A Painful Start 2

headlights, a blur of white fur gallops towards me and I find myself excited for Ghost's curious
snuffles. The fact I can still feel excited is a comfort -- as much as snuggling him will probably
be.
Grabbing the small bag I'd prepared, I open the door and Ghost rushes me. His noses
drives into my stomach when I stand, a hand frozen behind his ear mid-scratch. With a groan, I
double over and my bag drops. He's licking my cheeks, they begin to sting, and my ears, which
are ringing almost more than when I first arrived at the hospital. "Go." I gasp, but he doesn't
listen.
I don't hear the screen door slam, but I hear Levi command Ghost over and away from
me. I nearly fall while I lower myself to the ground, clutching my roiling, spasming gut. After
Levi deposits Ghost inside once more, the ringing in my ears has died down enough to hear the
gravel snicker when he approaches again. "I'm sorry, I saw that going a lot better." I can see in
the thin light from the porch he's grimacing. I wonder if he can see my face, or rather what my
face has become. "Are you ready to stand?" I shrug and pull my bag towards me.
The pain in my stomach is down to a dull roar, I could probably stand, but I think I've
earned a pain killer. I tell him this and he chuckles, shrugging. Swallowing, I look around. Not
that there's much to see without the lights of my car. I feel as if I could sit here all night. I look
up at him and he offers me a hand. "C'mon. Ghost is in my room for now. I'll make you a cup of
tea and you can tell me what happened."
Grunting as a slice of pain threatens to reseat me, I stand and sway a little. Levi grabs my bag
and offers me his arm. "What would I do without you?" I murmur.
"Dunno, doesn't matter does it." He smiles, but it falters when we reach the porch. My face
is probably just as swollen as when I left the ER, but I'm sure it's quite bruised by now, too.
"Jesus," He sounds like he tried not to say it. I honestly wouldn't have blamed him for shouting.
I feel my mouth stretch into a wan smile. "My dad is such a loving man, isn't he? I doubt I'll ever
forget to do the dishes again."
A breeze lifted our hair, twisting my own locks in front of my hair. In the light, I could
see a few locks clumped together with blood I’d missed. “That’s all?” He gasps.
I gesture to a chair and pull my pack of cigarettes from my pockets. The effort to hold
myself upright was straining my two cracked ribs mightily. “Not really, but kind of.” I tell him, a
little breathlessly, as I lower myself into a chair beside him. “See, that’s how it started. I came
home and he started on me almost immediately. Telling me how if I wanted to live there I ought
to do what he says. I told him I’d planned on doing it as soon as I got home, sorry that it wasn’t
soon enough for him. Then he got on how my procrastination was disrespectful and how I don’t
listen like I should.” Taking a deep breath, I look at my shaking hands, one of the few parts of
my body not showing any sign of damage after the battle that had ensued. “I told him it wasn’t
and he ought to respect the fact I’m an adult, I have friends, and something’s will have to be put
off so I can actually have a life. That he should be glad I mind his curfew and haven’t been
arrested, like he has.”
“No offense, Minna, but that was stupid.” Levi says, grinning through the smoke.
Ignoring a prickle of annoyance, I shrug. “I was mad. That’s when he got mad, too. Grabbed me
by my hair, dragged me to the sink, told me to mind myself and bashed my forehead off the edge
of the sink,” I indicated the slanted bruise, beginning in a wide split in the skin and ending on
my cheek just below my eye, “so I hit him with the nearest thing to me. It was a cast iron pan, I
don’t think I’d have been able to hit him if I wasn’t so jacked up with adrenaline. So he threw me
against the table,” I lift my shirt gingerly so he can see the bruise that spread from from beneath
my bra to my hip, nearly black in it’s severity, “ and essentially pummeled me. That’s why face
is so bad.” I sigh, wishing I could just end the story there and go to bed.
“So how’d you get out of it?” He wonders, studying my face.
This was the part I was hoping the cop wouldn’t ask about, the part that hurt the most.
Violent, angry man though he may be, he is still my dad. I rub my face and regret it instantly
feeling a scab tear and blood trickling down my nose. Pulling a tissue from inside my pocket, I
blot the injury and gaze towards the horizon. “Remember that guy I dated for a while, the one
who thought we were gonna fool around together?”
He laughs heartily. “Yeah, I had to pretend to hit on him so he’d trust us. He wasn’t very bright."
“Right. Well he’d given me one of his guns, a pistol. Admitting, I have no idea what kind
of gun it is, let alone what kind of bullets to buy. But it was enough to scare him. After he
dragged me outside and threw my down the stairs. Told me to leave and never come back. I told
him I had the right to pack my things. He told me I didn’t need anything from the house, if I had
enough money to go running around ‘having a life’ I ought to have enough to replace it all.
Obviously, I don’t. So, I got the gun. I pointed it at him, told him that if he didn’t let me, I’d kill
him and do it. That I wouldn’t even get in trouble, the police would see the state he’d left me in.
So he let me in.” Taking one shaking breath, I look at Levi. His brow is creased, but the cigarette
is finished. “I’m ready for bed.”
“You can sleep with me if you want, just as friends, of course. But if it’d make you feel
safer…” He trails off, he looks at my shoes gnawing on his lip.
“I appreciate it, but god forbid you roll over and nudge on of my many injured parts. That’d
be the hardest part of sleeping, I imagine it’ll be difficult alone even. But if I can’t because I’m
nervous being so close to the door, don’t be surprised if I sneak into your room.”
Smiling, Levi stands and offers me his hand. “Sounds good. The bed’s set up. Try not to
let the excitement of starting your new, safe life keep you up all night.” I grin and allow him to
help me stand.