Chapter 22: Van

VAN

Chapter

Twenty-Two

"Tell Fleur to get dressed. I'm taking her to Oak Hill for food and some shopping. She needs her own swimsuit." Preferably one that has more than two centimeters of fabric.

"Fleur? Isn't she with you?" Sadie answers.

"What do you mean? I had a team meeting so I left her with you."

"We swam a bit and then she went inside to shower. I couldn't find her so I thought she went to meet you."

"She doesn't have a car, Sadie. Hold on." I jog out to the parking lot and glance around. There's not any sign of her. "Did she maybe fall asleep somewhere in the house?"

"I don't think so. I called her phone and didn't hear anything, but I'll definitely look again. Like you said, she doesn't have a car, so if she isn't with you, she's somewhere here."

"Shit. Okay, let me check her location. I'll call you back." I hang up and pull up the location app. The placement of her green dot sends a chill down my spine. She's at her apartment. I check the time. It's three in the afternoon. Would her mom be home at this time? Would the asshole? Fleur wouldn't go to the apartment if she thought the asshole would be there. Still, I haul ass to my car and peel out of the driveway, narrowly missing hitting Smurf's Benz. He honks and flips me off. I'll apologize to him later.

At Fleur's, I'm out the door without even cutting the engine. Someone can take my car for all I care. The only thing I'm focused on is getting into that apartment. I take the stairs two, three, four at a time. At Fleur's door, I start pounding. "You there, Fleur? Open up."

There's no response. I pause and lay my ear against the door. Is that scuffling? A muffled cry? Fuck. I step back and smash my heel against the door knob. The entire frame rattles. I do it again and again. A neighbor two doors down pops their head out. "What the hell you doing, son?"

"My girlfriend's inside."

The old man shakes his head. "You betta leave or I'm gonna call the police."

"Great," I snap. The police should've been involved in this a long time ago. I kick the door one more time, and it gives way. There's no one in the tiny kitchen or the dingy living room. I run toward the one closed door and throw it open. Richard has Fleur pinned to the bed. All I see is red. I rip him off.

Fleur scrambles off the bed and yells, "Get out!"

Richard lets out a nasty laugh. "Girl, you are in no position to tell me what to do."

"This is Fleur's place so yeah, she has every right to tell you to leave." I point to the door. "Time to go." If he doesn't leave, I might kill him, which I really fucking want to do, but Fleur needs me more, and I can't be with her if I'm in a fucking cell.

"I'll go when Fleur gives me what I've got coming." He hitches up his pants.

Fleur makes a gagging sound. My hands fist at my sides. This asshole really wants a beat-down, but Fleur is my first priority. I take a deep breath. I have to be smart about this. I bet Dunc will help me fuck this piece of shit up when he's leaving work or his house. I suppose a brother can come in handy. Right now, I need to get her out of this fucking place. She's never coming back. There's no reason for her to be here. "Let's get your stuff, babe." I reach for her hand, wanting to get her out of here before I lay into this fuckface.

"Van, look out!"

I turn just in time to see Richard swing a bat at my head. The air over my head whistles as the bat narrowly misses my skull and crashes into a nearby lamp. "Get out of here." I push Fleur toward the door before facing Richard.

His focus is on me now. His eyes are red, like a demon is possessing him. "You think you're a big shot now?" he pants. Old fuck is going to wear himself out. "Let's see how the girls look at you when you're on crutches and can't run." This time the bat comes low, toward my legs. I jump back right into the wall. Good situational awareness, Van.

I have to duck again as Richard brings the bat up. I rush low and forward, toppling him backward. He's at least two-fifty and has that old man toughness. He does not go down. He wraps his arms around my waist and tries to lift me up in some wrestling move he might've learned long ago, but if he's got age on his side, I've got the wiliness of youth. I lean into him, and his momentum pulls him backward. He falls and strikes his back against the dresser.

A howl rises from his throat. "Gonna skin you, kid. Fuck your knees, your whole body is done for," he swears. He's still got the bat in his hand. I kick it out just as he swings his leg around and makes contact with the back of my knees. I stumble and catch myself on the edge of the mattress.

He scrambles forward, trying to reach for the bat. I push him back with my foot. This old man on drugs?

"Come on, Van. Let's go," Fleur says from the doorway. I look over my shoulder to see her with a bag in her hand.

"Go. I'll be right behind you." And then I remember how she doesn't want to be left out, doesn't want me to lie to her. "After I kick Dick's ass."

"You and what army?" Richard comes up with the bat in his hands. It comes down next to my head. I roll to the side. Fleur yells something, and then I hear a grunt and a crash. She threw the lamp at Richard's head. He swivels toward her, gripping the bat tightly.

Using the mattress for leverage, I jump forward and clamp my arms around his neck. I'm done with this. I don't care if I kill him now. I've got my own wrestling moves. With my right arm under Richard's chin, I push against my biceps with my left and squeeze his windpipe. He claws at my grip, his feet thrashing. I keep the pressure up even as I hear Fleur call my name. Suddenly, a crowd appears at the doorway. My bio dad, my other dad, some guy in a cop uniform, Fleur, Dunc, and even my mom. Fuck, they're not going to let me finish him.

The cop muscles his way to the front of the crowd. The bat that was in the dirtbag's hands rolls to the side. "Looks like you got the kids riled up, Dick." The cop smirks. "Why don't you let me tap in?"

Reluctantly, I release my hold. Richard falls to the floor. Holding his throat, he croaks out, "You better arrest this shithead for attempted murder, Ed."

"Now, Richard, I've got an eyewitness who's telling me that you were trying to kneecap this boy with a baseball bat. Thinking his self-defense claim is going to look pretty good, whereas your attempted assault of a girl is kinda frowned on. Do you want to go with me quietly or do I have to cuff you and make a big scene?"

Richard spits at the cop's foot. Ed brings his booted heel up and places it on the side of Richard's head. "Why everyone chooses the hard way, I'll never know. Cam, you take these two kids home and keep them there. I'll send over someone to take their statement."

"We're prosecuting him to the full extent of the law," my bio dad says.

"Okay, I'll get that noted. Now, all of you skedaddle." Ed keeps Richard's head pinned to the floor while he shoos us out of the bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Mom runs her hands down my arms.

"I'm good, Mom." I give her a tight hug and kiss her on her forehead because I know she needs it. I hand her off to my bio dad and give my dad a hug. As soon as I release him, Dunc hauls me into his arms and pounds me on my back.

"Scared about ten years off my life," he says. He lets me go and turns his head to the side but not before I see a suspicious glimmer of wetness in his eyes. He was really worried about me.

Fleur stands to the side. Her hands are folded in front of her, and her head is down. She's feeling alone right now and probably hella embarrassed. I leave my family and slide my hand between hers. I pick up the bag at her feet. "Let's go home."

"I don't think I have a home anymore," she whispers so quietly that even I can barely hear it.

"You do. It's with me. Always with me, babe. Wherever you go, I'm there. I'm your home, and you're mine."