DEUX

When Talie pulled the broken door open to go inside her rundown house, it was just after midnight. Her and the boys had lost track of time. After getting some ice cream they went back to the treehouse. It's not like they ever did anything of major importance, but they always had fun.

Just like every other morning when she left the house she lived in with her father and his brother, she was told to be back before nightfall. And just like every other day she spent with the boys, she was back way later. And just like every other night, neither of them were home yet.

She was never caught.

She huffed as she plopped herself down on her couch. She only sat there for a few minutes before jumping back up. She really hated to be in the main area. That's usually where her father and her uncle drank theirs beers and talked about their latest conquests. She never understood how they attracted all these women they claimed they had. They weren't catches. They were drunks with the consequential beer bellies, no respectable jobs and in her father's case- no hair on the top of his head. They certainly didn't have any manners and she assumed no respect for these women. They certainly had no respect for her.

Not even for their so-called "home." Dirty dishes were scattered across the floor- some broken, some still intact. She kicked the nearest one aside to reveal a skittering cockroach which she immediately, yet casually, crushed with her foot. Years ago, she would have screamed and run like the little girl that she was; but after all the shit she's been through, a simple roach is a nothing. It wasn't the first she's seen. They actually crawled about on a regular basis. The two men she lived with were not the cleanest (to say the least). Talie tried to clean up after them, but for some reason they hated that. They liked the dirty, boy's club feeling. They always said 'a clean house is a woman's house and we ain't got no pussies.' Real gentlemen.

She's given up on cleaning anything but her tiny room. She had walked until she stood at the foot of her bed. It was a simple, small mattress laying a top nothing but the floor. That didn't really bother her. She didn't need some big elaborate bed. She just needed what she had- a mattress, sheets and a pillow. Good enough. She collapsed face down on top of her bundled sheets. She grumbled at nothing in particular before rolling a bit so she was able to pull her blanket over her still fully clothed form. All of a sudden, she was overcome with exhaustion. She was about to succumb to sleep when she heard a commotion next door.

It's not like it was anything new, but this one she couldn't tune out.

It started with a loud engine roaring before being cut off. A car door slammed, and soon after, the house door. That was all normal. So was the following argument. But tonight, it seemed louder and more violent than usual. Just when she thought things had quieted down enough that she could get some sleep, her uncle and father arrived home. She quickly kicked off her shoes and thrust her head under her pillow. It was only a matter of minutes before one, or both, plowed into her room. She didn't really want to deal with them tonight. She could hear their drunken chatter through the thin walls, but tried her best to block it out. Because of that, she didn't hear them coming.

She was drowsy with sleep and muffling the sounds with her pillow, so she didn't know she wasn't alone until she felt him. She was brought back to full consciousness when a large weight fell on top of her.

"Fuck!" She screamed as she whipped the pillow from her head and attempted to push the fat man off of her. He laughed as he rolled towards her feet, which were hanging over the edge. In the process, he forced her ankle to bend downward in a way it was never meant to go. She screamed and sat up, pulling her leg with her. Thankfully, with her quick reaction time, it was not broken. But it was severely sore. The last time she felt this kind of pain in her ankle was after she was swiped with a baseball bat. She limped for a week.

"Natalie, what are you doing up?" The figured groaned as he stood, no longer laughing.

"I was asleep until you crushed me, father." She forced herself to remain calm. She really didn't need to anger him. She knew this was one of his nights where he was drunk enough to last him a week. She sighed as she lay back down on her bed.

He just grunted before walking out again. Of course, he left the door wide open behind him. After pausing to curse repeatedly in her head, Talie got up to push it shut. When she peeked through the opening, she saw her father facedown and unconscious on his own bed. That was one less drunk she'd have to clean up after in the morning. Just before the door clicked shut, her crazed uncle slammed into the door, forcing it back open. She was knocked backwards, slamming her head off the hard wooden floor.

The room spun a few times before her vision cleared and she saw her Uncle Ray towering over her. He was the one she worried about. He was the one that hit her. Usually he was kept in line by her father but on nights like this when he was out cold, there was no one to stop him. She watched wearily as he undid his belt. She was in for a good whipping tonight. She didn't even bother to fight it. She knew it was no good. She was just happy to see he didn't have a lit cigarette hanging from his lips. On multiple occasions, he would burn her. Those were the scars Teddy got a glimpse of today. She had three almost perfectly round burn scars on the back of her left shoulder from the beating she got a few months ago.

But today he had something worse in mind. After almost a minute of not getting beat with the belt, Talie braved opening her eyes. She immediately began to cry when she saw that he had thrown the belt off to the side. After this, she would pray for the belt!

"Uncle Ray, please!"

"Shut up, whore. I didn't get my piece of tail tonight so you're just going to have to do." He slurred, barely understandable, as he unzipped and dropped his pants.

She yelled for help from the last person she would ever call for. "Daddy!" She never called him anything but 'father' but she was scared and desperate. She hoped she could get through his thick drunk skull, but it was in vain. She crumpled into a ball, fearing the upcoming abuse. It wasn't the first time it happened, but it wasn't frequent either. It had only happened three or four times, the last being at least five years ago. He liked to touch her when she was little but only a few times did he allow his fingers to explore her inner most secrets.

Tonight was going to be even worse. Tonight was the first time he ever removed his pants. Tonight, she was going to cry her hardest yet.

He pounced on her, pinning her to the ground. She yelled, but she knew it was useless. She tried to kick or punch any part of him, but his excessive weight held her in place. The tears poured down her face. He ripped at her clothes, succeeding in only tearing them. But they still clung protectively to her body.

"Cry like a fucking baby. Go ahead. But you're going to like it. I bet you're nice and tight still. There's no way anyone's fucked your trashy ass yet. Thought maybe that dead friend of yours did, but I was wrong."

She froze when he mentioned Denny. She completely stopped fighting for a few seconds. It was one thing to abuse or talk shit on her, but it was another to talk about Denny that way. She wouldn't let that happen. She boiled over. That same rush of adrenaline that she gets when she defends the boys from the Cobras surfaced and exploded. Suddenly, she had such strength that she was able to push him off of her. She immediately stood and tore through the small house. She almost slipped once on an empty beer bottle before dashing out the back door before her uncle could even leave the other room.

But where would she go? She paused in her backyard- if you could even call a small patch of dead grass covered in assorted rusty old junk and empty beer cans a yard- to think about her possibilities. She could turn around towards the front and head to Gordie's, or she could keep going the back way and cut through the yards to get to Chris. Even Teddy was an option, but not poor naive Vern. Vern was not one to go to in situations like this. He would have the best of intentions, thinking only with his heart to try and help, but sometimes the brain is necessary too. He never knew when to shut up. The others, they knew not to ask questions or try and help. They would just be there for her. Chris was the only one who actually knew everything that went on in her house. She confided in him, knowing he would understand. Teddy and Gordie just knew her father and uncle were mean drunks; they didn't know her uncle abused her.

She jumped as she heard glass shatter. She turned quickly towards the yard to her left- which was in the same, if not worse shape than hers- to see a shadowed figure hunched over from the throw. She knew better than to get involved in other people's business in this area. Sure, most of the people around here needed help but unless they specifically ask for it, you mind your business. But despite her awareness of this unwritten rule, she couldn't pull her eyes away. He stepped out of the shadows and what Talie saw made her gasp loudly. She saw the familiar yellow-blonde hair of the bully she often found herself face to face with. But that wasn't shocking. She knew he lived next to door to her. She saw him nearly every day, much to her dismay. It was the wet liquid that left a red streak from his hairline down the side of his face until it ran into his dark collar. Sure she hated him, but she wasn't completely cold-blooded. She knew his home life was worse than hers, so she did feel an amount of pity for him. For half a second she thought about running to him, but then she came to her senses. Her decision to let him be was concreted when she saw the anger in his eyes. It wasn't anger about his situation, it was anger pointed straight at her.

Something in his eyes, behind the anger, terrified her. She stumbled backwards a few steps before turning heel and running the opposite direction. She just wanted as far away from him as she could get. So, in a way, Ace solved her dilemma for her. She was headed toward Teddy's house. She hoped his father wasn't home. A block away, she slowed her footsteps to a casual jog as she chuckled to herself. They all had their problems. Lucky Vern, his biggest worry is finding his missing jar of pennies.

Two words:

KIEFER MADNESS.

Is this storyline too overdone?
I feel like it is. But it doesn't mean it'll stop me! ;)

And I know people are reading!
Please, tell me what you think.
You don't have to be all in depth or anything.
Just yay or nay me.
Thanks, homies.