Chapter 10
Casey
Shaw and I kept running until we reached a vacant park.
All the kids' swings were destroyed, with the seats ripped up or the chains tangled in knots so bad, no kid could untie them for use.
The slide was covered in graffiti, and I could see used needles scattering the ground beneath the jungle gym.
I wearily sagged against the trunk of a large maple, its branches bare and clawed as they loomed overhead.
My breath was coming out in white clouds, and I shivered as a cold breeze ripped through me.
My jacket was still in my locker at school, so all I had on was my cardigan for warmth
When I finally caught my breath, I looked up to see Shaw standing there, hands in his pockets, looking completely calm and casual, as if we hadn’t just been running from a gang brawl.
He was not even out of breath. He just stood there like a statue, his blue eyes observing me, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He just seemed… bored .
“What the hell was that back there?” I gasped finally, straightening up to look at him.
“Come on, we gotta put some distance between the school and us.” He grabbed my hand, ignoring my question, and urged me to continue running.
I was about to argue when the sound of sirens coming up the street, heading to the school, promptly shut me up.
Enough kids had disappeared by the time Shaw and I had left, which meant either they’d been dragged into the office, or they’d made a run for it.
Which meant the Jackals were probably roaming the streets with us.
We needed to get somewhere safe. So I followed him, taking back roads and alleys until we were on my street, heading right to my townhouse.
“How the he-” I was about to ask him how the hell he knew where I lived when I remembered… Lee . He’d escorted me home just last week. Of course, he told the others where I lived.
Shaw stopped beside the steps to my front door and glanced down at me. As usual, he was hiding in an oversized, dark hoodie, his face shadowed and terrifying, yet beautiful all at once, and rasped, “Go in, get what you need to spend the night at Meredith’s, and I’ll bring you there.”
“How did you know-”
“Just do it, Casey.” He released me and moved around to stand at the corner of my house, semi-shielded by the garbage cans and green bags of trash piled there.
I hurried up the steps, the urgency in his tone scaring me a little.
That, and the fact that I saw him basically smash some chick’s head into a stone wall, had me questioning a lot about Shaw at the moment.
I reached into my bag, which had been slung crossbody on me this entire time, and found my keys.
Nervously, I unlocked the door’s several locks and walked in as quietly as I could.
I was home early, and I had no idea if Keith was up, and if he was, what sort of mood he’d be in.
Blissfully, when I stepped inside, he was passed out on the sofa, an empty bottle of God knows what on the floor close by.
As softly as I could, I tip-toed up the stairs, as I did my best to avoid the creaky boards as much as possible.
I grabbed my black duffle bag in my room and shoved some clothes, my school bag with my textbooks and stuff, my laptop and phone charger inside, zipped it up, and then grabbed a thicker, white fleece to wear over my cardigan.
I’d been walking carefully down the stairs when I heard Keith’s growly voice rumbling, “Where the hell are you going? And why are you not in school?”
I groaned and now thudded down the steps. Like this asshole really cared about my education. “There was a fight at school, and afternoon classes were cancelled,” I added, the lie coming easily.
“Where the hell are you going?” Keith glared at me from the living room where he’d been stirring on the sofa.
“I’m babysitting tonight,” I told him.
“For who?”
“A girl at school.”
He made another snorting sound that sickened me and muttered, “Fucking sluts…”
At once, my anger reached its boiling point in seconds, and I couldn’t hold back as I took a seat on the stairs so that I could get my shoes on.
I may not have been best buddies with Meredith, but I hated the way he was painting her this way, when she’d been one of the few kind people I’d met here and liked.
“At least she takes care of her kid. And who are you to cast judgement on anyone, anyway?” I glanced over at him, disgusted just at the sight of him.
“At least she cares for her kid and looks after her even while she tries to finish high school. She could have dropped out, but she didn’t.
She wants to earn her diploma. Are you really going to stand there and insult her when she’s working her ass off so she can have a better life? ”
His face reddened, and he slammed his fists onto the coffee table and got to his feet. “Are you going to get knocked up now, too? Is that your plan, Casey?”
“Oh yes, that’s what I want to do. Life goals, get preggers and sit at home all day watching daytime TV.” I shook my head at the ridiculous statement and quickly finished tying my laces. “You fucking know nothing about me…” I muttered under my breath.
He shoved the coffee table aside, making it flip and sending several empty beer bottles crashing to the opposite wall, and stomped toward me.
“What the fuck was that?” he screamed, spittle flying from his lip as he approached.
I shrank back, shocked by the sudden fury in his pale eyes.
“You never talk back to me. Ever!” He reached out as if to grab me, and I made a break for it, grabbing my bag and lunging for the door.
I flung the door open and ran out just as he grabbed the back of my sweater.
He yanked me and sent me flying back into the house, but he was so drunk he stumbled when he slammed the front door closed.
I tripped when he threw me back and fell to the floor, but I quickly rolled to the side and ran for the back door, which sat to the side of the kitchen.
I flung open those locks as he staggered after me, howling and swearing as he threatened me not to leave.
I was seconds away from flinging the door open when I felt a hand wrap around the nape of my neck before viscously ripping me back.
Keith threw me to the floor where I sprawled, but it only took a second before he was crouched over me, hand over my throat keeping me in place.
“You’re a fucking liar, just like your mother…” he breathed, his breath reeking of booze. I gagged at the smell and squirmed, twisting my legs in an attempt to free myself. “Just another lying, cheating-”
“Mom met Matthew years after she left your sorry ass!” I shouted into his face. At my words, his hand flexed, squeezing around my windpipe, and raised his free hand high into the air, fist clenched, ready to strike.
But before he could…
Crash!
We were both shocked to see Shaw come running inside, taking in the scene before him.
Guess Keith had forgotten his own rule… lock the door behind you.
Upon seeing Shaw standing there, he started shouting, “Who the fuck are you? Get the fuck out of my house or I’ll call the police!
” His hold on me had relaxed, and I immediately tried to twist away, only to have him grip me even harder before slamming my head back into the floorboards.
It wasn’t the crazed, drunken look in Keith’s eyes that scared me.
It was Shaw’s reaction to seeing us this way, with my father crouched over my body, his hold choking me slightly, with me clawing at his hands to free myself.
That dead look he carried ever since I saw him again shifted, his chin dropping, and the shadows around his eyes were growing.
He stood there, as still as death for several seconds, and then, something changed.
He shifted, his eyes going wide, looking slightly crazed before he moved, coming at us so quickly, neither Keith nor I were prepared for it.
One second, Shaw was standing in the doorway, and the next, he had thrown himself at Keith, both of them falling to the side and down the hall.
I gasped as I sat up, catching my breath, and got to my feet, turning to see Shaw holding my father in the exact same way I’d just been restrained.
Both of Shaw’s hands were wrapped around Keith’s throat.
His pale eyes were bulging, spittle covering his blubbery-looking lips.
He reached up, trying in vain to strike at his attacker's face, but Shaw had pulled back just enough to stay out of reach.
Shaw had a look of insanity, with the way his eyes widened and how his mouth twisted as his teeth clenched tightly together, his arms shaking as he squeezed so hard, my dad began to turn purple.
“Shaw, stop!” I rushed over and pulled at one of his arms, but he didn’t budge.
He didn’t even acknowledge me. It was like he was lost in some dark spell, and no rhyme or reason could reach him.
“Shaw!” I shouted in his face as I tried to pry his fingers free.
To my relief, one hand did retract, but all he did was reach beneath his overly large hoodie and seized something strapped to his side.
When he raised his hand high over his head, I saw the black Honshu Karambit blade clenched tight in his fist. As a kid, Shaw had expressed an interest in knives the summer before I left, and he always seemed to favour this terrifying, cruel-looking, curved blade.