"Faith!" I scream, before more hands are on me, lifting me up. I kick the door, seeing the hinge give way. They drag me toward the stairs, before I slip free. I sprint back to her room, flinging the door open. 
I freeze as I see her sitting in bed with her knees pulled to her chest. Sara sits on the edge of the bed, holding her hand as tears stream down Faith's cheeks. Her throat is lined with dark bruises, her knuckles swollen, and her fingertips bloody from clawing at me. Her eyes are bloodshot and swollen from crying. Sara looks at me, seeming to convey disappointment with her eyes. Faith looks my way, and begins to cry harder, starting to shake once more. 
Jason and Craig arrive at my side again, wrapping their arms around me and trying to drag me away. I kick and punch, trying to get free of their grasp. Byron joins in, trying to keep me contained. They drag me downstairs, where the fight grows desperate. 
"Tim, stop it!" I hear Faith scream. I stop struggling for a moment, before seeing her now standing at the bottom of the stairs. Sara remains at the top of the staircase, watching from a distance. Anger is fluent in Faith, as she storms toward me. "You can fight this all you want, but if you do not get into that car, and get onto the plane to Colorado, you will lose us all. This isn't a negotiation, Tim. You will end up killing someone if you do not get help now." She states firmly. Her hands trembling as she speaks.
"I didn't mean to hurt you." I let out, seeing her wince. She takes a few deep breaths. 
"Tim, you were trying to kill me." She says, while I shake my head, trying to dispute it as fast as possible. 
"Faith, I didn't... I didn't have a choice..." I try to excuse, seeing her narrow her eyes. 
"You had your hands around my throat." She reminds me, while I continue to deny it. 
"Faith, I--" I continue, before she speaks over me. 
"You were about to snap my neck, Tim." She raises her voice, making everyone wince. 
"Baby, I--" I try once more, before she shakes her head. 
"Is it worth it?" She shouts, throwing her hands up. "Is it worth killing me for a fucking high?" She screams, as the entire room falls silent. She pants, as her mind seems to run. 
"I can explain..." I start, before she shakes her head once more. 
"It wasn't a joke... It wasn't for my own good... Had I not fought back, you would've killed me. You were seconds away from murdering me, Tim! It's all because you were fucking high." She starts to become hysterical, causing Kim to come to her side. 
"Faith, the kids --" Sara starts to say, glancing up from her phone. 
"And what would you have told the girls? Their father strangling their mother to death, or snapping their mother's fucking neck... How do you explain that to kids? If you're not on that fucking plane in the next hour, you will never see me or the girls ever again. I'm not willing to take that risk anymore, Tim." She screams, tears streaming down almost subconsciously from her eyes now. 
"Faith..." I start, feeling my chest ache. She shakes her head as I take a step toward her. 
"Don't you 'faith' me... You screamed for me to help you, and I am... then after this, we are finished." She asserts, crossing her arms tightly. Jason grabs my shoulder, trying to usher me out. I brush him off, causing her to sigh. 
"Please... I... I wasn't in my right mind when--" I begin, before she shakes her head once more. 
"I don't care. The only thing worse that you could've done to me, was actually kill me. I'm not going to stick around until that happens. You've blown it, Tim... and I mean home run, out of the park, blew it." She says, as everyone seems to distract themselves. 
"Faith..." Sara lets out, before I interrupt. 
"I'm sorry... But Faith--" I spit out, hearing her shout over me. 
"I'm not your goddamn punching bag, Tim! I don't care how much I love and care about you, I can't do that. I can't live beside you, after having seen the way you were last night. I'll be surprised if I can even coax myself into sleeping within the next week. That man I fell in love with is gone, and he's not coming back. So don't "but faith" me... I've given you more than your fair share of chances, and you've blown every goddamn one. I'm done... We are done." She snarls, as the room falls deafeningly quiet. 
"Mom..." I hear a voice croak out, making my heart fall through the floor. I turn around to see Gracie and Maggie standing beside Byron, who seems to have been trying to hold them back. "Oh my god... what happened?" Gracie asks, seeing the bruises coating her mother. Faith stares at her, seeming almost breathless. Gracie glances at me, looking down at the marks all over my arms and my bruised knuckles. They both look horrified... "Did you hurt Mom?" Gracie questions, starting to break down. I feel my blood run cold as the entire room grows stiff. I stare blankly, unsure how to even consider answering the question. Faith looks over at me, before walking over to her and placing her hands on Gracie's shoulders. 
"Honey, your father is very sick..." Faith begins to explain, while Maggie starts to cry too.
"What does that have to do with hurting you?" Gracie raises her voice, seeming to grow frustrated with the sugarcoating. Faith looks at me again, her old self bleeding through. She clears her throat, shaking that sliver of sympathy for me, and standing in front of the girls. 
"He hurt me last night. He was very high, and very drunk, and he hurt me. He wasn't in his right mind, but that doesn't make what happened okay, and we are going to handle it." She says confidently, while the girls both nod. She seems to sure,  and wise about it all, while I'm still a mess. My mind is skipping like a broken record, while she somehow is able to eloquently explain this complicated event to our kids without missing a beat. 
"Dad?" Maggie croaks out, catching my attention. I glance over at her, seeing tears fall from her eyes. "Are you going to go get help?" She asks, causing everyone in the room to look our way. My heart wrenches, as I nod. There's no way I can't, given what the girls have been told. 
"Yeah, baby..." I comply, as Jason pats my shoulder. I look at him, Byron, and Craig, before taking a deep breath. I nod slowly, wanting to hug the girls before I go, but they seem too terrified... "I'm so sorry." I let out, seeing the words wear down the girls. Faith nods, refusing to look me in the eye. I start toward the door, turning back to glance at them one last time. Faith clings tightly to them, as they come apart. 
I rush to the car, unable to bear watching it any longer. The car pulls away slowly, a cloud of gravel dust settling behind us. I look out the window, convincing myself this is the right move. I'll go, and take some time for myself. I can get better... The idea seems so daunting, just sitting here thinking about it. If I want to see my girls again, I have to get better. 
If I want Faith back, I'm going to need a miracle...