chapter 4

A big purple bruise was forming in the shape of his boot right where he kicked her.

She sighed, but then froze when a sharp pain rose up her stomach. Laying an arm around her torso, Terra slowly sat up and headed over to her closet. She pulled out an oversized shirt and changed into it as quickly as she could with her aching ribs.

She winced at the vibration of her cell phone from her jean pockets and whipped it out quickly to get her bruises taken care of.

She grimaced as she looked at the contact. He only called when there was a problem.

“Speak,” Terra commanded with her phone sandwiched between her shoulder and cheek.

Her voice was smooth and authoritative, despite what she was doing and the fear that still pulsated through her of what just happened.

“They caught Telly! He’s at the police station.”

Terra held back a curse, knowing she needed to be in control of her emotions to be strong.

She had specifically chosen Telly from his long criminal record and always have a way of getting out of things. That thin man could squirm his way out of any situation and knew the few charges on his record were merely a fraction of his actual deeds.

“He won’t speak.” Terra declared firmly, sounding more convinced that she felt.

“I don’t know, what if he does? Then we’re both done. I can’t go to jail, I haven’t even graduated!”

Carmichael yelled on the phone, sounding hysterical. Terra could practically see him pacing at the other end of the line.

Terra knew he would. Their relationship could be described with many words, but loyal was not one of them.

If the right deal came along, he would spill everything in a heartbeat. Then where did that leave Noah? No, she couldn’t let her father hurt Noah.

Terra’s door slammed against the wall, leaving a very visible dent in the plaster and she jumped from the loud pounding.

She snapped her flip phone shut—yes, they still make those—as her father stumbled into her room, barely able to keep on his feet with another alcoholic beverage clenched tight in his hand.

Her father looked at her, his eyes ablaze with hatred.

“You owe me everything, Terra! Everything you are, you owe to me. Without me, there would be no you!”

Terra nodded slowly, not daring to make eye-contact.

He roughly slammed his bottle on her dresser and stepped closer to her. She backed up slowly, intimidated by his overpowering presence.

Her back came in contact with the wall and she was suddenly too aware of the fact that she had nowhere else to go. He stepped closer to her and the stench of alcohol was burning her nose.

He snatched her arm and threw her across the room, her body feeling weightless as Terra sailed into the wall.

“Why don't you fight back?”

He stomped back over to where he threw her and pulled her hair, yanking at the roots and destroying all the locks suctioned to her head. Wincing, she raised as much as possible, but he somehow kept continuous, painful pressure on her head.

“Fight, Terra!”

She mustered all the hate and anger from continuous abuse and shoved him back.

He released her hair and stumbled slightly, trying to focus more on his balance. His feet were firmly under him before he smiled. “I told you that you were weak.”

Terra tried to squeeze by him, but he grabbed her arm and shoved her back up against her dresser.

The hard knobs dug painfully into her back as he stumbled forward, making another approach.

Her hand bumped against a long-necked bottle.

Terra desperately grabbed the glass and brought it out from behind her. The full bottle was heavy in her hand, but she still managed to smash the bottle into his hard skull with all her might.

Liquid exploded all over his head and glass rained down around his body. He lost his balance, slumping to the ground in a heap; blood seeping through the carpet where his head was.

Tears sprinkled her cheeks and splattered on her father's unconscious body lying in a pile at her feet.

She angrily swiped at her cheeks to get rid of the liquid, trying to erase the weaknesses. She realized she was still holding a piece of the bottle and dropped it as if it was on fire.

Terra stared at her father in awe.

What did I do? When he wakes up, will he remember? What can I tell him?

Frantic questions rushed through her mind worriedly and Terra started to panic. When Father learns she hit him unconscious, he was sure to kill her.

_-_

Terra trembled and pulled the fur of the dog next to her tighter.

She didn't know why she welcomed the beast's presence in the first place, but then again, she still couldn't believe she broke down like that.

She was the strong one.

Officer Patton rose, tucking his feet under him to stand in a full position.

Terra knew distantly that at some point, he got tired of waiting for her to get a hold of her emotions and rested on the ground. It made him seem less intimidating, though, and she was thankful for that.

She could see the confusion contorting the young officer's face, the question he asked hanging between them. He already knew more about her life than her brother. He doesn’t need to know more

She remained silent.

Does that mean her dad looking for her?

She could only imagine what he would do if he caught her again. Why were people chasing her?

What does the barcode tattoo mean? What was the bright light everyone kept shooting? Where was Noah?

She didn't know.

It all just felt like too much. She was so confused, she was scared she was going to get caught and thrown back to her father. Or in jail, if Telly decided to selfishly spill his guts. And then who would care about Noah?

No, she couldn’t afford to let any of this happen. And Officer Patton seemed like a bigger problem than she thought he would be.

Terra rose, ignoring the pinch in her ribs again.

She hated that Logan was so much larger than she was. He already saw her vulnerable side, she didn't want him to see himself as superior. It was a mistake and it won't happen again.

Officer Patton seemed oblivious to her insecurities as he looked at her again.

She hated that look. Like he could see right through her—that there was more to her than her stoic glances. She has never met anyone more perceptive, she already knew that.

Logan turned around, facing the door offering the only escape.

He pulled the knob before turning around. “Stay here. I'll be right back.”

He lifted his finger down towards his dog and repeating the command. Buddy resting his haunches on the hardwood before Logan whizzed out the door, shutting it behind him.

Terra trembled. A sense of helplessness washed over her again, but she refused to cry again.

Noah was gone and she had no clue where he was. The only clue she had were those men with barcodes and the only place she had seen that mark before was in New York.

Now, though, she couldn’t help but think that her journey to her home town would be in vain—apparently, those men were here too. And they had a bone to pick with her.

She was also very aware that she no longer had her backpack. She was twisted with anxiety if they looked through her bag.

Noah’s would be fine, but hers? She had much more than weapons in there.

The small black leather book tucked safely in its pockets offered so much power. It was her one way of feeling like the world was right again.

If the law couldn’t control these jerks, she would make sure they wouldn’t get completely off the hook. She knew what she was doing was illegal, but she couldn’t help but feel pride in her actions.

It’s not like they were dead—she was certain they would wake from their comas—but it did offer her some sense of accomplishment. She prayed one day her father might suffer the same fate.

But if that book was discovered, she was a goner. She was being shipped back to New York with shiny handcuffs restraining her from fighting.

She hated being helpless. Just the thought of the abuse she went through with that device restraining her was enough to make her want to empty the contents of her stomach.

Terra had to get her backpack again.

The door to the small office squeaked a little and Terra instinctively bolted for the wall next to it. The door was sunk in a little so the wall could hide her from the view at the door. She assumed it would be Officer Patton, but one can never be too cautious.

The door squeaked closed again and Buddy launched from his spot, still sitting where Logan had demanded him to stay.

She heard Logan whisper kind words to his dog before he came around the corner. His face was unreadable as he came closer.

“Terra, we need to go back to the station. Those men need to be questioned. Do you know why they are following you?”

Terra shrugged and hugged her arms around herself, careful not to squeeze too tight around her sore ribs. She couldn’t tell if they were healing or not with the lack of rest she was having.

When Logan took a step towards her, once again she took a step back. He may have acted kindly to her, but he was still a cop. And he was huge, almost as big as her father.

He cautiously took another step and Terra took another one back. It was only then she noticed a first-aid it clutched in one hand.

“We need to wrap your ribs so they can heal. And clean your cuts,” Logan explained, his face still impassive.

Terra glared at him. Like she was going to ever let him touch her.

“Give it to me, I can do it.” She huffed, seeing he was just as stubborn as her.

Logan’s face twisted in thought before he extended her the plastic box he was holding.

Terra hesitantly stepped forward and grabbed it from him, still not trusting that he would let her go unscathed. There had to be some sort of catch.

However, she did know that she needed her ribs to heal. And she couldn’t do much with infected cuts over her body.

She gripped the first aid it by the corner of the small handle, careful not to touch the Officer. Logan held on for a moment, studying her before releasing his hold.

The kit was heavier than she expected and when she opened it, she saw why. There was almost everything you would need to conduct surgery in there.

There was a vast amount of organized band-aids of every kind, a collection of various tubes with different creams in it. She eyed the many rolls of medical tape and wraps before seeing the twin small bottle of distilled water and hydrogen peroxide.

She started with her cuts, especially the scrape she got from being tackled by Officer Patton earlier.

She was very aware of the Officer’s stare as she cleaned it with water, hydrogen peroxide, and applied some ointment before slapping on a bandage. Luckily she only found two cuts—one on her elbow and the other on her shoulder.

She carefully pulled out a wrap, looking forward to the effect it will have on her ribs.

She locked eyes with Logan, who was still watching her closely.

“Turn around, Patton,” she demanded, locking her cold gaze to his impassive face.

Logan crossed his arms, thinking for a second before turning around.

Buddy panted happily as he watched Terra instead and she almost laughed at Logan’s futile effort to have her under his thumb. Cops are all the same.

She raised her shirt, pulling it just below her bra when she spotted the deep purple, red, and yellow bruises lined along her side.

She winced as she held the bandage and tried to wrap it around her body. She couldn’t quite reach properly and wished she had one more hand at that moment.

However, she would rather die than let that manipulative cop touch her again.

She gritted her teeth instead and stretched her arm again, this time successfully tucking it around her torso. It took a long time, but she repeated the movements until her ribs were carefully and tightly wrapped to her body.

The uncomfortable feeling she had before was gone and she sighed in relief, feeling a small amount of happiness that her sigh now only held minimal pain to her chest.

Terra slammed it shut and thrust it back towards Logan, who still had his back to her.

“Here,” she alerted him.

He turned back and grabbed the kit again, letting it hang from his hands.

“Does that feel better?” Logan asked, letting his stoic gaze slightly crack with curiosity as he looked at her.

Terra didn’t respond. She only looked at him, wanting to know what his next move would be.

Logan took her silence as his answer. “Alright, let’s get you back to the station. We have to figure out where Noah is.”

Terra couldn’t stop her sharp intake of breath. How did he know? She thought as he turned and walked out of the building, Buddy waiting for her in his place.