Chapter 2 - Broken Glass and Cold Pavement
I didn’t look back again. I slammed the heavy oak door shut behind us, the sound echoing like a gunshot through the quiet suburban cul-de-sac. The cold night air hit us instantly, cutting through the stifling, hypocritical warmth of my parents’ home. Lily was trembling so violently in my arms that I could feel her heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
"I got you, baby. You’re safe," I whispered into her hair, my voice shaking with a dangerous mixture of rage and terror.
I scrambled down the concrete steps, my shoes crunching on the loose driveway gravel. In the rearview mirror of my sedan, I saw the front door swing open again. My dad stormed out onto the porch, his face twisted in unbridled fury, shouting obscenities into the dark. Behind him, Sarah stood framed by the golden hallway light, dabbing at her swelling jaw with a linen napkin.
I unlocked the sedan with fumbling fingers, placed Lily gently into her car seat, and buckled her harness tight. Her little tear-streaked face looked so small, so fragile against the dark leather.
"Daddy... is Aunt Sarah mad at me?" she sobbed, her voice barely audible over the hum of the cooling exhaust.
"No, sweetheart. She’s not mad at you," I said softly, gently brushing back her dark curls. "She was wrong. Everyone in that house was wrong."
I slammed the back door, rounded the hood, and threw myself into the driver’s seat. I shoved the gear shift into reverse just as my father reached the edge of the driveway, his fists slamming against my hood. I backed out fast, the tires screeching on the asphalt, leaving him choking on exhaust smoke in the dark.
As I drove into the safety of the night, my phone on the dashboard began to buzz relentlessly. The screen lit up with call after call from my mother, followed by rapid-fire text messages from Sarah and David.
May you like
“You ruined the party.” “You’re a monster for hitting your sister.” “Bring her back and apologize or Dad is calling the police.”
I glanced in the mirror at Lily, who was already drifting into an exhausted sleep, her injured little arms resting in her lap. I reached out, turned off my phone, and plunged us into absolute, safe silence. The war had just begun, but tonight, my daughter was away from the wolves.
