I'm Not Broken - TH

•37•

I look over the file Rubin and Tom made up to get my dad away forever, and I have to say, it's brilliant. Tom is way smarter than I give him credit for. I'm impressed.
"Now there's only one question that I need answered." He says. "Do you want to be there when I do this?"
Do I?.. I don't know if it's smart for me to be there. But I want to be. I need to be there to see him gone for good. It's the only way I'll know it's real.
"Yes. I want to be there." I nod.
"If it goes bad- if something happens. I'll have to do what I have to do." He says and I take a deep breath.
"I know."
"Well alright then.. should we go get this over with?" He asks.
"Yes. I'm ready." I nod, just ready to finally be free from the fear of my dad.
"Well then darling, let's go."
The drive into town only fills my body with more anxiety. After several long months, I will be seeing my dad again. I've done so much healing over this time, I really hope just seeing him again doesn't bring it all back. At least this time I'll know I'm safe, Tom would never let anything happen to me.
We pull into my old neighborhood, and seeing all my neighbors walking their dogs or playing with their kids in the front yard makes me almost miss it around here. I don't miss my dad, or my home, just the normalcy of everything surrounding it.
As he stops in front of my old house, I look to him with a worrisome face. He grabs my hand, and presses a kiss to it.
"You don't have to go in if you don't want to." He says quietly.
"No." I shake my head. "I need the closure."
"Okay then.. let's go."
He holds my hand tightly as we walk up to the front door, I reach my other hand out, and turn the knob to open it. Unlocked. He always kept it unlocked.
We walk inside, and I lead Tom down the hallway to my dads office where I'm positive he is. The only time he's anywhere else is when he is drunk and wants to watch television.. or beat me.
Tom protectively puts his arm in front of me as we reach the door, and pushes me behind him. I take notice of how his hand rests over the gun on his hip. I just pray he doesn't have to use it. He opens the door and it reveals a whole lot more than just my dad.
"Chloe, Chloe help me please.."
"Mum!" I exclaim, running over to the other side of the office where my mum is tied up in a chair, her hair is a wreck, her skin is pale, she's thin. Looks like she hasn't been eating much.
"He's passed out." Tom says, examining my dad who's sitting at his desk with his head rested on top of his laptop.
I untie my mum, and she is quick to pull me into a tight hug, sobbing as she grabs my face to look at me closely.
"I'm so sorry honey.. for everything." She says.
"Mum it's okay. It's okay. We need to get you out of here."
"You take the car, and take your mum to the safe house until I'm done here." Tom says and I shake my head.
"I'm not leaving you alone with him." I state.
"Darling, I can take care of this. Trust me. Okay?"
I look to my mums frail body, struggling to support herself and stand steady. He's right. I need to get her out of here.
"Last resort, Tom." I state, looking at his gun.
"I know." He nods.
My dad starts to wake, and Tom is quick to open the door, encouraging me to leave faster.
I help my mum out of the house and to the car. Now in the daylight I can really see the damage that has been done. She looks terrible.
"What happened?" I ask as I drive off, trying to remember the way to the safe house.
"When I came back for your graduation, I was so mad at him.. I thought that maybe if I went back and tried to.. well. It didn't work. He tied me up, and when I wasn't tied up I was cleaning and cooking for him. So I tried to escape, and soon he just kept me tied up day and night." She explains.
"I didn't know.. if I had known I would have done something. I'm sorry." I sigh.
"You don't need to apologize Chloe. What I did to you was terrible. And I'm so sorry for that." She says. "I'm just happy you are safe and healthy and hopefully happy."
I smile when I realize that her saying 'happy' triggered Toms face to pop up in my head. Before all that's happened, I wouldn't say I was happy, I would say that I was surviving. But now? All of that has changed. Tom has changed my life.
"I'm really happy. Happiest I've been since before David died." I admit.
"That was Tom.. right?" She questions.
"Yea. That was him." I nod.
I've only told her about him a few times, and I don't think she really recognized him at the graduation. I guess breaking her free from a hostage type situation was a good first impression though.
"You've been with him this whole time?" She asks.
"I have." I nod. "He's kept me safe, taken care of me."
We pull up to the safe house, and she looks around as we get out of the car.
"So.. a safe house? What's that about?" She questions.
"It's just a joke." I cover Toms secret. "It's just a vacation house."
I unlock the door, and let her walk inside. She's so weak.. I can tell she's had a rough time. She takes a seat in the chair, and I walk into the kitchen to grab her some water. I hate my dad for this.. I hate him. Part of me almost has this hope that he will fuck up and Tom will have to use his gun. It was one thing for him to hurt me, but after seeing what he's done to my mum, I hope he burns in hell.
"So.." she starts. "You and Tom? Are you?.."
"He's my boyfriend, and my best friend." I say with a smile.
"Is it serious?" She asks.
"It is. I really love him." I nod.
"He's good to you? Treats you right?" She lifts her brow.
"He's amazing mum.. he's kind, and loving, and he can be a bit over protective too." I laugh. "But I couldn't imagine my life being any other way."