His saddened eyes finally meet mine, and I crumple at the pain apparent on his face.
“Are you okay, Leonidas?” I flinch back before looking over my shoulder right as my dad launches himself at Elijah, bringing his head in a choke hold.
“Dad! Stop!” I scream, tears spilling down my face, not believing this is happening right now.
My dad is physically and mentally attacking his children with no remorse. And I have no idea what to do, and I can’t stop him. One of my brothers is in literal shock after our dad brought up his past trauma, and my other brother is in a fistfight.
The sounds of bones against bones and grunts of pain fill the room, and all I want to do is cover my ears and beg it to go away.
Who the hell do I help, and how?
My shaky hands fumble on my phone as I text the one person who can help me. I pray he sees it in time because my other brother will end up in a pile on the ground if he doesn’t come to our rescue.
“You’re not Mr. Tough Guy now, huh?” My dad laughs, kneeing Elijah in the stomach, making him fall to the ground, holding his bloody nose in agony.
But he still gets up from the floor and doesn’t give up.
“You’re a pussy, just like your brother.”
“Dad!” I scream through my tears. “You’ve done enough. Just stop!”
But nothing seems to break him out of his evil spell as he continues to beat my brother.
A gasp leaves my mouth when, suddenly, the door swings open, banging loudly on the wall, creating a hole where the door handle smashed into the drywall. Our saving grace storms into the room, anger rolling off him like a dark, stormy cloud. And as his tall, muscular frame runs into the room, I can tell he’s ready for whatever my dad throws at him. Axel and Rowan run in after him, glancing around at the scene before following their bandmate to where he stands behind my dad, who has yet to notice the three other people in the room. He’s too busy being the worst father to hear anything around him.
“Are you going to keep beating the shit out of your own son until you kill him?” Levi’s furious voice booms, causing my dad to turn around in shock.
Once he does, Levi grabs him by his collar and whips him off my brother, and Elijah only crumples to the floor a couple of feet away with a thump. Elijah has never been a fighter. He’s a softy who prefers to talk it out rather than use his fists. He had no choice this time, but he was no match for my dad.
However, Levi is a different story. He’s the man who walks into the room, and you instantly know not to mess with him. His permanent scowl on his face just deepens even more when he’s mad.
“How the hell did you get in here, and why the fuck do you think this is any of your business?” my dad barks up at Levi, trying to stagger up, but my boyfriend only pushes him back down with his foot.
I watch, shaking in my spot, as Axel and Rowan rush over to Elijah. Each of them picks him up by an arm and walks him over to where I stand. He stumbles into his seat, groaning, as I go through my bag for some tissues. His nose and mouth are bleeding so bad. I hope nothing is broken. Gathering a fistful of napkins, I place them on his bloody nose, and he winces back at the contact before I kiss his sweaty forehead. Unable to say anything.
“I suggest you sit right fucking there,” Levi sneers, glaring like I’ve never seen him before. “If you want to act like a fucking animal, sit on the floor like the dog you are.”
My dad thrashes against his foot, screaming out in frustration, “Get the hell off me!”
“Let’s go,” Rowan whispers in my ear as he comes up behind me before signaling to Axel.
They support Elijah and haul him out into the hallway urgently. Following their orders on shaky legs, I pull Leonidas up from his biceps and push him lightly out into the hallway.
Levi meets my gaze before Axel reaches around me and slams the wooden door shut in my face. If he gets hurt, it’ll be all my fault.
“He’ll be okay. He’s got him under control,” Axel says, seeing the concern on my face.
Placing a hand on my lower back, he leads me down the quiet hallway before the four of us pile into the elevator. Elijah sits on the floor, exhausted, and closes his eyes. Leonidas stands off to the side, his body numb. And me? I cry.
Cry for my brothers.
Cry for my mom.
For myself.
For little Amelia, who looked up to her father like he was a king, only for him to be the monster hiding under her bed.
CHAPTER43
