I pulled up into the driveway of the dark house and Mandy jumped out of the car and ran up to the door. I could hear her pounding on the door as I jumped out and rushed to Ezra. I heard Mandy's frantic voice and feet shuffling as they ran across the dirt towards us.

I looked down at Ezra; he was extremely pale. I should have taken him straight to the hospital. Damn, what he wanted me to do, I should have trusted my gut.

"What the hell happened?" Charlie's voice boomed as he moved behind me and looked down at Ezra. Luanne caught up a few seconds later and began sobbing when she saw him. Charlie pushed me out of the way and bent down to get a good look at him. Ezra was awake, and he pushed Charlie back when he tried to fuss over him.

"I'll be fine." Ezra said. His face pulled into a grimace when he accidentally brushed his rib cage against the seat. I tried to move to him, but Luanne had the same idea. She leaned in and took his face in her hands, staring at the cuts that were gushing blood and the dark bruises forming.

"What happened?" She looked at him before turning back at me. She was waiting for an answer and Ezra wasn't going to pipe up to tell her.

"Can we go inside?" Ezra begged his mom. "I need to get out of this car."

Ezra leaned his head against the seat and looked over at me. I wanted to take his pain away; if I hadn't pressured him into going tonight for Mandy, none of this would have happened. It seemed like everything that happened to him was a consequence of decisions I made.

"Charlie, help him get to his feet." Luanne commanded.

"No, I need Riley." Ezra squeaked, pleading for me to be near him. I pushed through his family, who was waging a war for space by the open car door. Ezra needed me. I bent down and he shifted his weight so he could grab my waist. I tried to avoid the side he had been grabbing and helped pull him up out of the car. He placed most of his weight on my shoulder. I was getting used to carrying him lately. It didn't even feel unusual anymore.

Charlie moved in to grab him and he shook his head at him. Charlie's face fell a bit, but he backed off without saying another word.

"I've got him. Can someone get the door for us?" Mandy nodded and ran up to the house. We moved slowly and he took a deep breath once we got to the stairs and began to climb. He was holding onto me tightly. It was like the more he touched me, the stronger he was getting.

We made it in the house and into the dark living room before my strength started to fail me. He took a little more of his weight off me so we could make it to the couch. He slowly lowered himself to the couch and closed his eyes. Mandy reached to the wall and flipped the light switch on.

"What happened?" Luanne asked. She was looking at her little boy, who was bleeding and bruised.

"Jake." I said through gritted teeth. Charlie and Luanne turned to look at me; their eyes grew big.

"What do you mean?" Charlie's face turned sour.

I felt relief when Mandy took the lead. I was on the verge of losing it. "Daddy, they beat him up because they thought he told you about Jake dealing. Milo and Austin attacked him from behind and knocked him out. He didn't stand a chance. Jake started messing with Riley and threatened to do things to her."

Charlie stared at his daughter, looked over at Ezra, and then turned his attention to me. His eyes were fixated on my cheek. I turned my head, trying to hide my face with my hair. It had been hurting since Jake hit me, but it was nothing compared to what Ezra was going through.

"What happened to your face?" He asked me. His face was growing redder every second.

Ezra's eyes flew open and went straight to my throbbing cheek. He wasn't able to see my face in the dim light outside.  Now he had a clear view of the mark I knew Jake had left behind. His eyes narrowed and he started to jump up.

"I am going to fucking kill him." Ezra barked out.

"Settle down." Charlie said, pushing one finger against him to keep him in his seat. "You're not in any condition to go play hero. You need to stay put."

"Riley, did someone hit you?" Luanne asked.

"I'm fine." I said, wanting the attention to go back to my battered and broken dark-haired boy.

"Jake held Riley back from going to help Ezra. When she got free, she went after Jake. She tackled him and was pounding his head into the ground. You should have seen her, Daddy. She beat the crap out of him before he was able to hit her once across the face. She kicked his ass."

Charlie bent over laughing when Mandy finished her story. He was wiping tears from his eyes.

"What's so funny?" Luanne asked, just as confused as I was.

Ezra started laughing too, which ended up in a violent cough. Luanne and I both turned our heads towards him. Why was he laughing? None of this was funny. I was petrified tonight. Had everyone lost their minds?

Charlie took in a deep breath before looking over at me. "Jake's never lost a fight before, well, except for the one time when he was eleven and picked a fight with Ezra. Remind me never to piss you off."

"She is scary." Ezra said, laughing again. Luanne looked back and forth between the duo who had completely gone insane. I looked and saw Ezra staring at me with some of the color back on his face. I took a deep breath; he was going to be alright. He was safe and here with me.

"You two should get upstairs and get cleaned up. I'm going to go take care of Jake." Charlie said. I knew he meant it. He was not going to let Jake get away with this. Charlie did not seem like the type who threw empty threats around. "Come on, Mandy, let's go."

Mandy ran over to me and gave me the biggest, warmest hug. I pulled her in and squeezed her back. I would never blame this girl for anything that happened tonight.

"See ya, Riley." She said as Charlie dragged her out the front door. I gave her a small wave and noticed my knuckles were cracked and bleeding. I needed to wash my hand out and get Ezra patched up.

"Momma, we're going to get a shower and go to bed." Ezra said, gently pulling himself up from the couch. His tall body was favoring the side that was hurt.

"Can I get you anything?" She looked over at him, watching me. I could tell she didn't know what to do with herself. She had been the main nurse for Ezra's wounds his whole life and wasn't used to him wanting someone else to take care of him. She didn't seem jealous that he wanted to be with me. She just wanted to make sure her little boy would be alright.

"We'll be fine. I'll let you know if we need anything." She nodded at him before turning to go back into the kitchen.

Ezra stood and lifted his hand to the back of my head. He brushed his lips against the top of my head.

"Come on, beautiful, let's get you cleaned up and ready for bed."