Page 21 of Pieces of Me

He sprinted around the side of the trailer and climbed in through his window. He registered two things immediately: one, that his three half brothers were huddled together on Rylan’s futon, asleep, and two, that Rylan was sitting stock still in the middle of them, his face white and streaked with tears.

“Rylan―”

His words were cut off by a muffled, rhythmic thumping and then Heather’s voice: “God, yes! Do it, babe! Give it to me harder!” Her moans could be heard clearly through the common wall connecting their bedroom with hers. A deeper groan followed, a masculine groan, and the thumping sped up enthusiastically in response.

“Jesus.”

Scott didn’t think, just leaned down and disentangled Rylan from the pile of little boys before hauling him to his feet and into his arms.

Rylan clutched at him, and Scott’s heart broke at how his body trembled. “Shhh, Ry. Shhh.” He threaded the fingers of one hand through Rylan’s ridiculous purple hair and held him tight against his chest. Hot tears dampened the front of Scott’s T-shirt as Rylan gasped out, “He’s only been gone a week. Only a week, Scott.”

Scott knew there wasn’t anything he could say to make this better, so he rocked him, letting Rylan cling to him and cry out his disappointment and hurt for his dad. Finally Rylan pulled away, scrubbing his hands over his face with rough, jerky motions.

“Should I tell him? Should I shatter his illusions about her, and about us being a family?”

“What happened?” Scott grabbed Rylan’s hand and pulled him over to his bed. Rylan collapsed down on the edge of it, slumping forward.

“She went out,” he said, his voice hoarse from crying. “There were a couple of things she said she had to do. Asked me to feed the kids and get Cara to bed.”

Scott could feel his lips tighten, and Rylan went on. “I didn’t mind. I swear I didn’t. I like those kids a lot. I fixed them some mac and cheese, and we played outside until it got dark. Then I put Cara down, and the boys wanted to watch a movie.”

Rylan’s voice was thick with emotion, and Scott put his hand on the back of his neck and rubbed the nape with his thumb. “She―she came home a little while ago, with him, and God, I could tell she was plastered.” Scott didn’t say anything, just kept up the soothing motions of his thumb, and Rylan choked out, “I could hear them fighting in the yard. She was yelling at him, and he was calling her a bitch and a cunt.”

Scott gave a rueful shake of his head, “I know every chapter of this story. You got scared and wanted to call the cops, but before you could, they staggered into her bedroom and started fucking. Same shit, different guy.”

A tear ran down Rylan’s cheek. “I thought he was going to hit her, he was so mad. I could tell that she was taunting him about something, and the next thing I knew, they were in her bedroom and now this.”

The headboard next door was crashing into the wall with such force it was visibly shaking the paneling, and Heather’s shrieks ratcheted up to melodramatic wails. The man sounded like a pig, grunting and rooting.

Rylan closed his eyes, the tears running freely now. “The boys sort of crept in here, said they didn’t like all the screaming and noise. So I let them sit with me until they fell asleep.”

“Shit, Ry.” Scott rubbed Rylan’s back. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry, man.”

“You knew this would happen,” Rylan gasped. “You tried to warn me.”

Scott put gentle fingers under Rylan’s chin and lifted it so he’d look at him. “It’s not your fault,” he whispered. “Fuck it all, it’s hers. You don’t get to take responsibility for this.”

“But my dad, Scott,” Rylan moaned. “What about my dad?”

Scott let go of Rylan and knelt on the floor in front of him, putting his hands on Rylan’s knees. “Listen, you ain’t a marriage counselor; you’re a kid. This is too heavy for you to manage. What if you tell your dad and somethin’ bad happens?”

Scott could see Rylan’s throat working as he swallowed. “He took my mom’s leaving so hard. I showed you those pictures. It was―weird.”

“What if he gets super depressed?” Scott asked. “Or he gets mad and hits her, ends up in jail? Or she goes crazy and stabs him? There’s too many unknowns here. Over the years I’ve seen her get beat up, get a broken nose, a black eye. I’ve seen her smash a plate over a guy’s head, and he needed twenty stitches.”

Rylan took a shuddering breath. “Holy shit.”

“Like you said, this is their marriage, not yours. Not mine. We gotta look out for ourselves, and to me, that means staying out of it.”

“But he’ll find out sooner or later,” Rylan said miserably. “He’ll find out, Scott.”

“Then it’s still their problem.” Scott’s voice was gentle. “What happens after that is on them, not you. We shouldn’t have to pay for their mistakes. For what it’s worth, don’t tell him. Keep your head down and let things happen.”

“God. How can I face him when he comes home? And won’t Heather know that I know?”

Scott gave Rylan’s legs a squeeze and pushed up from the floor, sitting next to him on the bed again. “She’ll probably cry and beg you not tell, promise you it won’t happen again. Excuse after excuse after excuse.”

Things had fallen blessedly quiet next door, and he put his hand on Rylan’s shoulder. “Let’s get some sleep while we can. We can figure it all out tomorrow.”