Safe Haven

Chapter 6: Fear

We made it into his house and I laid down on their couch. I fell asleep within a few minutes. When I woke up I heard Bernadette talking in the kitchen. I started to sit and and realized how warm I had gotten. I had a nice warm blanket on top of me and Shelby's cat Dwight and Gavin's cat Jim were asleep on me. I started thinking about the day we got the two of them. Gavin had been asking for a pet for a long time and Bernadette finally gave in. She took us all to the animal shelter one day and let us look around. Gavin picked out a gorgeous Siamese cat and Shelby picked out this ugly cat that had gotten hit by a car. This cat was blind, deaf, and only had one ear but Shelby insisted that she wanted that cat. We had fun picking out cats with them, it felt like we were really included in their family. They went with the Office themed names due to that being all of our favorite show to watch together.

I dozed off again thinking about the day we got the cats. After a minute I sat up to check the time and get some food. I gently picked up and carried poor Dwight to the kitchen with me. He purred and went back to sleep in my arms as I carried him. When I got into the kitchen I saw Bernadette and Gavin at the kitchen table talking and eating sandwiches.". She smiled and nodded "Your welcome here anytime. I love having you." She said with a smile. My stomach made a loud dying whale sound to let me know I was hungry. "Damn Hav, go eat before we sell you to SeaWorld." Gavin said with his mouth full. "Oh for the love of God, Gavin. Don't talk with food in your mouth, that's gross." Bernadette scolded. "But he had a point, you should eat something. Help yourself to anything in there." She added.

I put Dwight back on the couch with his buddy Jim and went to get something to eat. As I was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich Bernadette remembered she was supposed to meet her friend at the mall to shop for a little bit. She finished eating and sped out the door. Gavin finished his sandwich right as I got done making mine. We had the whole house to ourselves for a little bit so we decided to make the most of it. We went to the living room and laid on the couch beside each other under the blankets. He turned on the Office while I finished my sandwich. I was so settled in and comfy under the blankets with Gavin. Laying there not talking felt so good. After the first episode ended I could head Gavin snoring. I felt so safe and secure. It was rare for me to feel so relaxed I fell asleep again right next to him.

Gavin woke up before me, and he tried to stay still to let me sleep. Sometime during the nap Bernadette had gotten home and was talking to Gavin. I wasn't totally awake yet but I shot awake when I heard my name. I sat up and saw Bernadette laying on the other couch. "I'm sorry, we weren't doing anything." I said afraid that I was in trouble. "For what? Gavin told me that you two are together. He also told me how you two were watching tv and fell asleep." She said calmly. I was so shocked. It felt good to hear someone say that Gavin and I were together. After a few more episodes of the Office Shelby got back from practice. She told me coach was in a bad mood so it was probably best I wasn't there which made me feel a bit better about missing. Since Reece was already home and Charlie was headed to work, I asked Gavin to drive me home.

On the car ride he said "Sorry for telling my mom we're together. I panicked when she walked in and saw us laying on the couch." He said softly. "It's okay, I liked the sound of it." I said trying not to blush. "Oh you did, did you?" He said with quite a bit of excitement. "Yeah, it was nice to hear.". We pulled in my drive way to see both Charlie and my dads car. I didn't think much of it. Before I got out of the car I gave Gavin a quick kiss. I grabbed my bags off his back seat and went into my house.

I stepped in the house and all of a sudden felt someone grab my wrist. "You been runnin your mouth!?" This was my dad yelling in my face. The smell of alcohol on his breath was overwhelming. "What? I didn't tell anyon-" he cut me off by throwing me to the ground. "That school counselor called me today to ask me if everything was going okay! He do that for no goddamn reason?!" He said walking towards our hall closet. As he walked away I looked around and saw Charlie and Reece standing my the tv. Once dad got to the closet he swung the door open with a loud crack and grabbed a baseball bat. "Dad.. what are you doing!" Reece screamed.

Before I could even process what was happening he swung the bat towards me and hit me in the arm. I screamed n pain. He pulled back to swing again but Charlie tackled him to the floor. Charlie was a lot smaller than dad so it didn't take much for dad to over power him and start beating him. The baseball bat had rolled away. Reece ran past the two of them to grab me and help me up. By the time Reece had gotten to me our dad had gotten the baseball bat back. Reece was screaming for him to stop. I started to step forward to fight him for the bat but I didn't make it in time. With one swing he smacked Charlie in the head. He screamed in pain. I grabbed the bat before he swung again but he wouldn't let go. We were fighting for the bat and it was only a matter of seconds before he won. All of a sudden I see Reece swing our metal lamp and smack our dad in the side of the head with it. He collapsed to the floor but was still moving. Reece grabbed the bat and hit him in the head again. This time he was passed out.

We turned around to find Charlie lying there bleeding. Reece called the police while I tried to keep Charlie conscious. "Charlie talk to me, Charlie stay awake!" I just kept yelling but he was slipping fast. "Is she okay.. Haven... Haven.... Hav..." he murmured before dropping unconscious. Within a few minutes ambulances and police cars surrounded our house. They put Charlie on a stretcher and got him to the hospital first. They also looked at my arm and told me I had to go to the hospital and that my arm was broken. They let Reece ride with me in the ambulance to the hospital. We cried the whole way. What was going to happen to us now?