Lahat ng Kabanata ng Whispers of the Heart: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

I was unlocking the car door and out of it no sooner than Owen had it stopped, parent ID badge in hand. As the door opened, I hoped and prayed that it wasn’t that hateful Mrs. Jackson. My emotional state could not handle her spiteful sneers and snarky comments.Luck was on my side as Miss Kelly came out holding Nate’s hand. She smiled at me as she released him and he came running. I knelt down and caught him in a hug, closing my eyes in thankfulness at the smile he greeted me with.“I’m so sorry, Little Man. I had to stay after school and I thought your Daddy was gonna stop and get you. He must have gotten confused.”I stood, holding his hand. “Thank you, Miss Kelly. I am so sorry about this. I hope we haven’t kept you from anything important.”“Not at all, sweetie. I was heading out the door when I heard them on the phone with you up front. I am sorry they were being so short. Things happen. I told them to go ahead and that I would wait for you. I don’t have anything waiting for me at

“Just where the hell do you think you are going, you little bitch!” Phil hissed in my ear. He had slammed into me from behind, knocking me onto the bed with his weight fully on top of me. He had one of his large hands wrapped around the back of my neck and was squeezing against my spine as he held my head down, struggling to hold me still beneath him.I was fighting, trying to kick and buck against him, anything I could possibly do to get him off of me. He was stronger than me but the amount of alcohol he had consumed made him disoriented and clumsy. The smell of the sour whiskey on his breath made me gag as he kept his nose and mouth right against my ear. I tried to scream as he shoved my face down harder into the mattress. I was struggling to be able to breathe at all now. I went limp beneath him suddenly, hoping he would think I had passed out. It worked as after a few seconds, he scrambled off of me enough for me to at shift my position slightly so I could breathe again.He was pan

As soon as we walked in at the diner, Owen joined Bethany and Kyle at the booth they were sitting in while I made Nate comfortable. We had a booth tucked in the corner, next to the bar that was usually used for staff breaks or, most often, diner employee kids waiting around for a parent to get off work or another to pick them up. I settled Nate here with his tablet and made him an Orange Fizz. I put our order in with John and after finding out that Bethany and Kyle had already ordered, I found out what Owen wanted and added that to my order, too.Barb had not only seen me but she had raised eyebrows as she glanced over me, her gaze stopping at a couple of spots that I still needed to take a look at myself. I quickly took my drink with Owen’s to our table and told them all that I would be right back. I gave Owen a small smile that he returned with a reassuring nod and walked around the corner, out of site and bee-lined toward the restroom.As I attempted to shut the door, a foot suddenl

Even after I asked, he looked out the window as he took a drink of his own soda. He sat there watching the traffic like he didn’t have a care in the world but I could see the turmoil behind his eyes. He had questions and he wanted answers but wasn’t sure how to ask.Finally, he sighed as he looked over at me. “You know, my sister’s old man gets in a mood from time to time. Nicest guy you will ever meet unless he’s in one. Then, he turns into this totally different person. Never would have ever believed it, even if she told me until I saw it with my own two eyes. I guess that’s one of the reasons she hid it from us for so long. The drink is what does it. It’s poison to him. One drink and he changes into this monster, this stranger that is out here walking among us like a normal, every day guy.”“What are you saying, Kyle?”“I think you know what I’m saying, Aurora. I just hope it ain’t pretty boy there that’s causing that look you had when you walked in tonight. I know that look cause I

Owen texted me at seven forty-seven to let me know that practice was over and he was heading back to pick us up. After Barb and I had talked with things settled as to where I was going and what our plan was for the next few days, I had hugged her again and even walked into the kitchen and made John surrender and give me a hug, too. He just responded with his normal grunt but he did have a twinkle in his eye and squeezed me back during the hug. I had kept myself busy making sure everything was prepped for the next day. Now, I let Barb know that Owen was on his way. Nate handed me his tablet as I stretched out my hand for it. I turned it off and laid it on the table.“Are we not going home, Rory?” He asked me with a tilt of his head.“Not tonight, buddy. Your daddy is still not feeling good so we need to let him rest.”“But who’s gonna take care of Daddy while he is sick?”“I made sure he was okay before I left.” The lie tasted so bitter on my tongue. “He just needs to get a good night’