Total Knock Out / Book Two

Chapter Eleven: Holes

Logan fluffed up the bangs she had just given Rori, snipping the last few stray hairs with the scissors she held in her left hand. Her daughter had begged for them after Elijah had shown her a video of Zoey playing with a puppy, saying that they were best friends and had to have the same hair.

"Okay bug, you're done. Why don't you go show Elijah while I clean up the mess?" Logan suggested, pulling the towel off of her daughter's shoulders and nodding her head towards the front door. Rori slipped off the stool she was sitting on and raced inside, practically vibrating with pent up energy and Logan shook her head before grabbing the broom she had brought outside with them and sweeping off the front porch.

She looked up when she heard a truck pull into the driveway, her heart skipping a beat before settling once she realized it was Stanford. She let the broom fall to the ground once he stumbled out of the truck and ran towards him, her stomach already churning at the sight of his bloody shirt wrapped around his arm.

"What happened?" Logan whispered, staring at his arm in horror and trying not to let her dinner come back up. The smell of the blood made her stomach cramp even worse and she took a deep breath in through her mouth to keep from fainting. Stanford just brushed past her and she followed him helplessly into the house, shutting the front door behind her and locking it. She hadn't pried when he said it had been a family emergency, not even hinting to Elijah that she was curious once he got there. She was beginning to think she should have when Elijah jumped up off the couch and silently lead his friend into the kitchen.

"Mama," Rori whispered, "can I give him some of my Hello Kitty bandaids? They make the hurt spots not hurt."

Logan nodded her head at her daughter's question and watched as Rori raced towards her bedroom. Her stomach was still churning and she laid her hand against it briefly, trying not to gag. She took a deep breath and shook her head before walking into the kitchen and flinching when Stanford slammed his hand down on the kitchen counter.

Blood had dripped onto the floor and his ruined shirt was tossed haphazardly onto the counter, making a gruesome scene. Elijah has a first aid kit open and gauze squares in his hands, bandages and peroxide already laid out on the countertop.

"Why the hell was she outside alone? If I wanted her to do bullshit like that, I wouldn't have called you in the first place!" Stanford growled, obviously talking about her being out of the house when he finally got home.

She watched in silent amazement as Elijah just reached out and yanked Stanford's arm towards him, grabbing the peroxide off of the counter and dumping it over the cuts on Stanford's forearm and hand. He had the gauze pressed against them and wrapped up in just a few seconds and let Stanford go when he yanked his arm back.

"The front door was open, all she had to do was yell. It's no different than when you go down to the basement and they're in the living room."

Logan looked down when she felt a tug on her dress and smiled when Rori handed her a fistful of bandaids. She opened one up and handed one to her daughter, about to tell her to go give it to Stanford when a loud crash made the both of them jump and look wildly to the men in front of them.

She watched as Stanford pulled his fist away from the wall, a hole left behind and the contents of the first aid kit around his feet. The second punch he threw at the wall had Rori screaming and Logan crouched down in front of her daughter, heart breaking at the tears that escaped from her bright green eyes.

"Go to your room and start getting ready for bed. I'll be in there to tuck you in after I get done in here," Logan soothed, wiping a stray tear off of her daughter's chubby cheek and pushing her gently towards the door. She stayed in her crouch until Rori turned around the corner and let out the shaky breath she had been holding when she made eye contact with Elijah.