10. CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 10
ETHAN
M om was quiet on the way back from the hospital after surgery. Last week after we left the ER, we were told I would need pins put in my hand to correct the broken bones but some of the swelling had to go down first. Today, they put screws in my second and third fingers and did something to my knuckle joints, then put my entire hand in a cast to immobilize it. It looks freaky because there are two pins sticking out through my exposed fingertips.
Also, whatever they gave me to knock me out—mixed with the pain meds—has me giggling at everything as I lay on the couch.
Giggling … which reminds me of my best friend, who I haven’t seen since Axel attacked her. It’s a good thing he lived. I mean, it would be great if he were dead, but I don’t want to have to live with being a killer. The police said he stayed at the hospital for a few days so the doctors could monitor his head wound and swelling, and then he was taken into custody and charged with assault of a minor. Since Lena didn’t post bail, he will be in the county jail until his court date, which is in a few weeks.
I hope they lock the bastard up forever. That way Ari and Lena can live in peace. Not that Lena is Mother of the Year, but at least she doesn’t hurt Ari.
Lena showed up at the hospital after checking in on Axel. I wish it were unbelievable that she went to him first, but it’s not.
After being discharged, Ari went into foster care. Because of what she reported to the police, she can’t go back to the household—even though Axel isn’t there—until all the claims are investigated. Lena has gone to visit Ari several times, or so she says, and told my mom the foster family is really nice.
I never got to say goodbye. It’s been a week since I’ve last seen or communicated with Ari, and I am sad to my core. Lost. Heartbroken. It seems like such a lame way to describe how out of my mind I am since I can’t text, talk with, or see my absolute best friend in this whole world. And not knowing what she’s doing or where she is, or if she’s sad, too.
“So,” Mom’s voice pulls me from my thoughts as I look out the living room window, “the doctor said it will take a while, but you will have full use of your hand once it heals. I also talked to the athletic director at the school and he said the college isn’t going to pull its scholarship. Instead, it will defer the offer a year so you can still play college ball your sophomore, junior, and senior years.”
“You say that as if I was fully committed to going away for school. I’m still thinking about going to community college here.”
Mom clears her throat and comes to stand closer to me, arms folded across her chest. “Actually, you are committed.” My eyes shoot to hers. “I called the school and made the deposit this week.”
“What?” I straighten up on the couch. “That wasn’t your decision to make.”
“Ethan—”
“No, Mom! What if I don’t want to go? What if I want to stay here?”
“You can’t stay here.”
“Of course I can! I can go to night classes and work during the day.”
“We’re moving,” Mom interrupts me, and it takes me a second to process.
“Who’s moving? Me? Why would I pay for campus housing when we live so close?”
“No.” Mom sits on the edge of the couch and puts a hand on my leg, which I brush off. “ We’re moving. All of us. I called the landlord and told him we’re leaving at the end of the month. Your father found another house to rent on the other side of the city. It’s a nice neighborhood. He and I will live there while you go to college.” I start to protest, but she just continues. “You’ll have your own bedroom for when you come back on summer break, for holidays or long weekends or whatever.”
“No!” I jump up, cradling my bad hand to my chest. “I don’t want to move to a different house!”
“Ethan, honey, calm down.”
“No! You can’t just make these decisions for all of us!”
“We’re not going to stay living next to that monster!” She matches my anger and stands as well.
“He’s in jail!”
“He’ll be out next month!” I take a step back. “The police said there isn’t enough evidence to keep him behind bars since Ari never reported the abuse, and there isn’t any documentation of abuse at the hospital or with DSS. And,” Mom stops and swallows before she says the next part, “she later denied the things she told the officer. Since you and your father weren’t being charged with assault, she recanted. They are keeping Axel locked up as long as they can, but he will inevitably be released. And we are not going to live here as long as he is next door.”
My skin breaks out in a sweat. “What about Ari? They aren’t going to let her live with him, right?”
No answer.
“They can’t!” I choke on the last word. “I’ll tell them! I’ll tell the police all the times I’ve seen him hit her through the window. All the times she had bruises, and … and …” Mom slowly steps toward me but I back away. “We can’t leave, Mom! We can’t leave Ari here by herself with him. She can stay with us! She can have my bedroom and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“Ethan, listen to me.” Mom tries to calm me as I shake my head, my mind going a mile a minute. “Ethan James, look at me.” My eyes finally come up to hers. “That girl is in love with you, and as long as we stay here”—Mom points at the floor—“she will stay there”—she points out the window. “Even if you go to college, she will wait for you to come back for Christmas, or summer, and she will endure his abuse.”
Gasping for breath, my mind wraps around the truth as Mom’s arms wrap around me. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. She will be alright. She just has to find her way. Hopefully she’ll reconsider what she told the police and come clean about Axel. Maybe she’ll go back into foster care. Maybe she and Lena will move into their own place.” Mom pulls away and takes my face in her hands. “But, honey, we can’t save her. You can’t save her. She has to save herself.”
“But she’s only—”
“She’s a young woman, Ethan. She’s not a child anymore. You, above all people, know that.” Mom gives me a knowing look. “She is strong. We have to let her be strong.”
I wipe the snot from my nose with the back of my good hand. “Will I see her again before we move?”
Mom shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”
I pull away from her and go to sit on the couch, leaning my head against the back of it. Mom shuffles her feet in front of me. “Honey, there’s a whole world out there that is much better than this. Much better than the world you’ve seen and been living in all these years. It’s time you go and explore it.”
The problem is, I don’t want to live in a world where Ari doesn’t exist.