socket. Steven brought a knee up and jammed it between his dad's legs. Ricky buckled and fell to his knees. Steven landed a right cross against Ricky's jaw that knocked him backward.

Dee was screaming as Steven jumped on top of his dad and pounded him in the face again. A moment later, two cops stormed in and pulled him off.

Then, for the second time in one night, Steven was put into handcuffs.

His drunk father pushed himself up onto his knees. His face was so bloody it made Steven smile. Ricky spat blood onto the floor and pointed at Steven. "He came at me!"

Steven turned his bruised cheek in Ricky's direction. "Only after you hit me!"

The cop pressed his hand against Steven's chest. "Have a seat, or I'll put you in my patrol car."

Obediently, Steven slumped onto the carpet.

The cop squatted next to him. "What happened here?" he asked.

Steven spoke up. "Look at my mom's face! The drunk bastard was wailing on her again!"

"You hit her!" Ricky shouted.

Stunned, Steven's head snapped up. "I wasn't even here! I called the fucking police!"

"You started this, you little shit!" his father screamed.

The cop looked at Dee. "Ma'am, can you tell me who hit you?"

Dee looked from her son to her ex-husband, and then back at Steven again. Her eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Before it even happened, Steven knew what was coming. No one had Dee's loyalty like Ricky did.

With a shaky hand, she pointed a bony finger at her son.

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Oh... poor Steven. :(

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