Family Ties by Debi V. Smith Read Free Book Online

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    CHAPTER TEN
    The walk home from Dr. Bannister’s office is long and lonely without Arissa. I’m so used to her company now it’s odd to feel lonely outside my house.
    My arm looks like a withered twig from six weeks of no use while in the cast. 
    My parents are home when I arrive.
    “What took you so fucking long?” Father demands before I can close the door.
    “It’s not like Dr. Bannister is around the corner,” I answer, heading for my room.
    “Don’t you fucking talk back to me!”
    His feet thunder against the floor and I dash to my room with my heart pounding. I slam my door shut, drop my backpack then press my back against the closed door and slide to the ground.
    The doorknob twists and the door knocks me forward with the force he uses. But it isn’t enough to clear me from the doorway. The door pushes me again with a loud thud that I can only guess is my father throwing his body into the door.
    I have no traction on the old carpet to push back.
    He does it again and this time it’s enough to thrust me far enough for him to open the door.
    I flip over and scoot backwards on my hands and feet as he removes his belt. The whooshing as he frees it from the loops fills my ears and sets off my racing heart.
    “You’ve gotten too bold for your own good,” he says, wrapping the non-buckle end around his hand, leaving the buckle dangling. Taunting me. “I think you need an attitude adjustment.”
    My back hits my bed. I have no place left to go. I have no choice but to take it yet again.
    He raises his arm and I curl into a ball using my arms to protect my head.
    I take my mind elsewhere to numb the leather’s biting sting. Back to the daydream of my family being like the Jerichos. Where I’m complimented instead of ignored and hugged instead of beaten. 
    After he leaves, I let the tears subside before unfurling myself. I don’t assess the damage because I don’t want to see the price I just paid. The pain of it shouts with every move I make.

 
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Arissa and I sit in front of Rose and Andrew on the gym’s wooden bleachers for the first basketball game. Jason doesn’t start, but the coach puts him in later to give the starting point guard a breather. We cheer on our team as they run back and forth between the baskets. At the end, we wave to Jason before he files into the locker room with the rest of the team.
    We rush home for Arissa’s birthday party that she insisted on having after the game. As Andrew unlocks the front door, a minivan pulls into the driveway and a gaggle of girls pile out, charging at Arissa.
    I remain quiet as she gabs with her friends and opens presents in the TV room. I may be comfortable with my two friends, but socializing with people I don’t know is difficult. Part of me would rather have another fractured elbow than endure the awkwardness. At least physical agony is a known factor for me. I know what to expect.
    I leave the chatterboxes for the kitchen with my empty cup. Andrew and Rose are playing cards with the mother who drove the minivan.
    “Everything okay in there?” Rose asks.
    “Yeah. I just came for more ice tea.”
    I take my time filling my cup, picturing what life would’ve been like had my parents permitted me to make friends when I was younger. Going to birthday parties. Sleepovers with a room full of girls. Shopping at the mall. Going to movies.
    “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” she asks, pulling me out of my daydream.
    “What?”
    “You’re spaced out and taking forever to get more tea.”
    I guess I’ve spent enough time here the last few months for them to know me.
    “I’m not used to parties. And I don’t know Arissa’s other friends.”
    “There was a time you didn’t know Arissa either,“ she reminds me.
    “That was all her. She’s more social than I am.”
    “It wouldn’t hurt to go in there and talk to them,” Andrew suggests.
    “Sara!” Arissa calls out, shaking a long flat box when I return to the TV