I thought quickly for a response. It hurt to have to lie to him, but there was no way I could tel him what had real y happened. "You tripped on the foot of the bench and hit your head. Are you okay?" Maybe directing the attention toward him would save my ass, but that wasn't likely.

He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "Yeah, I'm al right. I just . . . We were sitting and talking and I can't remember anything after you shouted."

I nodded firmly. "We were talking and you got up to go back to the party when you tripped on the foot of the bench and fel . You sure you're okay?" As he gave me a puzzled nod, I wondered what else he remembered--if he remembered asking me to be his girlfriend at al . I hoped he did, and remembered my response too, so he'd move on, but the way he held me made me guess otherwise.

"Elisabeth Marie!" my mom shouted as she stomped toward me in her robe and pajamas. "Are you al right? What in the hel happened to you? Where are you hurt?"

I twisted away. "I'm fine--I'm not hurt."

"What?" Mom grabbed my arm, pul ed me close, and examined my skin, looking for injuries. She touched my bel y, pushing up the flaps of fabric, her eyes brimming wide as she found no wounds. "How are you not hurt?" She turned to Kate.

"She fel through the window, right?"

Kate nodded. "She went flying through it."

Saying nothing, I peeked over Kate's shoulders to see my dad marching through the house. My body locked up, preparing for the screaming match that was about to erupt.

"How, El ie?" my mom pressed. "Did someone push you?

And did you fal in the woods? You're covered in dirt. Were you drinking?"

I chose that moment to take advantage. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Mom. Landon and I had been drinking and we were joking around. Landon fel , and I tried to go inside when I tripped and went through the window. When I saw what I did, I freaked and ran. I was too scared to come home. I'm so sorry, Mom."

"You damn wel better be!" she cried. I could tel from the look on her face that she couldn't believe I'd managed to break the window with anything less than a car, but nothing had gone through that window but my body. She was forced to accept what I told her.

"You were drinking?" my dad demanded angrily as he appeared on the patio. He spoke to me, but his eyes searched the darkness behind me. I hoped he didn't see Wil .

"No more parties here. That's it. No Homecoming."

"But Dad--"

"He's right." My mom threw her hands in the air. "I am completely shocked that you don't have a scratch on you!

Where did al this blood come from?"

I thought quickly. "I have scratches, just little ones. It's too dark to see, I guess. Al my fingers and toes are stil here, see?"

"Did you see the mess you made?" my dad hissed. "You are a complete moron!"

"Richard!" my mother cried, covering her mouth with her hand and gaping at him.

I stared at him in shock, registering the blatant contempt on his face and the malice in his voice. Kate took a step closer to me, and I felt her fingers on the back of my arm, letting me know she was there for me. My own father had just cal ed me a moron. What I'd done--or what I needed them to believe--might have been stupid, but what he had said was out of line.

"I'm not stupid," I growled under my breath.

My dad's expression froze. "What was that?"

"I said," I reiterated in a louder, stronger voice, "I'm not stupid. I made a mistake. That doesn't mean I'm a moron."

He gave me an icy sidelong look. "You sure about that?"

My hands rol ed into tight fists. I didn't want to fight with my dad, but I couldn't let him talk to me that way. "Very."

"Rick, just go back into the house," my mom said. "I'l handle this."

He turned on her. "Why are you defending her?"

"I'm not defending her," she shot back. "I'm just suggesting that you can't handle this properly when you're so upset."

His nostrils flared and the veins in his temple throbbed as if he were about to explode any second. "And you're doing much better? You let her walk al over you and you're always interfering."

She blinked in shock. "Interfering? With what?"

"I can't discipline her with you always running to her side!"

"Discipline?" she cried with a gasp. "This isn't discipline. You're only making things worse!"

He threw a finger into her face. "Maybe one day you'l learn from al this why everything only just gets worse."

As I watched the man who was supposed to be my father stomp back into the house, I prayed he'd just file for divorce and get the hel away from me and my mom for good. What was wrong with him? I remembered having a dad who once gave me piggyback rides and finger painted while we watched Saturday-morning cartoons. This man was no longer the father I had once had. Demonic reapers had more compassion than this monster.

"El ie," Mom said very seriously, jarring me from my thoughts. "Look, I know you guys are teenagers, and you're going to drink regardless of what anyone says, but please just be safe. And don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I'd rather you come to me instead of us finding you dead in a ditch. Running away like that wasn't cool."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, forcing a smile. Kate gave me a knowing look and pursed her lips tightly. Knowing that she and Landon had to witness al that made me feel a thousand times worse.