Trigger Warning: This chapter does have an abusive father and vague details of how he beat his daughter. If this affects you, please proceed with caution throughout this chapter and the rest of the story. Thank you, please enjoy if you do decide to proceed.

"Annabelle" she cringed as her father, Andre, called her. "Yes father" she stuttered, half expecting him to come and beat her for sounding so afraid, which she had good reason to be. Ever since her mother died, her father had treated her as a servant, and in his mind, she was just that. "Where are you? I want my supper. If you are not down here in three seconds, I will have to get my whip out again. Now you don't want that do you?" He asked in the most earnest way he could cough up. "No father" Annabelle replied. As she started to walk down the stairs, she remembered the last beating her father had given her. He took her outside where the crisp summer breeze roared throughout the open field. He very casually told her to stand by the pole as he tied her hands around it for she could not escape. Yet she knew what was coming. Even with the airiness of his voice, there was always a hint of angry behind it, as if he blamed her for her mother's death. First, he would take his whip out and check to make sure the leather strap is nice and tight, the better to inflict pain with. Then he would give it a few good whips on the tree to test its strength. Finally, he turned to her saying "You should have behaved. If you would listen to me then I would not have to do this all the time".That was a couple months ago and she still had the scar across her stomach, were the whip met the skin. Annabelle started to move faster, not wanting to go through that pain again, although it was not uncommon in her household. Since her mother died five years ago, she counted the number of times he beat, and it was well past one-hundred. That did not even include the times he would hit her because he was mad that supper was not done yet or when he got home his pillows were not fluffed the right way. Other times he would just be mad at a coworker and take his anger out on her. "Sorry father it will not happen again." She said trying to sound as innocent as possible. "It better not or well, let us just hope it does not have to come to that." He retorted smirking at her. "Also seeing as it took you so long to make supper, you don't get any. Now go to your room and give the left over food to the birds." Annabelle stood up removing her father plate from the table and threw the food into the yard. "Come here my sweet child" She heard her father call. She went as she was commanded and he slapped her upside the head. "I told you, that you shouldn't keep me waiting for my food. If it happens again, I won't be so nice." Annabelle then went to her room after her father dismissed her, her head still throbbing from the impact. How could all of this happen? Before her mother died, her father was her best friend; they used to do everything together. Occasionally he would scold her for doing something wrong but he would never hurt her. How could so much change in so little time. She recalled the memories of her father telling her over and over that it was her fault that her mother was dead. He said if she had behaved better, her poor mother would have lived. Maybe it was my fault Annabelle thought to herself. Soon after she fell into a deep sleep, she dreamed of her father beating her repeatedly, telling her she was not good enough and she should have never been born. And what was worse yet, she was starting to believe it. Maybe her mother died as pay back for all the bad things Annabelle did when she was younger. Yet at the moment all she knew for sure was that, she was alone, completely and utterly alone in the dark world that lay just beyond her bedroom window. She woke up the next morning with tears running down her cheeks and her eyes puffy. The next thing she new her father strode into the room and slapping her across the face. Annabelle bellowed out in pain, for she did not expect it to happen. Her father grasped her hand and dragged her outside. Throughout the entire beating, she kept telling him, she was sorry, not that she knew what she had done wrong in the first place, but figured it best to act apoligetic. Yet that did not faze him as he tied her to the wooden pole as in her dream and began to whip her in such a way that left her crying out for mercy. "Maybe for once in your rotten life you could think about others and not about how miserableyou feel." Shouted her father coldly." I don't even know what I did wrong, father". She cried still trying to make sense of what happened. By this point, her whole body was covered in blood. He had whipped her so much there was no unscathed patch of skin. "Don't know what you, don't know what you did". He said louder then the first time, as it was the most obvious thing in the world." Well I'll give you a clue, what day is it?" Then Annabelle remembered that her father was having a party and told her to make the dinner, but she forgot. She started to get up, as much as she could with the restraints, to go make it when her father said. "Oh how sweet, you think I'm done, well let me inform you that I have only begun." An hour later, she lie paralyzed on the ground, her whole body covered in gashes. Her father came up, kicked her in the side, and only then was she done, for now. Making her get up after he took the shackles off, she went to go make the dinner. Later that day, she finished making the food, cleaning the house, and attempting to make it look like she had not just been beaten that day, but that was only the beginning of what the night held in store for her.

—

(Hello everyone, thank you all for reading my story and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate any feedback whether it pertains to the good or the bad of this story. I also wanted to say that this story is dedicated to my best friends, blueblossombloom, consultingfangirl21, violetdancer19, and thefaultinfangirling (In no specific order) thank you guys for being so supportive and overall wonderful to me. You have always been there for me and I will be eternally grateful. Anyways please enjoy the story, comment, vote, and follow thanks.)

~Casey Spencer