Chapter One: A Day In The Life Of
"The glare from my alarm is what bugged me more than anything else.
My head pounded to the rhythm of my heart, affected my decisions for the day
Still, I got up, flinching as my legs complained of the well known bruises
That covered my body.
"I felt drained of energy as I wound up on my feet
Then again, it never does matter of what I feel
No one cares
No one ever has...
"That's not true, Damia, I thought bitterly to myself.
Dad cared... My sheltered features of steel came crashing down momentarily.
He was the only thing that ever meant anything.
Stop it Damia, don't cry. Don't give Jared the satisfaction of the sound of whimpering.
"By the time I was dressed and ready for school, it was five thirty.
The ancient window creaked wildly as I jarred it open.
A wave of spring wind searched the room, as if looking for a secret from me.
I sighed, shivering a little, and sat on the window sill.
"One leg flung over, followed shortly by the other.
No ledge supported me as I crawled the rest of the way.
With one last look at the room, I closed the window and dropped down to the ground
With a grunt.
"Fresh scars covered my old ones and little red lines began to seep out through the new cracks.
I just shrugged it off and began walking off, ignoring the sting.
"It became light shortly after I had left, the sun blinding me horribly.
I sat down on the parks grass, holding my head in my hands.
Shortly, mom and Jared would wake up and pretend they never had a daughter.
It wouldn't be until AFTER school they'd finally acknowledge me and, the same as any other day would begin."
Damia smiled at her diary, the only thing keeping her calm so far in this world. A frown struck her once carefree face and she looked down bitterly.
Of course... Another day, another problem, another beating, another high, another sleep. It was the way she learned to treat her life. Just take whatever came at her and don't fight back. Just stare straight at the world and ignore the fact that she never knew many of these people.
The time began to tick away and soon enough, she headed to the worst place ever. School. Girls sat outside as Damia walked by, instantly whispering about her clothes and giggling about her having last months hair, whatever that meant. Backstabbing women and lying guys hurried to their group as Damia wondered. Why is it I have no friends here when everyone else does? She got to her locker and sat down, slinging her bag to the floor and buried her head in her hands. The garbage from across the hall nauseated her as she waited for the bell. Honestly, why don't I just run away? She laughed at the thought, the amusing, scary and obvious reason being of Jared. Still, it didn't make her a bad person, so why didn't anyone really care about her? Care why she never smiled or ate or even talked much.
The bell rang, extinguishing her fury and misery with surprise and slight embarrassment. By the time the second bell rang, Damia was alone again. The teachers seemed not to notice that Damia was there but marked her there anyway. Thoughts consumed her as she tuned out everything and made it seem like she was doing work.
Finally, the bell rang for home. She looked desperately around for something to keep her from going but nothing worked. Defeated, she returned to her locker and began it's combination. Someone grabbed her head from behind and ran it into the door. She yelped and turned around to see Blake, the meanest, toughest, rowdiest guy in school and, her biggest problem.
With his jade green eyes, blond hair and big muscles, he terrified her for looking a lot like her mother..
"Hey Die-ma." He beat her head into the locker again, laughing as her books fell to the ground. A few hits in the stomach as a few of the kids gathered around, laughing. Damia yelled for him to stop brought out the principal.
"HEY!" He pulled Blake back by the hair which cause Blake to jerk back, ready to kick the hell out of the person who touched him. "Break it up you two! I don't need to give you ANOTHER detention, do I, mister Trynon." Blake straightened up his collar as the small crowd they had gathered scampered away. He looked at Damia with a glare and turned, walking away. She clenched her fist, almost ready to cry. The principal, Mr. Edwards, turned to her and nodded before walking back to his office.
The walk home was peaceful. As long as it was peaceful, she was happy. Sadly, that came to an end as she closed the door. Her eyes darted to the clock which read four. With a deep breath, she made a break for the stairs. Just as her foot touched the first step, the door knob began to jingle. Her breathing stopped as did her moving. Her eyes fluttered to the door and there stood Jared, his eyes wild and reflecting the pure darkness and hatred in his heart.
With two quick strides, Damia's head was banged against the wall as his hand grabbed her by the shirt and threw her to the ground. Her head collaborated against the hard wood floor as Jared's steel boot made contact with her rib. She let out a groan as he continued doing it, adding his fists to her face and arms. As he twisted her arm to discomfort, she let out a yelp. He smiled cruelly.
"You know, you're a stupid waste of space! Your mother hates you! I hate you! You have no friends! Why the hell are you still alive, is a mystery." He banged her head against the floor again, shoving her against the wall, her back to him. As he began kicking her head in, she could feel tears trickling down her face. Don't cry.. Don't be weak.. Don't let him see.
Time passed and his brutality increased slowly, using knives to carve into her flesh. The rattle of the keys began again and Damia closed her eyes tight, knowing that it was just about to get much worse. She looked up just in time to see her mother grab the baseball bat that her father used when he was teaching Damia to play baseball. Jared held her down, a force of habit that he didn't need to use anymore. Her mother started with Damia's knee caps and worked her way up until blood showed up. After thinking she had broken her daughters jaw, her mother tossed it aside, sighing satisfied. Jared looked at their work and kissed her mother.
"I don't feel like cooking.. Want to go get some Chinese?" They left, leaving her alone.
After waiting for her crying to stop, Damia held her stomach and the rail as she made her way to her room. Tears flooded down her cheeks as her numb body slid down the wall, blood stains showing up on the white walls. Her good arm pulled out a gigantic tub, half empty. She tore the lid off impatiently, revealing a needle and, at least, twenty vials of heroin. Taking out the needle, she plunged it into her arm, drawing out blood. Giggling to herself, Damia felt her mood get more giddy as she filled the rest with heroin, using two vials.
Shaking it with a fondness until the whole needle was filled with red liquid, she plunged it back into her arm, pressing down. She did this four or five times, as far as she was counting, before she felt the high take place. With a sigh, she felt herself satisfied and cleaned the end, putting it back into the tub. She kicked the tub back into her hiding place and laid down, smiling to herself. Her eyes darted to the ceiling and her smile froze, remembering her father was watching.
Damia climbed to her knees and she bowed her head. Daddy... Come back... I didn't mean to kill you! Come back! Please... The reality of her father never coming back forced more tears to drift her into sleep.
