Part 7 (2/2)

”ROGER's. .h.i.t Lacey before,” Bro admitted reluctantly, miserable down to his soul as he sat on the living room couch. Bradley sat opposite him, on the coffee table of all places. ”She didn't tell me. She just hid it from me and the world with concealer and lies.” hit Lacey before,” Bro admitted reluctantly, miserable down to his soul as he sat on the living room couch. Bradley sat opposite him, on the coffee table of all places. ”She didn't tell me. She just hid it from me and the world with concealer and lies.”

”Oh, come on, Bro.” Bradley sounded annoyed and reproachful. ”Give her a break. You know it's not easy to talk about stuff like that. To say out loud how you've been victimized by someone you've trusted. It's hard to shake off that sense of shame. Especially if one's a guy, and the one doing the hurting is a parent.”

”Yeah, I know that. Jesus f.u.c.king Christ.” Bro cursed a blue streak, ran a hand through his hair harshly, and muttered, ”It's just that.... Well, me and Lacey. We're the same, you know. We both have lost a parent-her mom and my dad-and the surviving parental unit hates our guts with a vengeance. Sure, my mom's a cold-hearted b.i.t.c.h with ice water running through her veins, while Lacey's dad is a raving lunatic all fired up by booze and bigotry. I mean, Lacey and me, we come from a similar situation. Did she think I couldn't understand, or sympathize, or accept that bad s.h.i.+t happens. Why couldn't she trust me?”

”f.u.c.k, Bro.” Bradley's typically level tone dropped to a dangerous low, and his eyes blazed with irritation as he shook his head. ”What the f.u.c.k does it take to get through to you, pal? This has nothing to do with trust, let alone you. You know Lacey adores your sorry a.s.s. But these things are so d.a.m.n hard to address, to talk about, to confront. Despite what the shrinks say. Who knows? Maybe she thought it was an isolated incident-”

Bro snorted loudly. ”Yeah, right!” Bradley's patience rarely waned, but Bro had a feeling he was testing his best friend's limits.

”Look,” Bradley argued. ”A child instinctively trusts his or her parents, wants to believe in them, trusts them even after some seriously f.u.c.ked-up s.h.i.+t. Or maybe Lacey just needed a breather, some time to decompress, to try and figure it out, to process by herself. And you sure as h.e.l.l can't blame her for that, dips.h.i.+t.”

Never one to back down from a fight but not one to hide from the truth either, Bro nodded slowly. He felt too weary to think clearly but knew his best friend had a point. No, more than a point. Bradley was more insightful and wise about this than Bro, who couldn't separate his raging emotions from his failing logic. ”I guess....”

Bradley sighed, clasping his hands together between his splayed knees as if praying for patience. ”Geez, Bro. You gotta cut her some slack, man. Ease up. She doesn't need the added stress of you wigging out on her right now.”

It wasn't like Bro didn't know his best friend had him dead to rights. He wanted so badly to be there for Lacey, but he also felt like nothing he did was going to be enough. ”I know that, man. I swear I do. It's just... I feel so f.u.c.king helpless, you know? So useless-”

”That's bulls.h.i.+t,” Bradley countered, all but growling. ”Grow a set, why don't you?”

If only it had been that simple, Bro thought. To just man up, give Lacey his support and time and strength. But there were all these other feelings inside him, raw and primal, urging him to fix this problem for good.

”I... I want to kill him.” His confession tore through his conscience, eating him alive, cutting a sliver of his innate goodness from him.

Bradley reared back, stunned, his eyes wide, blinking. ”Jesus, Bro.... No.”

Laughing bitterly, Bro felt these compulsions festering inside him. ”I see it in my head, you know. I see myself doing it, hurting him good, making him pay-”

Bradley grabbed Bro's trembling hand, then squeezed it hard. ”You absolutely cannot go down that road, brother. You do that, and you lose everything. I mean all of it. Your family, friends, your future, freedom-and Lacey.”

”I know.” Bro closed his eyes, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat, his chest constricted with the weight of utter desperation within. ”I can't do it. I know I can't, and I shouldn't. And I'm not even saying I'm gonna.... But it's there, you know, inside. Like a f.u.c.king cancer, eating at me.” Bro wanted to cry, to scream, to hit, to tear apart, to run, to fight. Yet he simply sat there on the couch, feeling lost and exposed, like a raw nerve, unable to s.h.i.+eld himself from the attacks from the outside world, from adults who knew nothing but their own cruelty. ”I hate that I have all this rage inside me-”

”We're her friends too, Bro,” Bradley reminded him, steering his storming emotions toward a place of calm. ”Me and Audrey, we feel the same way. We want to stop that a.s.shole too. We want to see him go down, unable to ever get up from the mud. We want him to end up behind bars, never to emerge back into the light of day. But... Lacey doesn't need stupid heroics right now. She needs stability and serenity.”

”Yeah, I f.u.c.king know that, all right?” Bro all but yelled. Glancing over his shoulder into the hallway where the door to his room remained closed, he took a steadying breath. ”I'm trying to bury these thoughts and feelings as deep down as I can, but it's so f.u.c.king hard. Especially when I see how sad and broken and lonely she is. I don't want her to suffer anymore.”

”Neither do we, brother.” Bradley was once again in charge, his cool demeanor a pool of tranquility for Bro. ”We'll stick together, yeah? Return to normalcy. Rea.s.sure both her and you this whole sordid business is not the end. Can you do that, man? You gotta step up to the plate on this one.”

Bro had no doubt in his mind his best friend was absolutely correct. If he had any hope of getting Lacey out of the emotional and physical swamp she was mired in, he had to keep a cool head.

”f.u.c.k, man. I gotta get this under control. I gotta rise up above it.” He nodded to himself, and Bradley's touch helped ground him to reality. ”I gotta be there for Lacey. So, yeah. I will try to let this rage go and just... just be normal and soothing for her. Yeah.” Then his gaze found Bradley's. His best friend smiled encouragingly and nodded as well, agreeing and offering support. ”I'll best these instincts before they ruin my relations.h.i.+p with Lacey, or my sanity, whichever comes first. I promise.”

Bradley smiled, relieved. ”I know you will, brother.”

Just as he let go of Bro's arm, the front door opened and brought Jordan, Kevin, and Sebastian into the loft. As Bro got up, he saw their grim faces and knew they were the bearers of bad news.

”f.u.c.k!” he cursed, and for once Sebastian didn't reproach him for his outburst.

Right then the bedroom door opened, and side by side, Lacey and Audrey came out, apparently having heard people arriving. While Audrey looked confident in her expectations, Lacey appeared more hesitant, nervous. Yet Lacey didn't seek out anyone but Bro, who unfortunately couldn't keep the frustrated disappointment from his expression.

Her hand flew up to her mouth, but this time not to cover up a smile. ”Oh no....”

Before the gasp left her lips, Bro was at her side, embracing her steadfastly. ”He's not gonna get away, babe. I promise you.”

Jordan stepped forward, his face schooled to neutrality. But from the corner of his eye, Bro could see he was less calm than he appeared. He said only one thing, and Bro felt his stomach plummet so far down it might as well be buried underground.

”Roger's done a runner.”

Chapter 8.

”YOU okay there, Lace?” okay there, Lace?”

Audrey's concerned voice reached Lacey in the depths of her depressing thoughts, and she jerked back to full awareness. ”I'm fine... ish.”

She sighed, staring out across the high school football field as they sat side by side in the bleachers, spring whipping cool air their way and rustling the trees around the field. Football practice hadn't started yet, so they were waiting for the team to arrive from the locker room. They would cheer the boys on. Lacey was eager to see Bro back in the game, even if this wasn't a real compet.i.tion like the games in the fall.

Audrey took her hand, interlacing their fingers. ”I'm here for you, Lace. Whenever you need.”

Smiling, Lacey b.u.mped her best friend with her shoulder. ”Thanks.”

”You're not going to end up in the system, are you?” Audrey's voice had dipped low in the register, concerned.

Lacey shrugged, uncertain. ”Jordan, Kevin, and Sebastian talked about a lot of things with me yesterday. Jordan got a temporary order of protection for me from a judge who is sympathetic to victims of domestic abuse.” She shuddered, realizing from now on she too would be another number on a case file, a statistic, one in a million, a drop in the ocean, a new gear in the relentless, merciless machine.

”That's good, at least.” Audrey's hand never left hers.

”The temporary protection order is only valid for two weeks, but considering how my dad is, another one will probably need to be filed sooner rather than later.” Lacey repeated Jordan's words, having heard them many times last night, feeling both safe and vulnerable at the same time. Could she trust the system to help her?

”What happens then?”

”My situation is reviewed by family court. If they decide Dad's done nothing wrong, I could end up back with him.”

Audrey shook her head, her lips a thin, angry line. ”No f.u.c.king way, Lace. We'll put a stop to him. He's never gonna hit you again. What else did they say?”

Lacey sighed wearily. ”I don't know. A lot. Too much really. They spoke about the age of majority in Was.h.i.+ngton DC, and emanc.i.p.ation of a minor, and domestic violence support groups, and.... Well, I guess they wanted me to know there are options for me. That regardless of what my dad does, or if the civil protection order is continued or not, I won't be discarded or dismissed. That I will have other opportunities to fight my dad's custody of me, especially if he continues to... to hurt me again.”

”It's good to have options,” Audrey agreed with an encouraging smile.

”Yeah. Legal protection and... and all of you by my side.” Lacey glanced bashfully at Audrey, who nodded and chuckled, b.u.mping her arm against Lacey's shoulder.

”You know...,” Audrey started, dragging out the words. Lacey looked at her funny, and Audrey smirked, apparently in an effort to lighten up the mood, which was a welcome gesture in Lacey's mind. ”What happened between you and Bro before me and Bradley got there? 'Cause I can tell something did.” She leaned closer, whispering, ”You know I won't tell anyone.”

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