you look at me and cry
everything hurts
I hold you and whisper
but everything can heal

- rupi kaur

I pull away from Josh and turn towards the door. I know that voice. I wish I didn't remember it; I wish I'd never heard it in the first place, but there he is. Lyndon Hunter, Josh's dad.

He stands in the doorway and glares at both of us with his hands on his hips. He wears a perfectly pressed navy suit and a dark frown, his blue eyes staring straight through me. The lines of his face have grown deeper and his eyes are shadowed by dark bags, but he's the same powerful, imperious man I remember. I bristle with resentment at his presence.

"Dad," Josh says, rising to his feet as if in a trance. He positions himself between his dad and me, keeping the door to Alicia's temporary room behind him. "What are you doing here?"

Lyndon laughs, stepping closer to us with an insidious gleam in his eyes. "Did you honestly think you could call my daughter without me finding out?"

A shiver goes down my spine; is he watching the Scotts? Does he keep tabs on Josh and his family too? Won't they ever be free of his corrupting presence?

"How did you know?" Josh seethes behind gritted teeth.

Lyndon ignores him and walks closer to the two of us. Even from a few feet away, I can smell the alcohol on his breath. "So what's she doing here? I thought your shrew of a mother told me you ruined that just like you almost failed yourself out of school."

Josh's shoulders tense as he stands before his father, keeping me behind him. Heat rushes through me; why does his father always have to tear him down and remind him of his worse failures?

"Dad, leave her out of it."

"Rachel, right?" he says, glowering at me. "I remember you. What, couldn't find anyone else so you came back to Josh? Figured it's better to have someone than be alone?"

"You're one to talk," Josh growls. "Who do you have left, Dad? Is there anyone out there who still loves you? Who you haven't ran off?"

Lyndon leers at both of us. "I just got a hot secretary about her age." He gestures to me and I swallow a wave of nausea. "A little curvier though. No offense, Rachel."

Josh lunges at his father, arms swinging, but I catch his arm before it can connect with Lyndon's face and hold him back. Lyndon laughs and backs away. "Still acting before you think, I see. Look where that's got you."

"How did you find us?" Josh growls. "Mom has a restraining order."
A restraining order. If Lyndon is on their property, doesn't that mean he's violated the restraining order? If things get worse, I swear I'll call the police. I'm not letting this man hurt anyone else in Josh's family.

"Your mother may not get any more of my money, but Irene's two girls and Ellie still need me, so as long as they need me, I get access to everything they spend their money on. I got an alert about a flight from Vermont to Ohio, and I knew you'd be behind it. You just can't let me go, can you?"

"So that's why you're giving Ellie money--to keep tabs on us." Josh grinds his teeth together. "Besides, you're the one standing on my property."

"Oh, right, it's so good to see you using your college degree." He laughs derisively.

"Why can't you just leave us alone?" Josh says, half a plea and half a threat.

"You think you're better off without me?" Lyndon growls, stepping closer until he's chest to chest with Josh.

"I know we are. For 25 years, you told me how horrible and worthless I was, and I listened." I squeeze Josh's arm and bite my lip. "Without you, I'm finally learning to be happy. Without you, Ellie doesn't have to live with you making fun of her weight or telling her she needs to get a real job instead of pursuing her dreams."

Lyndon laughs. "Oh, she's still going to pursue a good job in business or science. I'm the one who has control of her trust fund."

Josh face blanches. "You wouldn't."
"You may be a failure, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let your dramatic little sister fail too. She'll receive her trust fund money, but only if she agrees to go to school for science or business. Otherwise she doesn't get a penny."

Josh's fists ball by his sides. "You're kidding. I know you're mad at me and Mom, but Ellie had nothing to do with this! She doesn't even know what you did. She has no idea what kind of monster you really are, and now you're going to keep her from pursuing art, the one thing she loves?"
"You're going to tell me that being poor but enjoying what you do is better than having money? You wouldn't even own this place if it wasn't for me and that stupid divorce settlement. You've never even been poor. Without my help, you're cursing your baby sister to a life of poverty. Is that really what you want?"

The veins in Lyndon's forehead bulge as Josh growls, "I'd rather she be happy than anything. But I don't expect you to understand that. Have you ever been happy?"

Lyndon's serpentine smile turns into a grimace. "Is that why this girl is back here? Because you think a woman's going to make you happy? Take it from me, she won't."
"How would you know, Dad? You cheated on Mom over and over again. You were never home. You had two families and now all of your kids hate you. How would you know if someone could make you happy if you never made them happy?"

"Oh, that's rich. Now you're convinced you can make someone else happy? You've barely been able to keep yourself above water, boy. I know about the drinking and the girls. Has your little girlfriend heard that? Does she know the ways she screwed around after she left? Does she know how empty you really are?"

"Stop, just stop!" I yell, jumping in front of Josh. He's protected me a thousand times; now it's my turn to protect him. "Don't you care that he's your son? Why do you have to tear him down and make him feel like he's worthless?" Lyndon frowns at me and I continue my rampage. "A good father would encourage him, would recognize that he's built a beautiful camp that changes people's lives, but all you can see is that your family is fine without you. They're better without you."

"Where is she?" Lyndon says suddenly, pushing past both Josh and me. "I'm not going home until I find her. Alicia! Get out here."
Josh tries to stand in his way. "I'm not letting you take her."
"Letting me? She's my daughter and she's a minor. Now tell me where she is!" Lyndon yells, slamming his fist on one of the tables.

They stand toe to toe, both seething with rage. I back away from them and slip my phone from my pocket. I don't know if this is the right move or if I'm making a huge mistake, but Lyndon is out of control. He's drunk and he's one step away from trying to hurt Josh or worse, Alicia.

Josh and Lyndon are still yelling at each other as I slip out of the front door and dial 911.

"Hello, what's your emergency?" a woman says from the other end of the line.

"Hi, I'm at my boyfriend's house, and his father showed up. He's acting aggressive and he's drunk, and my boyfriend's mother has a restraining order against him. She lives here too." I watch through the window as Lyndon throws a punch at Josh, which he ducks. "My boyfriend's dad is trying to punch him and I don't know what to do. I'm not sure what he's capable of, but I'm scared."

I give her the address and she promises a cop car will com soon. I stay outside, shivering in the cold, as Josh and Lyndon continue to face off. What is he capable of? For now, Josh is keeping him away from Alicia's room, but what happens if Lyndon gets a hold of her? Will he hurt her? Will he hurt Josh? Has he ever hurt Josh?

The flashing lights of a cop car break through the night and at the blaring of the sirens, Josh and his dad both turn towards the door. Lyndon catches sight of me on the porch and barrels towards me. I feel a flash of fear; what will he do if he gets to me before the cops?

"Over here!" I call as the cop car parks. "We're over here!"
My heart pounds as I hear Lyndon yelling at me from inside the lodge. Two cops exit their car and withdraw their pistols; when they see me, they lower their guns and walk forward.

"What's going on here, ma'am? I thought you said your boyfriend and his father were here?" one of them says through a thick Boston accent.

"They are, they're inside," I cry.

On cue, Lyndon shoves through the door towards me. "You stupid whore!" he screams. "What are you thinking?"

Josh breaks through the door behind him as Lyndon lunges for me. The cops start to run just as Lyndon hits me, both of us falling to the ground. I slam into the stone entrance of the lodge, pain shooting through my head as my skull collides with the ground. Lyndon lands on top of me then leaps back up, kicking me in the ribs before sprinting down the steps. My body curls instinctively as I clutch my stomach, moaning. I hear yelling and the zing of a taser and Josh is beside me in the next instant.

"Rachel, are you okay?" he asks, lifting my head into his lap.

I heave a sigh and force my chafed hands underneath me, sitting up. My head screams in revolt as I look around; the police have Lyndon in chains and are forcing him into the back of the cop car. Josh ignores them and reaches for the right side of my face, where I landed. He draws his hand away and I see blood.

I touch my forehead and find a gash above my eyebrow and scraped skin on my cheek, but besides the headache and bruising that I'm sure will show up tomorrow, I'm okay. Josh helps me to stand and supports me back into the lodge, finding Advil, a washcloth, and a glass of water while the cops come back in to get our statements.

Josh brings out Alicia and the three of us tell them what happened. Thanks to my injury, they don't question me as much, but they force Josh to walk through everything that happened.

"You should be glad your girlfriend called us. We did a breathalyzer test and he was very intoxicated and obviously quite dangerous; plus, he broke a restraining order. That's serious business."
Josh sighs, sitting in the chair next to me and running his hand through his hair. "I don't want to press charges; I just want him gone."

"We'll make sure that happens, Mr. Hunter," the cop says, finally leaving us alone.

Alicia goes to bed, giving Josh and me a minute. He kneels next to me, lifting the warm washcloth to my face and bathing the raw skin in warmth. I wince under the pressure as he cleans away the blood and the gravel. When he's finished, I down a couple of Advil.

"Rach, are you really okay? He's a big man. Do we need to go to the hospital?"

I sigh and rub my head gingerly. "They're not going to do anything except bandage me up and give me painkillers. I just need to cover these cuts on my face and get some sleep."

Josh stares at me, his eyes tracing the cuts on my face and the rest of me where bruises are sure to appear tomorrow. "I can't believe this happened," he says, swearing under his breath. "I'm so sorry, Rach. I didn't mean to put you in danger. If I'd known he would go crazy like that..."

"You didn't know, Josh. I didn't either, but when you talked about him breaking the restraining order, I knew I could call 911 if things got out of hand."

"I can't believe you did that."

I stare at him, trying to gauge his expression. Is he angry that I brought the police into this? The Hunters aren't my family--at least, not yet--so I'm not sure if Josh will see this as me interfering in his family's business.

"You were so brave," he says, a half-smile whispering onto his face. "You saved all three of us. I just wish he hadn't--"

I stop Josh with a hand on his arm. "Josh, I know. It's not your fault."

"Do you want me to drive you home?" he asks, glancing at the time. It's already after eleven, and I'm supposed to work tomorrow.

"Crap." I can only imagine what Chloe's going to say when she sees me. I lift my eyes to Josh. "Would you...can I stay here? I keep a change of clothes in the car and I don't think I can face Chloe right now. I'll have to leave around 7:30 so I won't get in your way--"

Josh reaches for the left side of my face and brushes a curl behind my ear. "Rach, of course you can. You can take my room and I'll sleep on the couch."
Despite the un-romantic-ness of the situation, my face still blushes bright red at the thought of sleeping in Josh's bed, even if he's not there with me.

"A-are you sure?" I stutter.

"Of course. Mom has a first aid kit; we'll put Neosporin on your cuts and then you can go to sleep. Come on."

Josh reaches around my waist and lifts me up, grabs my stuff from the car, and drives me back to the bungalow. I know I should be nervous, spending the night with Josh and his family, but every step we take in this relationship, even if those steps involve crazy fathers and explosive coworkers, makes me more at ease with Josh instead of less. I thought I'd fallen in love with Josh as much as I could, but the more I see him--protecting Alicia, standing up to his father, taking care of me--the more I find to love.

~~~~~

The infamous Lyndon Hunter! I bet you didn't expect to see him. Have you ever had to face someone that cruel and dangerous? I don't think I have except in my stories! ;)