Something You Can't Believe

Jenny heard a car pull into the drive. She felt her heart warm. Her father looked towards her mother and she got up. She saw her fathers gaze lay down on her questioning her movement.
‘Derricks home.’
She heard her mother sigh from the edge of the room and ignored it the same as she heard it. She didn’t have time for her mothers judgements. She didn’t need them and she didn’t need her dad knowing them and judging Derrick in the same way. She left the living room and opened the front door just as Derrick was coming up the steps. He smiled and hugged her as he walked into the house. She held onto him. Right now she didn’t want to let him go.
He bent down to whisper in her ear. He didn’t want the people who were in the living room to hear what he was saying.
‘Shane told me your dad was here’
Jenny breathed in and let go of Derrick. She didn’t want to act surprised and say she wasn’t going to text him because she didn’t went him to know at the same time she knew he wanted an explanation as o why it had been Shane who told him and her.
‘Yeh he is. Look I didn’t want to…’
Derrick broke in before she could finish.
‘Its alright babe. Just I’m glad I got warning. I don’t care who its from. Just so long as I’m informed about these things and don’t walk into the house and living room to be eye to eye with a man that I have wanted to punch in the face for like 29 years.’
She nodded. She knew he was right. She should have told him. If he hadn’t been told he would have taken it the wrong way. She had never met him and though he didn’t look young he could have been anyone so that could have caused problems for hours. She watched as Derrick went into the living room and sat on the chair which Shane had been sitting in before he had disappeared to the bottomless pit which was his bedroom.
She saw him say hi then pick up his book from the table. She laughed to herself. He really must disapprove of the company they had tonight and he really must be bored cause she had bought him that book for his birthday 3 years ago and he had been on chapter two ever since. He had always said he wasn’t much of a reader.
She needed coffee and knew Derrick would too so she looked into the living room.
‘Anybody in here wanting a drink?’
everyone nodded and agreed coffee would be the best thing. She left the living room and went into the kitchen filling the kettle and switching it back on. She got another three mugs from the cupboard and put coffee into each one and waited for the water to boil.
Back in the living room her father stood up only to get a look from Derrick.
‘Where’s the bathroom young man?’
Derrick sighed and gulped then reluctantly told his father in law where the bathroom was located.
He smiled and nodded then left the living room. However instead of going up the stairs and to the bathroom he entered the kitchen to see his daughter making the coffee. She looked at him.
‘Dad I was coming back through.’
He didn’t reply. He didn’t even look at her. Only walked over to the draining board where the washing up had just freshly been done. He smiled and picked up one of the sharp kitchen knives. He saw the light from the sun gleam off it. He looked back at her. She went white and felt more nervous now than she had when she had first seen him. She didn’t dare scream or shout. After all she couldn’t be positive he was going to hurt her.
‘Nice house you have here. Fine life.’
She nodded.
‘Why thanks dad’
‘Quite enviable wouldn’t you say?’
She had never really considered any of this to be enviable. However she had been living this lifestyle for over 10 years now. So she wouldn’t.
‘Well if you put it that way then it could possibly be yes.’
He chuckled coldly.
‘Don’t put it that way Jennifer. I will say. I have been looking forward to this day since your mother threw me onto the streets. I wanted to see my little girl again. See how she was doing. I missed you Jenny darling. Now come give daddy a hug’
She didn’t want to. She also knew his version of asking for hugs wasn’t a question at all and when he wanted a hug there was no option. She walked over slowly and put her hands around him watching the knife as she did.
He moved to quickly for her to notice. She felt the blade jab into her stomach. The pain was bad. She could hardly breathe. She stepped back. She tried to scream but it never came out. She heard shouting from the next door room and knew Derrick and her mother were arguing. They probably wouldn’t have heard her even if she did shout.
She fell against the fridge. As she did something fell from the top and smashed.

Derrick heard the smash and jumped up completely dropping the subject he was on. He didn’t care about Jenny’s mom. He cared about Jenny. Something had smashed in the kitchen and Jenny never dropped things. He shot from the living room and into the kitchen. He looked at Jenny on the floor and then at her dad who was holding the blood stained knife.
He wanted to kill him. Just get it over with and take that knife from the bastards hands then slit his darn throat straight open and watch him bleed but he couldn’t not if he wanted Jenny to live. He dropped to her level and took the knife from her stomach putting his hand over the wound for support in hope to stop the bleeding.
With his free hand he went into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone dialling 911 he asked for a ambulance and gave the address then hung up the phone. By the time the call had finished Jenny’s mom and dad had found their escape and left the house. He wasn’t going to complain. It saved him a job. He didn’t have to kill the asshole or worry about him hurting Shane. Jenny needed to be his priority. He used the hand which he had used for his cell phone to stroke down her hair. He kissed her cheek as he heard her cry softly.
‘Baby, its going to be okay I promise.’
He felt her squeeze his hand softly. She knew the same as him and he knew she did. He couldn’t promise she would be okay. She had always told him he would be though. Even when she couldn’t know if he would be. It had helped him though he had known she didn’t know herself. It was more of a comfort to the speaker he realised.
Clearly he was trying to comfort them both. But by saying this he was only comforting himself. Maybe though if he felt comforted she would feel more comforted. He looked at her to see her eyes closing. He shook her slowly.
‘No baby, you need to stay awake. You hear me? Stay wimme comeon!’
Her eyes reopened and he smiled. It wouldn’t be long before the ambulance got there. It couldn’t be. He didn’t have time for it to be long. If she passed out he would loose her and he knew that. He was no doctor. She was a nurse. She could handle these situations but she was no good in this one. He had no medical training.
He felt tears roll down his cheek as her breathing became more faint. He couldn’t keep her awake. He couldn’t keep himself together so what good was he to her right now? He was blaming himself for everything. He knew in his heart it wasn’t his fault but he couldn’t help but think it was. It was killing him. The one time she needed him to be strong. The one time she depended on him and him holding it together and keeping his sanity in one piece he couldn’t do it.
He was shattered and crumbling from the inside like a old ruined building. His foundations were sodden and the beams were breaking. If he didn’t get help soon the whole thing would collapse and he would loose her if that happened. More to the point Shane would just loose his mother but both his parents. And Derrick couldn’t allow that. He had to keep strong.
He kissed her again as he heard the sirens. He counted the seconds until the paramedics were in the house and he could let her go.