"I know," Willow said quietly as she watched him go, arms crossed over her body. I don't want him to leave, but if he stays, who knows what will happen? Turning back to the slumped body, she shivered. I don't think I have enoguh concealer left.
Sterling sighed as he walked out, closing the door behind himself. He made his way to his car, shaking his head. If he had stayed, could he have helped her? He really didn’t want to leave her alone in there with that man.
And who was he, anyway? He bore a slight resemblance to Willow, but Sterling didn’t remember her mentioning a brother…
Oh, shoot… That was her father, wasn’t it?
Willow jumped as a rough voice spoke. Shit. "Who was that?" She turned slowly to face her father, hands shaking.
"It-It was just a friend," she stuttered, wringing her hands together. Father didn't like her having friends over; he said she was flaunting how poor they were so she could get money. It hurt her to know how low her father felt of her, but as they say; a drunk man speaks sober truths.
"You know what I said about friends in the house," his tone grew angry, and her eyes glanced to the bottle of alcohol gripped tightly in his hand. She took a few steps back in case he decided to throw it. Maybe I should take Sterling up on that offer…
Sterling still stood in the driveway, repeatedly tearing a hand through his hair. He didn't want to leave her alone with a drink man, especially after the way she had reached when she'd seen him. But he couldn't go back inside, either, for worry that it would only make things worse.
C'mon, Willow… Don't let yourself be hurt by him…
((Hey, I have an idea, if you want to hear it))
Willow gulped, and took a few more steps back. This apparently angered him, as his hand raised with the bottle in it. She flinched, automatically covering her head with her arms. The sound of pounding feet made her head jerk up, and her father's face was in hers, eyes blazing.
"Don't you cower away from me, girl!" he yelled, causing Willow to fall back, landing on the ground with a thump! Pain blossomed on her back, and she was sure she would have a bruise there tomorrow morning.
Sterling heard her fall from his place by his car. Had she been hurt? Had her father hit her? Gosh dang it, what was he supposed to do?
Willow scrambled back, tears starting to stream down her face as he started to yell more obscenities and insults at her. Suddenly, he raised the bottle as to throw at her, but luckily the alcohol coursing through his veins made him miss, the bottle crashing a few feet away from her.
“Stop! Plea-Please stop!” Willow cried. Why is he doing this to me? Why?!
The crash was the last straw for Sterling. He walked back up to the door and silently slipped inside. Spotting Willow on the ground, he gestured for her to get up and come over to him. He could deal with her father. It wouldn't be the first time he's dealt with a drunk man.
Willow's eyes widened as she saw Sterling come back in. Doesn't he know he's going to get hurt?! Seeing her gaze switch to from him to something behind him, his father turned around to face Sterling, almost falling over in the process. Fear froze Willow, preventing her from moving from her place.
"Is your little boyfriend coming to save you?" Her father laughed. "You can't save her from herself, little boy." Willow's blood ran cold. He wouldn't dare. Suddenly, her father charged at Sterling without much as a warning.
“You know it’s illegal to abuse your child, right?” Sterling asked rhetorically as he slipped out of the way, glaring at the man the entire time. He knew quite a bit about legal issues, since his father was a lawyer and all. Especially child abuse… It seemed like that was on the rise lately…
Her father laughed manically. “Like I care! The bitch won’t say anything either way!” Willow winced. God, could he be more insensitive? She stood up shakily, leaning heavily on the wall as pain bloomed on her back. “Ster-Sterling,” she called quietly, hiccups breaking up her words. Her father swung wildly at him, obviously going to miss.
“What, Willow?” Sterling asked gently as he dodged the swing. He glanced over at her, careful to keep her father in his line of sight.
“I-I think I’m gonna pa-pass out,” Willow stuttered. The ground seemed to sway under her feet, black spots clouding her vision. It was almost like she was drunk, minus the fun parts.
“Shoot,” Sterling muttered under his breath, hurrying to her side. He wrapped an arm around her waist, ever keeping an eye on the drunk man in the room, and held her up. “I think I should bring you somewhere safer than here,” he said softly, so that her father couldn’t hear.
“Is…okay…with..me…” Willow slurred. She tried her best to stay awake, but found herself fading fast. Black finally overcame her vision, and she slumped against Sterling.
Her father in question was currently stumbling around, vision hazy. Knocking over several things in his wake, he didn’t pose as much as a threat as before.
Sterling gave the man one last glance before he picked Willow up and carried her out to his car. He would take her home; his parents wouldn’t mind. Especially not if he explained the situation.
Willow shifted in her unconsciousness, her peaceful face changing into one of worry. Murmuring in her sleep, she nestled closer to Sterling. Warm… the thought flitted across her mind, gone after a second.
Sterling glanced down at her softly, smiling a bit. He carefully set her in the back seat of his car, making sure she would be okay before getting behind the wheel. With one last look at her, he started to back out and drive back to his house.
Willow frowned at the absence of warmth, turning slightly. Where’d it go? Her thoughts were little snippets of things she would never dare say out loud, lasting only a few seconds. Willow sensed that she was in something that was moving, but couldn’t bring herself to conciousness. It was almost like something in her mind was restrained her, saying things like ‘not quite yet’ and ‘just a few more minutes of sleep.’
Sterling glanced back at her occasionally as he drove, just making sure she was okay. When they finally arrived at his house, he quickly parked his car and climbed out. Running a hand through his hair, he made his way over to the back seat to get Willow. He wasn't sure if he should wake her up or not, so he chewed on his lip as he though for a moment, watching her carefully.
Willow finally pushed through the blanket of darkness, and slowly blinked her eyes open. The harsh sunlight hurt her eyes, and she winced. The last thing she saw before passing out was her dad stumbling around, and Sterling coming to help her.
Sterling!
She sat straight up, and her head started to ache from the blood rush. Willow looked around, finally laying eyes on Sterling. He looks cute when he's worried… She quickly shook away the thought. Now is not the time!
"How long was I out?" Willow asked, voice scratchy.
“Woah… Slow down, there. Don’t want you getting hurt. You were only out for a few minutes. I just drove to my house,” Sterling explained gently. “Do you need help walking? Or do you think you can make it inside?”
“I think I can walk…” Willow’s voice wavered a bit, but she was confident that she could walk. It couldn’t be that hard, right? She tentatively stepped out of the car, one hand on the car for support. “See? I’m fi-woah!” Willow fell forward, her legs giving out beneath her.
Sterling quickly reaches forward and caught her, their faces ending up very close together when he did so. He looked up, his cheeks burning when he noticed, and helped her stand.
“Looks like I’ll have to help you,” he said softly, his eyes flickering over her face.
Willow could feel his hot breath fanning over her breath, and she blushed, eyes transfixed on the boy before her. I wonder if that blond hair feels as soft as it looks… She had to restrain herself from running a hand through it. Oh, and those eyes, I could look into them forever… Willow’s lips felt dry all of the sudden, so she licked them, never taking her gaze off Sterling.