Push and Shove: The Ghost Bird Series: #6 (The Academy) (37 page)

Nathan sighed and then turned the car to pull into the driveway. “Let’s make it quick. I don’t like going in when I don’t know where he’s gone or how long he’s going to be.”

When Nathan stopped the car, Gabriel jumped out, fishing his keys from his pocket and unlocking the front door.

Luke and I started to follow. Nathan put a hand over and snagged my elbow.

“Nuh-uh,” he said. “You should stay out here.”

For a moment, I blinked at him, surprised that he’d said something to me when he had spent most of the night avoiding me. “Can’t we go in and help?” I asked.

Nathan started to shake his head but Luke eased Nathan’s grip from my arm. “Let’s all go in,” he said. “It’ll make it faster. Open the back. Sang, you go snag any clothes you want. I’ll grab the Xbox. Nathan, you help Gabriel grab what he wants and we’ll meet back here. We’ll dump everything in and head to Sang’s.”

Nathan’s mouth tightened, but he nodded.

I made sure to hurry. I didn’t want to be there any longer than necessary.

Walking was difficult with sore legs, but I found some energy in knowing this was the last stop before I could curl up in bed.

Nathan’s bedroom was dark so I flicked the light switch. His bed had been made up with the maroon blanket. His stereo on his dresser was silent and the CDs that had once been stacked next to it had disappeared. A weight set in the corner was in line from largest to smallest barbells. The scent of cleaners filled my nose. It caught my attention because Nathan was never this neat when he was relaxed. He wasn’t dirty, but I couldn’t imagine having to be this neat and tidy. My stepmother had been a stickler for clean, but not this nitpicky.

I stared at my clothes tucked away in the back of Nathan’s closet. I scooted a few hangers over, dawdling, tired having no idea what I needed.

I found a particular set of clothes sitting on top of the shelf inside. These had been folded and set into a neat stack; jeans, tops, skirts, and hoodies. There were even a few pairs of pajamas sitting there. Did Gabriel do this at some point, leaving them so I’d know which ones to grab quickly? It seemed likely. The top shirt still had a tag on it. Perhaps he was trying to hint that I needed to wear some variety.

“Sang?” Luke called from the kitchen.

I grabbed the clothes and followed Luke’s voice to the kitchen.

Luke stood with a box under one arm. He held the box out, encouraging me to place the clothes into it. “Did you grab enough?” he asked.

“I think so,” I said. “Gabriel set them out.”

Luke nodded, not seeming too surprised by this. “Do me a favor? There’s a couple of kits below the sink in the bathroom. Go grab the ones that have mine and Gabriel’s name on them.”

I nodded and went for the bathroom. I locked the door to quickly use the restroom and wash up. After, I opened the cabinets, along the back there was a line of blue zipped pouches. I hadn’t noticed them before, but then I didn’t really go poking around in Nathan’s bathroom.

I pulled one out, spotting Silas’s name written in black marker across the top. I put that one back and shifted through the others looking for Luke’s and Gabriel’s.

A door slammed deeper in the house. I stilled, listening.

Footsteps. A muffled voice. Other voices started up. I could hear Gabriel, but then he quieted. Were they just being noisy?

I ducked my head under the sink, reaching for Gabriel’s pack when a loud boom erupted against the bathroom door, causing it to vibrate against the frame.

“Who the fuck’s in there, then?” Mr. Griffin bellowed.

Startled, I cracked my head on the wood of the cabinet. I gripped the packs to my chest, staying absolutely still, afraid to make any noise.

The doorknob rattled hard.

“Stop that,” Nathan said. “No one’s in there.”

“The door’s locked. Someone’s in there.”

“I must have locked it by accident.”

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” Mr. Griffin bellowed. “I’m not an idiot. Get those two dingbats out of my house.”

“We’re leaving.”

“You, son, are not leaving. You’re going to stay here and clean up this hell hole.” The whole door shook, like he was trying to jerk it off the hinge.

I had to get out without him seeing me. I needed a place to hide before he opened the door. I scanned the room. The window was pretty high off the ground and had a screen behind it. I wouldn’t be able to open it without making a lot of noise. The closet would have been an easy option, or hiding in the tub, but way too obvious if he did break in.

I was already halfway under the cabinet. I tried easing my way in. My muscles contracted with soreness and pain. I squeezed in as quietly as I could, backing in and crouching on all fours.

When I was hidden, I couldn’t hear as well. More shouting. The door rattled again. I closed the cabinet, leaving just a sliver of space to watch out. My heart thundered loudly in my ears. I clutched to the piping and the wall so I didn’t knock anything over inside.

The shouting intensified. The pounding at the door increased.

My phone buzzed to life in my bra. I slipped it out.

Luke: Where are you?

I was going to send a quick text, but before I could type out a message, there was a bang and the floor shook. The bathroom door splintered open, slamming up against the closet on the other side.

I shrunk back from the lean sliver of light, trying to make myself as small as possible. I covered the phone and typed a quick message, hitting send to let Luke know where I was and then curled up as tight as I could, trying to be invisible.

There was a quiet moment, and I guessed Mr. Griffin may have been piecing together that perhaps Nathan was right and it had been locked by accident.

“See, dad?” Nathan sounded like he was in the hallway. “I told you it was...”

“You’re full of shit. A girl’s been in here. I can smell her.” The doors were knocked together and he opened the closet. He closed it again. His legs stepped out of my view deeper into the bathroom.

Nathan’s jean-clad legs moved forward, and then my sliver of light disappeared as he leaned against the cabinet. I imagined he guessed where I was hiding.

“No one’s in here,” Nathan said. “But get out and I’ll start cleaning up. And you messed up the door.”

There was a rough slip of noise like the towels being ripped off the rack. There was a smack and clanking, like the shower bar had been torn down and landed in the tub.

“Dad!” Nathan shouted.

“Look at this,” Mr. Griffin bellowed. “When’s the last time you even cleaned in here? The tub is disgusting and there’s shampoos piled in here. How many of those friends of yours show up and stay here while I’m gone?”

“Only once in a while,” Nathan said.

“And that girl—“

“She’s not been back.”

A smacking sound erupted, like he’d slapped Nathan on the side of the head. “Stop interrupting me.”

“Get out and I’ll clean up.”

“Why are you standing in front of the counter like that?”

“I’m trying to—“

There was a shove, and the cabinet door was yanked open.

Nathan rushed at his father. Mr. Griffin stepped back.

“I’m tired of this!” Nathan shouted. “Stop shoving me around.”

“You fucking little shit!” Mr. Griffin marched forward. “You think you can just push me over?” Another smack. Harder this time. “Your little friends ran off—“

“Nathan!” Gabriel’s voice came from what sounded like the kitchen.

“I told you fuckers to get out of my goddamn house!” Mr. Griffin bellowed.

“If we leave,” Luke said, sounding like he was right there, “we’re taking Nathan with us. Stop hitting him.”

Silence settled thickly over the space. My heart echoed in my ears. I held my breath, waiting. Inside, I was warmed by the thought of Luke and Gabriel sticking up for Nathan. My eyes watered up thinking of them. More of a family than his own father.

I couldn’t see his mood, but if Mr. Griffin didn’t like his own son to tell him what to do, I couldn’t imagine him listening to Gabriel or Luke.

Suddenly, crashes and clatters filled the room, like he’d swiped across the counter and knocked everything off. “Fuck you, little shits. Nathan’s staying—“

“He’s leaving,” Gabriel said louder. “And he’s coming with us. You need to back off. If you keep hitting him, you’re the only one who is going to get hurt.”

I heard something like a snarl. Mr. Griffin shouted, erupting with a string of curses and insults. Another smack, hard, followed by another and then another. He was pummeling Nathan.

I could only see their legs, but at first, Nathan didn’t move. He was going to stand and take the abuse? Like last time? I stuffed my fingers toward my mouth before I could say something. I wanted him to do something. Luke, or Gabriel... they had to make this stop.

And suddenly Nathan’s leg came up, making contact with his father’s shin.

Mr. Griffin faltered, howling in pain. He launched himself again at Nathan.

This time, Nathan moved quickly, his training and instincts finally kicking in. There was some grunting and then another sound, a thud.

I gasped, backing up until I knocked my elbows against the back of the cabinet.

“Oh shit,” Gabriel said. “You knocked him out.”

Nathan ducked his head down, finding me under the sink.

“Sang!” he called out. He reached in, grabbing my forearm and tugged gently. “Sweetie.”

I’d been holding my breath and finally released it. There had been no escape for me and all I could do was cower in terror. I let Nathan help me climb out. The moment I was next to him, he pulled me into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cracking.

Why was he apologizing to me? I tried to look over his shoulder. His father was on his back, slumped against the wall, and half of his body was on top a now broken toilet, jarred out of place from the wall and floor. The pipe was misaligned, and water flowed as the toilet tried to refill itself.

I rubbed Nathan’s back gently, trying to understand why he was saying sorry to me. Maybe he needed the hug more than I did. “Are you okay?” I asked.

He sucked in a breath near my neck. I wasn’t sure he was going to answer. I was afraid to touch anywhere else. Where had his father hit him? Was he hurt?

He shifted slightly and as his shoulder dipped, I caught Luke looking at me from the hallway. He rolled his finger forward, was encouraging me to continue.

“Honey,” I said softly. He’d fought off his own father. Could I have ever done such a thing to my own parents? Even my stepmother, someone I had every reason to fight back against at times, I’d found it too difficult and took my punishments. Parents were supposed to protect you and you were supposed to listen to them. I couldn’t imagine what Nathan was going through having to fight him off. I turned my head, my lips meeting his ear. “You’re okay. Don’t worry. Are you hurt?”

He shook his head against my shoulder but seemed to be pulling himself together. He wasn’t doing much, just pressing himself against me.

I pressed my lips against his cheek. It was an awkward kiss, and with my heart thundering, I hardly felt anything except for a brush of the coarse hairs on his cheek scratching my lips. But when I turned my head back, wondering if I’d done the right thing, Luke gave me a thumbs up and Gabriel gave an approving nod. Sympathy and encouragement didn’t come easily for me, but I was trying to learn. How do you get over your own terrified feelings to be there for someone else?

“We have to get him to the hospital,” Gabriel said. “He’s not waking up.”

Nathan gripped me hard and then released, straightening. The serious expression took over as he looked at the boys. “Gabriel, get her out of here. Take her home. Luke, help me carry him to the car.”

“We should take him to the downtown hospital,” Luke said.

“The Academy one?” I asked.

They all blinked at me, as if realizing just now that I knew what it was.

“Uh, yeah,” Luke said. “That one.”

“Should we all go?” I asked.

“You’ve had enough,” Gabriel said. He took my wrist, tugging me out of the bathroom and out toward the kitchen. “Mr. Blackbourne is already going to be on our asses for being in the house. He’ll have our heads, too, if we bring you along to the hospital when you’re supposed to be on sick leave.”

“I’m not sick.”

Nathan held tight to my hand for a moment before Gabriel could pull me too far. He squeezed it, looking at my face. “We’ll be okay,” he said. “I should have done something about him a while ago and I didn’t listen. We’re lucky he never found you. But we shouldn’t let it happen again.”

“No,” Luke said quietly, and in a tone more determined and serious than I’d heard from him before. “Once we bring him to the hospital, it
won’t
happen again.”

Nathan pursed his lips, nodding.

“What will happen to him?” I asked.

Gabriel tugged once more on my arm. “Come on, Trouble,” he said. “We need to go in case he wakes up.”

I glanced at Nathan and Luke, but they turned to Mr. Griffin and started shifting him, turning him over and checking his pulse. Gabriel grabbed me around the waist, lifting until my feet drifted across the titles. If I wasn’t going to follow, he was going to carry me out.

“Gabriel,” I whispered close to his ear as I wriggled to be put down so I could walk.

“Let me take you home,” he whispered back. “Nathan can’t do what he needs to if you tag along.”

I remained quiet, but squirmed more until he put me down. We took the back way to in case Mr. Morris had returned, or was down the road. Gabriel carried a few things and the box of clothes and I helped carry some of the other items they’d wanted to bring over.

All the way to my house, we walked in silence. When we made it to my bedroom, I dropped everything and collapsed onto the bed. Gabriel directed me to wash the makeup off my neck, saying it wouldn’t be okay to sleep in it.

When I came back in new pajamas, he was stretched out in the bed, the light off. I crept in next to him.

At first, we were back to back. I stared off at the wall, worried about Nathan, of what this meant. Part of me wondered if Nathan was at risk with the police now. When his father woke up, he may press charges, or worse, come back after him. What would the Academy do to either of them? If I’d listened to Nathan and stayed in the car, would it have changed anything?