The small town of Willow Creek moved at its usual lazy pace that Tuesday afternoon, and no one noticed the presence of the soldier who had been into war for fourteen long months.
That afternoon, Private First Class Nathan Keller walked up the gravel driveway of an old farmhouse while his boots crunched in rhythm and his duffel bag bounced at his side. He was finally home.
Nathan was given an early compassionate discharge, citing medical reasons, for an injury he sustained. Luckily, it wasn’t a life-threatening one.
As he walked, he pictured the surprise on the faces of his loved ones, his mother and his sister Lily. He knew they would be over the moon to see him after so long. “It’s gonna be the best surprise ever,” he thought to himself. Sadly, what he didn’t know was that things changed back home, and he had no idea just how much.
The second he set foot on the porch, something felt wrong. Unlike what he remembered, the house was unusually quiet. When he tried to get inside, he was surprised to see the door was left unlocked. He knew his mother always locked it three times.
Inside, he noticed the dust on the furniture, as though no one lived there any longer. A photo frame lay shattered on the floor, the smiling faces of his mother and sister buried beneath cracked glass.
Nathan’s chest tightened. Something was terribly wrong.
He started calling for his mom and sister, but there was no reply.
As he carefully walked down the hallway, he turned the corner and froze. Lily was curled on her bed with her back turned, and although she could feel someone entering the room, she didn’t turn around.
“Lily…,” Nathan whispered, and it was then that Lily turned, startled, and gasping when she saw him.
He thought he would cry tears of joy, but instead, she cried tears of fear and pain. When he approached her, he noticed the purple-yellow bruise across her cheek and the cut on her lip.
“What happened?” he asked, shocked and confused.
Lily shook her head, sobbing quietly.
In that moment, Nathan understood that he hadn’t come home to peace. His battle wasn’t on the battle field but in his own home in Willow Creek.
“Nathan, mom’s gone,” Lily said, unable to contain the tears from running down her face.
“What do you mean she’s gone,” Nathan asked.
Sadly, their mother passed away some three months ago, and Lily couldn’t reach him to tell him the news.
After the funeral, she was left all by herself. She did stay with some relatives for a while, but she then returned home, and that’s when Rick, a man their mother used to date briefly, appeared. At first, he pretended to care about Lily, but over time, he turned her into a prisoner in her own home.
He wouldn’t let her speak to anyone, reach out to family, or have any friends. He moved into her home and treated her like a maid. What’s more, he beat her and mistreated her, and she had no one to turn to.
“Don’t worry, Lily,” Nathan said. “I’m here now. You are safe.”
Nathan reached out to a former combat pall who now worked as a lawyer, he contacted social services, and alerted the police. But things didn’t move as fast as he expected. They needed evidence and a testimony from Lily, and that very evening, Nathan was going to have it.
When Rick returned to the house that evening, he started yelling at Lily for not cleaning the living room. And just as he was about to hit her, Nathan appeared from the kitchen and grabbed him by his hand.
“Who the hell…” Rick yelled, his face twisted in shock.
“I’m her brother,” Nathan said, “and you just made the biggest mistake of your life.”
But Nathan didn’t need to fight because the police was already on their way. With Lily’s testimony, photographs of her injuries, and medical records, Rick didn’t stand a chance. He was arrested and charged with assault, unlawful custody, and child endangerment.
Rick’s arrest, however, didn’t erase Lily’s trauma and scars. She needed time and therapy in order to heal completely, and she was only able to do it because her brother was now at her side.
Nathan decided not to return to his military career, instead he fought for legal guardianship of Lily, who was 17 at the time.
When the truth spread through Willow Creek, the town changed too. The neighbors regretted not noticing the signs and not stepping in sooner. However, the shame soon turned into action. The entire town rallied around the brother and sister. The local diner offered Lily a part-time job, a retired teacher began tutoring her in math, and a neighbor gifted an old piano so Lily could play again.
A year later, when Lily graduated high school with honors, everyone understood that she had finally healed from the ordeal. She was again the vibrant girl everyone remembered her to be.
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Bored Daddy
Love and Peace