Donna walked out of the small room, and down into the kitchen.
"I don't want to uproot her right now, or give her any kind of scare. I'm
going to go home,and call social services in the morning and see
what they can tell me. Chances are,they'll want to talk to Lea," she
told AJ and Brian. Brian shuddered.
"How could he do this to her? She's just a little girl,"he whispered.
Donna put an arm around him, and sighed.
"I know how you feel. What Lea is going to need most is your support.
Right now,she doesn't have anybody. And I think that the fact that you
were willing to reach out to her is bringing her back to find some help,"
Donna said. She said goodnight to the boys,and then left. AJ locked
the front door, as Brian started down the hall to his room. AJ had
volunteered to take the couch so that Lea would have a bed to sleep in.
Brian stopped outside the doorway to check on her.
She was lying on her side,facing the door, with the blanket tangled up
behind her. Smiling, he walked over and pulled it back over her. She
stirred but didn't wake as he gently closed the door behind him.
*****
She was running through a long hallway. He was screaming at her to stop running, or he'd kill her. She felt a wave of panic wash over her as she continued to run. She felt a hand grab her hair and pull it, and she struggled to get away from him .Suddenly, he was on top of her. His fists made blows to her face, her stomach. She began to sob as he hit her over and over....
"NO!!!NO!!!NO!!!", a voice shrieked. Brian shot up out of his bed.
He thundered down the hallway and threw open the door to AJ's room.She
was screaming and crying as he instantly put his arms around her. She
fought him, trying to break away, and finally managed to crawl off the
bed and down to the corner of the wall,against the closet. Brian jumped
as the light to the bedroom came on. AJ, his eyes wide with horror,
was standing in the doorway. He glanced at Brian, who slid off the bed
and crawled on his knees to just a few inches away from her.
"Lea," he said softly. She looked up at him,tears streaming down her
red and puffy eyes,"I'm not going to hurt you. Let me help you."
She bit her lip and brushed the tears from her cheeks. Then, a sob
escaping her throat, she crawled into his lap and cried as he put his
arms around her.
*****
She looked up from the glass of water she was drinking and smiled as
Brian rubbed his eyes.
"I'm sorry I woke you up," she whispered. He shook his head,"You had
a bad dream.I used to have them,too."
"Yeah...now he just snores," AJ called from the couch. Brian picked up a pillow and smacked AJ in the face with it. Lea laughed. It felt good to hear her laugh. It had been the first time she'd smiled or laughed since the day before.
"Okay,guys.It's almost 2 o'clock in the morning," Brian said, standing
up. Lea handed him the empty glass and he put it in the sink.AJ clicked
off the lamp above his head, as Lea walked over and hugged him.
"Thank you," she said, and he smiled.
Then she followed Brian down the hall and he tucked her back into AJ's
bed.
"Are you gonna be ok now?," he asked. She nodded,"I was really scared.
But I know I don't have to be afraid because my dad can't hurt me. He
doesn't know where I am. But it's still a little scary."
"Lea,I'm right down the hall if you need me. Do you want me to leave
the door open?," he asked. She said yes. He told her goodnite, and then
went back to his room.
He tossed his dirty clothes off of his bed and onto the floor, and climbed
under the blankets and closed his eyes. He had drifted off to sleep when
he heard something move in his room. He opened his eyes to find her standing
next to his bed,looking terrified.
"I can't sleep. Can I just lay here for a little while?," she asked. He
patted the bed next to him and she climbed onto the bed,laying on top of
his covers. He tossed the comforter over her, and she was asleep within
minutes. He sighed, and he,too,fell asleep quickly.
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