Ben noticed Maddy over by the doors with tears streaming down her face, clutching the phone. She looked at him in relief at the same time as his father noticed he’d entered the room.
His father turned towards him, and Ben almost stepped back under the menacing look his father gave him. God, he could put so much hatred into a single stare, those dark eyes narrowed, and his mouth pulled into a sneer. “Stay out of this, son,” his father hissed, then turned back to Ben’s mum.
Ben took a deep breath and stood his ground, despite his shaking hands. “Dad, let’s go outside and talk.” He kept his voice as level as he could.
His father ignored him, not even turning away from his mother. Instead he held out an arm, his motion echoing his words. “I said stay out of it. This is between your mother and me.”
His mum looked over his dad’s shoulder. Her voice shook as she said, “It’s okay, Ben. You just take Maddy outside, and we’ll be with you soon.”
Ben tried to give Maddy a reassuring look but denied his mother. “I can’t do that, Mum. I can’t leave you alone.” He took a step towards where his parents were standing. His dad turned slightly to look at him then, and that’s when Ben noticed the rolling pin tightly clutched in his father’s right hand.That’s what he’s been poking her in the ribs with. Jesus Christ.He’d never used anything apart from his fist before, which was bad enough, but to graduate to using kitchen items as weapons was something Ben wasn’t prepared for. He’d seen the damage to his mother caused by her being shoved into doorframes and furniture, but that would be nothing compared to purposely inflicted hits. Sure, it could have been worse, like a knife—and there were plenty of those in the kitchen. But the heavy wooden rolling pin could do a lot of damage itself. If Ben had thought he was afraid of his father before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now.
Ben’s stomach clenched, and he knew his hands were trembling, but with no choice, he moved closer. “Give me the rolling pin, Dad.”
“Can’t do that, boy. This is between your mother and me.” Ian’s eyes were bloodshot, and he was actually shaking slightly, which Ben knew meant he had been drinking most of the day.
Ben had no idea what to do. It had never been this serious before. But he sure as hell couldn’t just leave his mother there, and Maddy was safe over by the door. Ben slowly moved forward another step, intending to take the rolling pin from his father by force if necessary but wary of how accessible the knives were.
In the end, it was surprisingly easy. His father was so drunk he was no match for Ben’s speed and dexterity. After a brief wrestle, during which his mum slipped by and went to huddle with Maddy near the doors, Ben grabbed the rolling pin and his father slid down the cabinet to sit on the floor. He actually started to cry, which made the whole scenario even more astounding.
As they all stood numbly for several moments and stared at the hunched form of Ian Cooper sitting on the floor, the sounds of sirens could be heard. He looked at Maddy, who indicated the phone in her hand. Ben guessed something was finally going to be done about his dad.
And Ben decided he was finally going to do something that would make his mother happy.
