Part 20

Josh's POV

I watched the scene in front of me with wide eyes. Justen grabbed his dad's arm but with a forceful slap, Justen's dad smacked it away. I watched Justen get scared as his dad dragged him into the house. That's when I couldn't take it anymore. Instead of doing the smart thing by calling the police, I turned my truck off and walked towards the house. I heard Justen cry out in pain and my hand found the doorknob. Just as I was about to open the door, I heard my phone vibrate in my back pocket. Reluctantly, I let the doorknob go and retreated back to my truck before checking my phone. Once my phone was unlocked, I saw a text from Michael.

Michael: Come home. I need you

It was those five words that made me forget what was going on at Justen's house and fear what was going on at my own. I started my truck again and drove to my house scared to know what was going on. As I was driving, Michael called me. I answered the phone and put it on speakerphone.

"Josh?" I heard Michael ask.

"Michael?" I asked. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

"Josh, they're fighting again," Michael said.

"About what?" I asked.

"Something about custody," Michael said.

"I'm on my way," I said as I drove.

"Please hurry," Michael said. "I'm scared."

"I'm coming, Michael," I said. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm in the closet," Michael said, his voice shaking from fear.

I had to calm him down.

"How was your day?" I asked, driving a little faster.

"G-good," Michael stuttered.

"What did you do today?" I asked, turning onto the road I lived on.

"Uh, I went out with some friends and watched a movie, I came home afterwards and played Mario," Michael said.

"What movie did you watch with your friends?" I asked, glad my questions were distracting him.

"I watched Rise Of The Guardians," Michael said.

"The one with the Easter kangaroo?" I asked, pulling into the driveway.

"He is a bunny," Michael laughed.

"Hey, I'm home," I said.

"Okay. Mom and dad stopped, for now, I think they saw you come home," Michael said.

"Darn," I said. "Alright, I'm going to hang up now, okay?"

"Okay, be careful," Michael said. "Please?"

"I will," I said. "Bye for now."

"Talk to you later," Michael said, hanging up the phone.

I hung up the phone on my end and took a deep breath. I walked up to the front door and opened it.

"I'm home," I called out, shutting the door behind me.

"Finally," I heard my mom say. "It couldn't have taken you longer."

"I'm sorry, I was with a friend," I said.

"Did he have brown curly hair?" my mom asked.

"No, he had blonde hair," I said. "I was over at Nathan's house. Besides, I don't even know anyone with curly brown hair."

"That's not what we heard from Ryan," my dad said, walking into the room.

I became scared. "What lies did he tell you?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

"He told us that you ditched his group to hang out with another, less cool, person. I think Ryan said the person's name was Justen or something," my dad said.

"That's because this kid got picked on," I lied. "I wanted to let him know he had a friend."

"Ryan also said you and this Justen kid have been hanging out for quite some time now," my dad said. "How many days? Two? Three?"

"I hung out with him today, that was it," I lied.

"I thought you said you were over at a friend's house," my mom said.

"You lied to us?" my dad asked.

"Not technically," I said. "I told you I was with a friend and Justen is a friend."

My dad suddenly grabbed me by my hair. "Oh my," he said. "Do you know what happens when you lie?"

"No," I said, knowing exactly what was going to happen. "No! Stop!"