Chapter Six
Lily
After dinner with Lance and Mom, I went on a quick trip to the grocery store. I had some special items to pick up.
Yep, you guessed itoranges and cloves.
I felt guilty about how the afternoon had gone, so I hoped making pomanders could make it up to him. Thankfully, I scored the last tin of cloves on the shelf. I also picked up some instant coffee and toilet paper, so we could replace what we’d used at the hunting cabin.
On the way home, it started to snow. Nothing heavy, just a light sprinkling. When I was little, I used to call it fairy snow. The kind that catches in the breeze and dances on its way to the ground, like powdered sugar or dandelion seeds.
It was perfect weather to put together pomanders. I would make hot cider, and we could set a fire and put on Bing Crosby’s Christmas album. Rhys would love it, and hopefully, it would erase the awkwardness I’d caused.
I parked the car. As I went to the trunk to get the groceries, I heard shouting coming from the house. At first I thought maybe Mom and Lance were watching an action movie, but as I grew closer, I could tell it wasn’t the television. I made my way up the front steps, one at a time, holding the paper bag close, the scent of oranges and cloves mingling with the smell of snow. My heart picked up as I recognized the voices of Mom, Lance, and Rhys.
I opened the front door and followed the noise toward the living room. Lance was standing in the middle of the room with Rhys, both looking angry and red faced. The Christmas tree, at an awkward diagonal to the ground, had fallen behind them. Ornaments were scattered all over the floor, and the curtain had been pulled halfway down with it.
Lance looked so angry. His face was twisted and sweating with a vein protruding from his forehead. Half a second later, his palm connected with the side of Rhys’ head.
“Look! See what you did? You fucking idiot!” Lance shouted.
“Honey, stop,” my mom shrieked.
Rhys just stood there, holding his ground, his face red.
“This is all your fucking fault. You’ve ruined everything!”
“What is going on?” I said, dropping the bag of groceries. “Rhys?!”
His eyes found me, and for a second, time slowed down. His eyes were watery and red. He made his way toward me but didn’t stop, pushing past me and pounding up the stairs.
“What the fuck, Mom?” I screamed again. “You’re just going to let him hit Rhys?”
Lance blinked, almost like he was coming out of a trance, and he turned to my mom. “I’m sorry, I just… I was so mad he ruined the tree.”
My mom simply looked at him, flabbergasted. “Lance, Rhys never even touched the tree. It probably fell over because we didn’t tighten the base enough.”
I turned and started toward the stairs just as Rhys clambered down with his backpack and coat on.
Alarm came over me. “Rhys, what are you doing?”
He gazed at me with a somber look. “I have to go. I’m sorry, Lily. I have to go.”
“Rhys,” my voice caught in my throat, but he pushed past me and left.
I turned back to the disaster scene in the living room. “Mom”
“Lily, can you please give us a minute?”
“Mom, Rhys just left! He doesn’t have a car, I don’t”
“Liliana. I need a moment with Lance, please. Alone.”
I turned and stared coolly at Lance as I tried to decide whether I should go after Rhys in the car or stay with my mom. It was an impossible decision, but at least Rhys couldn’t get far on foot. “I’m not leaving you alone with him.”
“Sweetheart. I am a grown woman. Go upstairs.”
“No. I’m staying here,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Liliana. Upstairs,” my mom repeated firmly before softening her voice. “Please.”
I glanced at the two of them for another beat and then retreated toward the stairs. “I will be right up here, and if you so much as breathe on her wrong, I’m calling the police,” I said to Lance.
I went upstairs, and while keeping an ear to the door, I sent Rhys a message through Facebook.
Me: Are you okay?
I waited a few minutes, but he didn’t respond.
Me: What happened?
Still no response.
Me: Please tell me where you are. I can come pick you up.
I lay back on my bed and closed my eyes. What the heck had just happened? I knew what I’d seen. Rhys was right to hate Lance. He was a monster. He hadn’t grown or changed. He was the same monster who’d hurt a child.
I tried messaging Rhys again. I wanted him to know that this wasn’t normal, that we weren’t going to turn a blind eye. I cracked open my door just in time to hear the front door slam and a car start up in the driveway.
I crept down the stairs and peered around the corner. My mom was sitting in the living room next to the toppled tree with her back to me.
“Mom?”
Her hands went to her face, and she blew her nose before turning toward me. “I’m here, honey. Sorry, I’m a little bit of a mess.”
“Did he touch you?” I asked immediately, my temper flaring. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
My mom chuckled through the tears. “No, no, nothing like that. II threw him out.”
I blinked at her, surprised.
“What? You didn’t think I had it in me?” she joked through the tears.
I shook my head. “No, Mom, that’s not it I just….wow. Good.”
She nodded. “I’ve seen his temper flare a bit here and there, but it was always with stupid things, like getting a parking ticket. But to see him hit his own son... No, there are just certain things I can’t forgive.”
I put my arm around my mom. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“I’m not. I won’t have a man like that around you.”
“I know you loved him.”
She blew her nose again. “Did you find Rhys?”
I pressed my lips together and checked my phone again. “No. I was going to drive and look for him.”
“I’ll go with you. Come on, it’s cold out there. Let’s go get him.”
We ended up driving around for three hours that night, but we couldn’t find him. We even stopped at the police station, but they suggested we wait to file a report since it had only been a few hours.
The next morning, I woke up to a Facebook message.
Rhys: I’m fine. I took the bus and I’m staying with my aunt until I figure out what to do. I’ll be in touch.
I didn’t know that was going to be the last time I heard from him.