Beverly Hills Brothers

Chapter 24

"Where's Lyle?" I asked, biting my lip as I leaned against the wall and tried to lighten the weight on my leg. "He went out with Perry, why?" Erik asked and I felt the room closing in. "Erik, I need you to drive me to the hospital." I said, now crying because everything was about to be ruined. I hadn't wanted to tell Lyle about my dad, but he had figured out. Now, not only did I have to tell Erik and risk him telling other people, but also he was going to be so hurt if he found out Lyle already knew. "Wait, what? What's wrong?" Erik asked and I hoped his parents weren't close by. "Please just hurry. We can take my car. Don't tell your parents." I said, and hung up the phone. I tiptoed back down the stairs and this time moving even the slightest bit caused me so much pain. I reached the bottom of the stairs and saw the parlor doors were closed and I could hear a game show playing, meaning my parents were probably having their dessert and after dinner drinks. I limped towards the back door and managed to walk around to the front of the house, where Erik was standing by my car. In two seconds, everything was going to change. I took a deep breath and when I let it out Erik had noticed me and ran over. "Oh my go-." I put my hand over his mouth. "Shhh. I swear I'll explain everything, but we need to get out of here." I said, shoving the keys into his hand. He gave me a worried look, but quickly lifted me up and carried me the rest of the way to the car. He sat me in the passenger seat and I groaned when my hip hit the car door. Erik quickly drove out of the driveway and I held on to the last few seconds I had of normalcy. "What happened?" Erik asked, not paying attention to the speed limit whatsoever. "I was cutting fruit and my knife slipped." I said, and I wasn't surprised at how quickly the lie spewed out of me. I'd been doing it all my life. "How d-" "Erik, I feel like I'm going to pass out. Please just get me to the hospital." I said and grimacing when I saw his hurt face. I never lashed out at him. 

"She'll be able to leave tomorrow. We just want to keep her overnight to make sure her vitals are stable. You said this was an accident?" "Yeah, the knife slipped. Why?" "Because the way the puncture was it seemed the knife was stabbed into her from the side." "What are you saying?" "I don't think it was an accident and I just wanted to make sure that she is safe. Do you know of anybody who would want to harm her?" "No. Can you leave us alone? I think she's waking up." I squinted at the bright light as the door shut and looked over to Erik pacing in front of my bed. "Hey, you're up." Erik croaked and I could tell he had been crying. "What really happened tonight?" Erik asked, sitting on my bed and biting his nails. "Erik, you can't tell anyone." I said and his eyes immediately welled up. "No no no no." Erik said, as he started crying and dropped his head into his hands. "I didn't want it to be true." "Erik, what are you talking about?" I asked, sitting up and touching his back. He looked up at me with red eyes. "That time I came over to ask you to go to the movies, I had heard you screaming at your dad to stop and then your mom said you weren't home. I pretended that I hadn't heard you because I didn't want to believe it." I sat there in silence, unsure of what to say. "Does your dad always cut you?" he asked and my eyes welled up. "No, this is the first time. He usually just beats me." I said, looking down. I felt so naked right now. Erik was my best friend and knew all of my secrets, except for this one and now he knew. Erik cuddled next to me in the bed, careful of the wires and my stitched up hip. We held each other until we fell asleep. 

I woke up before Erik and saw Lyle sleeping in a chair at the end of my bed. I sat up and he jolted awake. "What happened?" Lyle asked, standing by my side in an instant. "It was my dad." I said, looking down and Lyle held my hand. "Does Erik know?" He asked, rubbing my knuckles. "Yeah, I had to. The doctors knew that the way the knife went in, it couldn't have been an accident." I said, looking next to me to make sure Erik was still asleep. "He didn't sleep until after my surgery, which was around 2 am." I said, looking at the clock on the wall that read 8:32. "What time did you get here?" "Around 3. I almost asked my parents about Erik. Thankfully they were sleeping and Erik left a note on my bed telling me to meet him at the hospital." He said, shaking his head. "I'm just so glad you're okay. I was so scared." He said, his eyes welling up. There was a knock at the door and the doctor walked in. "Ms. Moore, you're free to go as soon as a guardian signs your release form, since you are underage." I gave Lyle a worried look, but he handled it too well. "I'm her older brother. I can sign it." he said, quickly signing the sheet and the doctor smiled and nodded as he walked out the door. "Let's get out of here." Lyle said, nudging Erik awake and he shot up. "You're awake! How are you feeling?" Erik asked, touching my thigh. "I'm a little sore, but it'll heal." I said, and held Erik's hand. "I'll go bring the car around." Erik said, giving my hand a final squeeze before walking out the door. "Are you ready to go home?" Lyle asked. "I'm so scared Lyle." I said, and he pulled me into his chest. "I promise I won't let him hurt you again."