She took a deep breath as she watched him wait on the bus, and then she walked further away from him. Her destination was only a few miles further down the road and she was determined to get there before dusk. As soon as she walked into the driveway, she let out a relieved sigh and walked down to the front porch. When she stood outside the door she found herself hesitating to knock on the door. Then the door opened and she found herself face to face with her stepfather. He didn't seem all too happy to see her and she opened the door.

When she walked into the house, she saw her mom sitting in the kitchen with a bottle of beer and her eyes out of focus. She sighed and slowly walked into the kitchen. The moment she touched her mom's shoulder, she knew why the beer was out and she rolled her eyes. Then she left the kitchen and walked upstairs to her room. With her door closed, she turned on her laptop and turned up her radio.

In a few minutes, her laptop was running and someone on yahoo instantly buzzed her. When she looked, she saw that it was Stef and she slowly typed a reply. They talked for half an hour and then she got off the pc to go fix herself some food. She quietly walked downstairs and heard a hushed conversation coming from the living room.

"Cheri, we can't pay for that room anymore. It's time that she learned to just stay home except for school."

"She's nineteen, Jared. For the past year we have been hiding from everyone we know and it's not fair to her."

"Come on Cheri, do you honestly think that moving here was that bad of a plan? You are from here and so is she. She'll settle back in eventually."

When she had heard enough, she walked into the kitchen and made herself a sandwich. Then she looked through the mail until she found a letter from one of her friends back Texas. She quickly took it from the stack and made her way back up to her room. The moment she was safe in her room she opened the letter and sat in the middle of her bed reading it. A knock on the door made her put the letter away and she walked to the door.

She opened it slowly and saw her stepfather standing in front of her with a stern face. Then she leaned against the door and waited for him to say whatever he needed to say. When he wasn't saying a word, she rolled her eyes and closed the door. It opened behind her and she turned around just as he smacked her across the face.

Then he shook her and said, "You will not shut your door in my face again. Do I make myself clear?"

She stared at him and said, "Release me you bastard."

His face became menacing and he said, "You will not talk to me like that you brat."

She didn't say a word and he shoved her to the floor. The sound of her impact stirred her collie, DJ, and he took after the man. Cheri entered the room to find DJ pinning her husband on the floor with Kat getting to her feet. Then she pulled DJ off him and held the collie back to let him get to his feet.

When he brushed his jeans off, she asked, "What happened, Jared?"

Jared looked at Kat and said, "I'm not finished with you."

He walked to the door and heard, "Touch me again and I'll have you killed."

Jared turned back around and asked, "Are you threatening me?"

Cheri looked at him and said, "Please, calm down. We don't need another fight."

Kat took DJ's collar and said, "Get out of my room."

His eyes narrowed and he said, "Cheri, let's go downstairs to discuss this."

Cheri looked at Kat and asked, "Are you okay?"

A hand gripped her arm and he growled, "I said let's go."

DJ growled and Kat said, "Let her go."

Jared sent her a menacing look and said, "Mind your own business, brat."

Then he smacked her across the face and Cheri said, Stop this!

She was ignored as Jared tossed her aside and approached his stepdaughter. He gripped her arm and shook her before he threw her into the hall. Her back hit the railing and she stumbled to regain her balance. When he smacked her again, she heard her mother yell just before she fell over the railing. She landed on the dining room table and the wind was knocked out of her.

Cheri ran down the stairs and when she reached the table, she found blood running down her daughter's face and bruises forming on her arms. When she heard the door open, she looked up and saw Stef standing in front of her. The girl was in shock from what she walked in on and Cheri looked at her husband. Jared was watching them from the second floor with a look of disbelief on his face. Then Cheryl ran over to the phone and quickly called for help.

Stef ran over to her friend and started wiping the blood from her face while Cheri waited on the EMS. When the EMS finally arrived, they hurried into the house and moved over to the table. Cheri pulled Stef aside and let the men work on stabilizing her daughter. The moment they placed her on the gurney, they left the house and Cheri had Stef go with them. Once the group was gone, she began cleaning up the mess and heard Jared collapse onto his knees.

PGS