Chapter 1
SMACK
The sound of Valentine's hand against her cheek was achingly all too familiar. The force of the slap made Clary fall to the mouldy, carpet covered floor of their rundown apartment. Her wild, red hair flying across her face. She whimpered in pain, and was rewarded by a kick to the ribs- she heard a cracking sound. A slight scream slipped past her bloodied lips.
Valentine, yanking her up by the wrist, spat words at her, "UP! Get up, you ungrateful piece of shit!"
Clary whimpered, she refused to say anything, sometimes it was better this way- the less sound she made the less she got beat. Keep telling yourself that Clary, her mind said, You get beat either way
It was Summer Break, and Clary was trapped inside; Clary hated the holidays for one reason. Valentine. Valentine would spend the entire break torturing his step children. Clary had a sister, Isabelle, not only was Isabelle her sister, she was her twin. But they couldn't be more different. Clary was short, small and weak, curly red hair, wide green eyes and entirely covered in freckles. Isabelle was tall, and curvy in all the right places and drop dead gorgeous. She had long raven hair, mark free skin and warm dark eyes.
Isabelle got her father's good looks. Luke, their biological father, had left them when they were two years old. Clary didn't even know what he looked like. Valentine had burned all the pictures that had Luke had been in.
Clary, brought back to reality by the feeling of sharp nails against her hips. This was the worst bit, yanking her jeans down, then moving to her shirt. This had only started last year, when Clary and Isabelle had turned sixteen. Valentine had yanked Clary from her room on her birthday and began to pull her clothes off. She knew what happened next would never leave her, even if she poured bleach on her brain. He raped her, and had been ever since.
Clary had learned to zone out what he did most of the time, she imagined up a fantasy. A fantasy in which her biological father ran in a saved her. Pulled her out of this hell and brought along her twin and mother.
Valentine finished inside with a loud curse, he shoved her aside. Usually after he had his bout of "pleasure" he would leave her alone. Clary was lucky that she had protected Isabelle from him for so long. She had made a deal with Valentine several years ago, she recalled it like it was yesterday.
Flashback
Valentine raised his hand, about to bring it down on her sisters face. She couldn't take it any more, running forward she grabbed his arm.
"Please! No, don't hit her, please! Beat me, I'll do anything, just don't hurt her!" she screamed
Valentine yanked his arm out of her small, freckly, thirteen year old hands. He sneered at her nastily.
"And why would I do that?"
Clary thought on the spot.
"It would be less noticeable if you just hit one of us. More people notice two girls covered in bruises, than just one! It would be easier to protect your secret!" she pleaded, hands out in front of her.
Isabelle's eyes widened,
"Clary! No!"
"Be quiet, stupid girl!" Valentine shouted. He looked back at me,
"Fine, you have yourself a deal; a deal you'll regret later." With one last sneer he left the room, slamming the door to our bedroom behind him.
End of Flashback
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Darkness fell quickly in Tampa Bay. Jocelyn stood in the kitchen of their two bedroom apartment. Valentine's thudding footsteps brought her back to reality.
"I want dinner on the table in ten minutes, Jocelyn." He addressed her, barely looking at her as he walked past.
He must be in a good mood if he didn't hit her she thought. Her poor daughters were subject to his moods, barely ever would he hit her if he had already sexually assaulted Clary. Jocelyn shook her head, her shoulder's slumped down; her poor baby was being raped by her own stepfather, Valentine disgusted her. It was time to put her plan into action.
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The door to Isabelle's and Clary's room creaked open. Jocelyn ran forward to her daughters, sharing a small double bed. Jocelyn shook her daughter's by their shoulders till they woke. Clary's eyes snapped open, her green eyes meeting Jocelyn's brown instantly. Her eyebrows lifted questioning her, Jocelyn shook her head quickly,
"I'll explain in a minute, wake Isabelle and pack everything you own into a bag. Now!"
Clary sat up and got to work instantly. Flying around the room she gathered up everything. Running to her still sleeping sister, she shook awake gently, whispering,
"Isabelle get up, we need to go- I think we are getting out of here!"
Isabelle shot up instantly. "What are we waiting for then? Let's go!"
Pulling on some clothes they ran out to the kitchen. Jocelyn stood their, keys to Valentine's truck in hand. The clock above the fridge read 11pm.
"I'll explain everything in the car, have you got your bags?" Jocelyn whispered
Nodding the affirmative, they ran outside.
5 minutes later they were leaving streaking down the highway to the airport. Not looking back to the city had been their hell for 11 years.
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The car screeched to a halt outside the airport terminals. Jocelyn had been saving up money the moment Valentine and her had wed, 11 years before. She saved up loose change, and tips from her job at the diner, she had made enough to buy just two plane tickets, enough to get them to New York City, enough to get them to their father.
Jocelyn had explained all this in the car, she had laced Valentine's food with sleeping pills, effectively knocking him out for a good 12 hours; plenty of time to get the girls far out of his reach.
She turned to the girls, she looked into their eyes and whispered,
"I love you, I'll meet you in New York City later. Once I have got enough money for us to start a new lives, one without Valentine."
Isabelle's eyes had filled with tears and began to spill over with her words, Jocelyn brushed them away tenderly.
"Isabelle, my beautiful daughter; be strong, stick together, don't lose faith."
Isabelle nodded shakily and clambered from the car. Clary looked at her mother expectedly. There were no tears in her eyes, only fierce determination and love.
"Clary, you are strong, in every way possible. Luke will give you shelter and clothing and food. He will not love you though, he lost love for all of us when he left. Your life will change. I love you, sweetheart."
Clary whispered, "I love you Mommy." and opened the door, and ran to Isabelle, waiting on the curb. They turned and walked through the airport doors, and out of Jocelyn's life.
Jocelyn wiped the tears falling down her cheeks; Clary had not called her Mommy, at least not since she had turned 9 years old. Jocelyn managed to turn the truck around and drove back into the hell that was her life, with tears streaming down her face.
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"Flight number: UN20622, now boarding to New York City. Gate 23"
Clary and Isabelle stood, tickets and bags in hand walked onto the plane, out of the City of Hell.