Landon Reilly
From: Livi
landon i need you to come home right now it's an emergency. dads going crazy. i need you
As soon as I saw the text from Livi, my heart was racing. It didn't help that when I replied asking what was going on, she didn't respond and gave no details about what actually had happened. I didn't know what I would be walking into, but it didn't matter. I had to get to Livi no matter what.
The problem was I had no way of getting there. I wasn't exactly in the position to ask Wren for a ride, though I thought about it. He would probably bring me if I explained the situation, but I couldn't bring myself to call him. But if all else failed, I'd have to.
I pulled out my phone and sent a group text out to Jess, Anthony, and Rojas.
To: Group
anybody want to drive me to my house or let me borrow their car? it's urgent.
From: Rojas
I can't drive you, but you can borrow my car. Is everything ok?
To: Group
not sure yet but ur a life saver
From: Jess
keep us updated!!
I raced over to Rojas's dorm building to meet up with him to pick up the car. I was out of breath by the time I got there and anxiously waited for him to meet me outside. All I could think about was something was happening to Livi and I wasn't there to protect her.
After was seemed like an eternity, but was only actually a few minutes, Rojas met me outside.
"Do you need someone to go with you?" Rojas asked as he handed over the keys. "I can cancel what I have going on tonight. I'm just going to a Providence Bruins game with some friends."
"No," I said, shaking my head. "It's probably better I go alone. Thanks for letting me use the car."
My hands were shaking, the keys jingling. Rojas looked at me like he was trying to see through me. I started toward his car until I realized I had no idea which car was his. He continued looking at me like he was trying to read my mind as he led me over to his car.
"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Rojas asked as I slid into the driver's seat.
"Yeah," I assured him. "I really need to go."
Rojas backed up so I could close the door and then I started the car.
Sitting behind the wheel for a moment made me realize that I hadn't driven a car in almost a year. When I left my parents' house, my car stayed there so I had no car to drive. Living with the Hansons, I was driven around by one of them.
So now I was going to drive home, which wasn't exactly far but it could be a difficult drive with the traffic, after not having driven for almost a year in a car that wasn't mine. I couldn't dwell on that realization for too long. Livi needed me and I had to get going.
I put the car in drive and slowly pulled out of the parking spot. Rojas watched me as I drove away. My eyes drifted toward the rearview mirror to see him standing there.
I tapped on the brakes and jolted slightly. Okay, I had to get used to those. I started moving again very slowly, heading toward the high way.
I drove slow, despite being anxious to get there. The last thing I needed was to get in an accident. Not only would I have to pay Rojas for the damages with money I didn't have, but it would delay me getting to Livi.
My hands gripped the steering wheel to the point where they started aching. I tried to ease up on it, but it was no use. My nerves were getting the better of me and I couldn't control the physical reactions I was having. The motion of the car combined with the Livi situation made me feel so sick I could throw up.
As much as I didn't want to crash Rojas's car, I didn't want to throw up in it either. That would just be embarrassing.
I couldn't stop thinking about Livi and whether or not she was hurt. I was so angry I was seeing red. If my father had done something to her, I knew I wouldn't be able to control myself. I would beat him until he was black and blue. And I wouldn't stop until someone overpowered me and got me off of him. It was one thing for him to hurt me, but if he hurt Livi, I would make sure he wished he never laid a finger on her.
Even just thinking about what he could have done to her made any progress I made with my anger vanish. It was like I had never gone to therapy and learned to manage it. I was mad and I did nothing to calm myself down because I wanted to be mad. I wanted to be as angry as I possibly could be if I had to face my father.
If the universe was on my side, I would be able to just drop by the house, get Livi, and leave. But I knew the universe was definitely not on my side. That was just wishful thinking. It never had been on my side otherwise it wouldn't have birthed me into this family to begin with.
Luckily, there wasn't much traffic, but it didn't make the drive feel any quicker. My jaw was clenched, my eyes narrowed on the road in front of me. If something had happened to my sister, my father was to blame, but I couldn't help but blame myself too.
I should have done something sooner. I knew what our father was capable of. I remembered everything he had done to me, but I still somehow thought Livi would be safe from that. If only I had figured out how to get her out of there sooner, then she would have been safe a long time ago. This was partially my fault and that made me even angrier, even just at myself.
When I was about ten minutes away, I finally got a response from Livi which took away about half of my anxiety. At least she was well enough to communicate with me.
From: Livi
i made it outside, meet me behind the big tree in the backyard.
I sent a thumbs up reaction to her message and started driving a little faster, anxious to get to her and see that she was safe.
When I got to the house, I parked a little bit down the street and snuck into the backyard. I glanced over at the house, looking through the windows to see if I could get a glimpse of my father. All the lights were on downstairs, but he was nowhere to be found.
I moved slowly through the yard, careful not to make any noise or draw any attention to myself. The last thing I needed was one of the neighbor's dogs hearing me and blowing my cover by barking or something.
The tree Livi wanted me to meet her at was in the back corner of the yard by the fence. It was the biggest tree in the yard with a trunk large enough for us to hide behind so we couldn't be viewed from the house. I tiptoed over to the tree and called out quietly to Livi once I was close enough.
"Livi," I whispered, seeing my breath as I breathed out. "Olivia," I repeated.
She didn't respond, so I continued forward. I glanced at the house one more time to make sure I hadn't been caught before I rounded the tree to meet my sister.
Only it wasn't my sister who stood there.
It was my father, holding the iPod I had given Livi.
I was too stunned in the moment to do anything, which had cost me. It was only a split second, but he used that to his advantage. My father grabbed me by the throat and held me up against the tree before I could even move.
"Landon," he said. His voice was smooth and calm, like this was a casual meeting. He sounded so normal, like I was his son that had just come home from college for the weekend and not his son that he lured into a trap.
"Let... go..." I choked out, his grip on my throat shortening my breaths.
"Clearly, I need to go through more extreme measures to get you to hear me properly," he said, his grip tightening.
My hands pulled at his, but his grip was too strong for me to pry him off.
"I told you to stop speaking to Olivia," my father continued. "Yet, you continued and somehow thought I wouldn't find out about it."
"Where is... she?" It was getting harder and harder for me to breathe. I was fairly confident he would let go, but I couldn't be too certain. He definitely didn't want a murder charge, but who knew what kind of strings he could pull to get himself out of one.
"And you thought I would hurt my daughter?" he laughed, shaking his head. His eyes were so dark, they looked black out here. I got my eyes from him, a deep forest green. I hated the thought that this is what I looked like when I was angry, that my eyes could look this black and soulless.
I kicked at his knee, getting him to loosen his grip. Then I kicked him again and he let go, kneeling over.
"Where is Olivia?" I shouted, grabbing him by the hair. "Where is my sister?"
My father snarled at me and grabbed me by the wrist, then with his other hand, he punched me right in the side of the head. The impact made me stumble, and it was dizzying. My surroundings were spinning and I was losing my balance.
Then he hit me again and I fell. I blinked slowly, my eyes rolling back. My vision doubled as he looked down at me. I saw two of his sinister smirks and two fists coming down on me again.
"Dad! Stop!" Livi shrieked.
"Stay there!" his voiced boomed. "Do not come out here!"
I could hear Olivia's cries as I forced myself to stay awake, my eyes continuing to slowly blink.
"Dad, please!" Livi cried from the back porch. I could hear hear foot steps on the stairs. "Please! He needs help! He's not moving!"
"He's awake, Olivia, get back in the house," he demanded. I tried to get up while he was distracted, but he saw my slow moving body and pushed me back down with his foot.
"Peter, don't you think this is too far?" my mother asked. Her voice was a little shaky, but she wasn't as upset as Livi.
"Both of you, shut up and let me handle this!" he screamed. "Go back in the house. Now!"
"You can't leave him there like this!" Mom shouted back.
"I said I'm handling it!" he snapped, then looked back down at me.
He crouched down to be closer to me.
"Listen to me, look at me!" he snapped again. It was hard for my eyes to focus, but I looked him in the eye and he continued. "Leave my daughter alone or next time, I won't be as nice. Now, get out of here before you upset them even more."
My father watched as I stood up, stumbling as I got to my feet. Every part of me wanted to go after him, but I knew it was no use. I definitely had a concussion and if I provoked him, he could do a lot more damage.
I looked back at the porch where Livi stood with our mother. She had mascara tear streaks down her face, but otherwise looked unharmed. Mom had an arm wrapped around her and wore a dejected expression as she watched me leave.
There was nothing I could do for Livi at that moment and I hated myself for it. I felt so pathetic, limping away injured after being completely blindsided. If I had been prepared, I could have taken my father down, but he had the element of surprise and that was everything.
My head hurt. I needed a hospital. So I slowly walked back to the car.
***
Wren Ridley
After moping around for a few more days, I had decided it was time for me to pay Landon a visit. An intentional one this time, not just running into him out and about with whoever. I needed to tell him what he needed, deserved, to hear and that wasn't going to get any easier if I waited any longer.
I loved him. I wanted him. And I needed to tell him that.
I drove over to his dorm, bringing the letter I wrote with me. I read over it again and again, making sure it said exactly what I needed it to. It had to be perfect so I could tell Landon exactly how I felt.
Someone opened the door to his dorm, so I made my way inside, reading the words under my breath as if that would help give me the nerve to say all this.
I looked over the page again as I stood outside his door before I knocked and waited.
If he wasn't in his room, then this would be incredibly embarrassing, worse if his roommate was here or if he wouldn't let me in and I would have to say all this out in the hallway.
Kyle opened the door and I felt a spark of irritation. Of course, he had to be here when I was about to pour my heart out.
"Landon's not here," Kyle told me.
"Do you happen to know where he is?" I asked, trying to be polite, but my annoyance showed in my tone.
"No, and no, I don't know when he'll be back," Kyle said. "I'm on my way out. You can come in and wait for him if you want."
"That would be lovely," I replied, stepping into the room.
Kyle left shortly after that and I sat down at Landon's desk, placing the letter down and reading it over once again.
I pulled my phone out, debating on texting Landon to let him know I was here. He could have a bad reaction if he came back to his room and saw me here with no warning. But he could also decide not to come back if he knew I was here waiting for him.
When I went to open my texts, I got a phone call. It was Olivia, Landon's sister.
I sighed, debating on letting it just got to voicemail. Usually, I didn't like to answer phone calls because most conversations could just be text messages, but there was a possibility that Olivia was either with her brother or knew where he was, so I accepted the call.
"Hello, Olivia," I answered. "You wouldn't happen to know where your brother is, would you?"
"No, that's why I'm calling you," she replied. I could tell she was crying. She was blubbering so bad I could barely understand what she was saying.
"What's going on?" I asked, suddenly feeling anxious. Something had either happened to her and she couldn't get in contact with her brother, or something happened to him.
"My dad tricked Landon into coming here because he found out we were still talking," Olivia said. "And he... he..." Her voice cracked and she let out a sob before she could finish her thought.
"Olivia, breathe," I said, standing from the desk. "What happened?"
"My dad hurt Landon," she cried. "He punched him so many times. Landon was lying on the ground not moving. And then he got up and he didn't look good at all and now I don't know where he went. He could be passed out somewhere!"
There was a knot in my chest as I thought about Landon being passed out somewhere on the side of the road, bloody and bruised. My hand gripped my phone tighter and I let out a deep breath before responding to Olivia.
"Okay, Olivia, I need you to send me your address," I said as calmly as possible. My heart felt like it doubled in speed. I had never felt this much anxiety in my life. "I'm going to go pick you up and we're going to find your brother."
I would tear down the whole town just to find him.
"Okay, Wren, hurry!"
Olivia and I hung up and she immediately sent me the address. I was already out the door and in my car by the time I got the message.
I made it back to town quicker than I ever had. The ride there was silent, no music, no book, just me alone with my thoughts. All I could think about was getting to Landon and holding him in my arms. I needed to know he was safe. I needed to make sure he was safe.
With what Olivia described, he could have a concussion. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that he had passed out somewhere after leaving the house.
I had no plan on how I would get Olivia out of the house, assuming her father wasn't going to just let her walk out the front door, but I couldn't think too much about it. I would have to think of something in the moment.
When I got to the house, I parked my car out in the street and marched up the steps before knocking loudly on the door. I heard voices inside before a man opened the door, looking a little relieved when he saw that it was me. He probably expected the cops to be showing up at his door.
"Can I help you?" the man asked politely.
I wasn't even sure this was Landon's dad at first. He didn't look much like him, but then I saw his eyes. Those were Landon's eyes, only darker and crueler. But the resemblance was there.
I plastered on the best fake smile I could.
"Hi, yes, I'm so sorry for turning up so late, but I just moved into the neighborhood and I was looking to get involved in the church and heard you were the guy to talk to," I told him.
I was talking out of my ass. He looked a little confused, which was fine. All I needed was to buy some time for Olivia to get out of the house. Hopefully she heard me at the door.
"Yes, I would love to talk to you about the church, but now really isn't a good time," he replied with a strained smile, trying to remain polite.
"Oh, yes, I'm so sorry again about the late hour, but I was really hoping to talk to someone involved with the church. You see, I'm going through something right now," I stopped short when I saw Olivia come down the stairs and stand behind her father.
"Wren!" she exclaimed. Way to blow my cover.
Olivia still looked teary eyed, but she was undoubtedly happy to see me. I saw the resemblance of her in her father. They had the same short nose and facial structure. Landon had taken after his mother, who was also now standing in the doorway.
Olivia's father turned to look at her.
"You know him?" he asked.
"Yes, and I'm leaving with him," she snapped, shooting daggers at her father.
He narrowed his eyes, grabbing her arm. "No, you are not."
I didn't think about it, I just swung my fist and got him right in the jaw. He was so shocked for a moment that Olivia was able to slip out of his grip. Before he could react, I punched him again, sending him staggering backwards.
"That first one was for your daughter," I seethed, leaning closer to him, glancing between him and his wife whose mouth gaped wide. "The second one was for your son."
His eyes widened then looked behind me at his daughter.
"Olivia, who is this?" he asked, his voice loud and commanding.
"Doesn't matter," I answered for her. "If you ever lay a hand on Landon again, you will wish you hadn't. You better hope he is alright because I am not a religious man, I will make your life hell by any means necessary if he's not."
He looked at me like I was crazy, which I guess I kind of was. I would make good on that promise and he seemed to realize that too.
"Olivia, you are not to leave with this man," he said. "Get back in the house now!"
"No!" Olivia screamed. "I'm going! And if you call the cops I'm going to tell them I ran away because you abuse me and my brother and I want nothing to do with you! Is that what you want? You want everyone at church to know how horrible you are? You want to get arrested?"
"Peter, just let her go," Olivia's mother said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Olivia motioned for me to follow her down the porch steps. I started at her father, who was glaring at me like just his stare could put me six feet under. Then the two of us got into my car.
"Do you know which way he was headed?" I asked her, starting to drive.
She started crying again, tears falling fast down her cheeks. She wiped them way.
"No, but he can't be far, just drive slow, and I'l try calling him."
We started our search, and I had a bad feeling we'd be searching for a while. I felt sick to my stomach and my knuckles throbbed from the punches I landed on their father.
I didn't care how much I ached or how long it would take. I would search all night if I had to.
I was going to find Landon. Even if I had to search all night or cross state lines, I would find him.
**
Thanks for reading!