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Authors: Jennifer Labelle
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pounding.” The man took a step back. “So I just thought I’d check in before the police got here.”
“Police?” Their father’s face changed almost instantly. He was still mad, but he clearly wasn’t out for blood anymore. “Shit!” He looked at them. “I don’t want to go back to jail, you hear me?” He slammed the door in the neighbor’s face and folded his arms, standing in front of it. “Now watch what you say to them, and help me clean this place up a bit before they get here.”
Not wanting to press their luck, they did as he asked, and the three of them scrambled to pick up the broken pieces.
It wasn’t long before the police showed up and separated them. Three cops drilled Christian inside the apartment and another took the girls outside for questioning so his presence wouldn’t intimidate them.
“Can you tell me your version of the events?” the officer asked.
Chrystal nodded. “The window got broken and he got really upset.” She pointed toward the townhouse behind them and swallowed nervously.
“Okay,” the cop said, “can you tell me how the window got broken to set him off like that?”
Holly shrugged and stuck to the same story. “We’re not sure. Someone broke the window last night while we were home, so we called our dad at his girlfriend’s house, feeling a little freaked out. He got here early this morning angry about it.” They stayed vague. That’s what they’d been taught to do, especially when it came to the police.
“And what happened after he got angry?”
“It got loud. I’m sure the neighbor can vouch for that.”
“The neighbor also said he looked like he was out to kill. I think he almost wet his pants.” The cop looked at Holly’s arm, which was still red thanks to the ashtray Christian had thrown, and then at her chest, which still had a bruise from Chrystal’s purple-nurple punishment the night before.
That’s what I get for wearing a short sleeve V-neck. Holly turned away and fidgeted to cover her arm. “We did say he was angry,” she whispered.
“Okay.” The officer nodded and jotted down a few more notes on his pad. “You both look relatively unharmed and don’t seem to want to press any charges, so there isn’t much more we can do. Do you have a safe place you can go to for a while? I think it’ll be in the best interest of everyone to let him cool down for a day or two, don’t you?” He lifted his chin toward the house and gave them a sympathetic look.
The girls looked at each other for a moment before agreeing with a yes in answer to his question.
The officer escorted them both inside to pack a few belongings, and only left them when they were safely on their way to the bus stop. Neither planned on going back to their father’s, so they were on their own again.
***
They ended up back on the other side of town where they’d grown up and stayed with their friends, Janet and Nadia, until Christian chilled out enough to find them again. Moving in with Christian had been a big mistake, but they’d been vulnerable and stupidly hoping he would love them enough to change now that their mother was gone. It was also a chance for the sisters to be together again because Chrystal was set on not returning to Karen’s.
About a week later during the World Series game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, their dad finally made an appearance for a so-called “heart-to-heart talk.”
“Hey, can you give me a minute?” Christian motioned to the kitchen as their friends’ mother Darla gave them her permission to talk there. They sat down at the table and waited while he paced the floor. “I’ve been doing some thinking this past week, and I’ve decided… shit.” He cleared his throat. “I think it’s best that you don’t come back. The other day proved to me that you deserve better than what I could give you, and honestly, I’m just not sure I can do it anymore.”
“But you were never there
“Police?” Their father’s face changed almost instantly. He was still mad, but he clearly wasn’t out for blood anymore. “Shit!” He looked at them. “I don’t want to go back to jail, you hear me?” He slammed the door in the neighbor’s face and folded his arms, standing in front of it. “Now watch what you say to them, and help me clean this place up a bit before they get here.”
Not wanting to press their luck, they did as he asked, and the three of them scrambled to pick up the broken pieces.
It wasn’t long before the police showed up and separated them. Three cops drilled Christian inside the apartment and another took the girls outside for questioning so his presence wouldn’t intimidate them.
“Can you tell me your version of the events?” the officer asked.
Chrystal nodded. “The window got broken and he got really upset.” She pointed toward the townhouse behind them and swallowed nervously.
“Okay,” the cop said, “can you tell me how the window got broken to set him off like that?”
Holly shrugged and stuck to the same story. “We’re not sure. Someone broke the window last night while we were home, so we called our dad at his girlfriend’s house, feeling a little freaked out. He got here early this morning angry about it.” They stayed vague. That’s what they’d been taught to do, especially when it came to the police.
“And what happened after he got angry?”
“It got loud. I’m sure the neighbor can vouch for that.”
“The neighbor also said he looked like he was out to kill. I think he almost wet his pants.” The cop looked at Holly’s arm, which was still red thanks to the ashtray Christian had thrown, and then at her chest, which still had a bruise from Chrystal’s purple-nurple punishment the night before.
That’s what I get for wearing a short sleeve V-neck. Holly turned away and fidgeted to cover her arm. “We did say he was angry,” she whispered.
“Okay.” The officer nodded and jotted down a few more notes on his pad. “You both look relatively unharmed and don’t seem to want to press any charges, so there isn’t much more we can do. Do you have a safe place you can go to for a while? I think it’ll be in the best interest of everyone to let him cool down for a day or two, don’t you?” He lifted his chin toward the house and gave them a sympathetic look.
The girls looked at each other for a moment before agreeing with a yes in answer to his question.
The officer escorted them both inside to pack a few belongings, and only left them when they were safely on their way to the bus stop. Neither planned on going back to their father’s, so they were on their own again.
***
They ended up back on the other side of town where they’d grown up and stayed with their friends, Janet and Nadia, until Christian chilled out enough to find them again. Moving in with Christian had been a big mistake, but they’d been vulnerable and stupidly hoping he would love them enough to change now that their mother was gone. It was also a chance for the sisters to be together again because Chrystal was set on not returning to Karen’s.
About a week later during the World Series game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, their dad finally made an appearance for a so-called “heart-to-heart talk.”
“Hey, can you give me a minute?” Christian motioned to the kitchen as their friends’ mother Darla gave them her permission to talk there. They sat down at the table and waited while he paced the floor. “I’ve been doing some thinking this past week, and I’ve decided… shit.” He cleared his throat. “I think it’s best that you don’t come back. The other day proved to me that you deserve better than what I could give you, and honestly, I’m just not sure I can do it anymore.”
“But you were never there
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