Before we get started, I'd like to give a special shout-out to those of you who've reviewed. You know who you are! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and share your thoughts. It means a lot to me. Also, thank you to those who have followed and/or favorited. Now for the warning. This chapter features child abuse, so proceed at the risk of emotional distress!
Cooper bombarded his mother and sister with questions when they arrived back at the house. He'd been home sick that day, and had heard about the accident from the babysitter, whom Laura had told over the phone on her way to the hospital.
Lila didn't feel like talking. She just wanted to be alone. She slipped upstairs to her room while Laura explained everything to Cooper.
"Is she going to be alright?" Cooper asked, turning his head toward where his sister had gone.
"It might take a while for her to get over the shock, but she'll be alright," Laura replied reassuringly. "For now, the best we can do is to make her feel comfortable. And that means no fighting," she added pointedly.
Lila and Cooper got along, but just like with most siblings, they often squabbled.
Cooper rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if she starts it, it's not my fault."
The next day, Laura kept Lila home from school, along with a still-sick Cooper. Lila was glad of it. She passed the day idly, drawing pictures and watching T.V. Laura didn't reprimand her for watching too much T.V., even after the two hour mark.
But the next day, which was a sunny Saturday, Laura made Lila go outside and play for a while. "Come on," she said, gently leading her disgruntled daughter towards the door. "Just for fifteen minutes. You need some fresh air. Why don't you go ride your bike or jump rope?"
Neither of those activities appealed to Lila, so settled for playing with her little pink ball. After bouncing it around for a while, she got bored and decided to go around to the back of the house. There were always fun things to do in the trees – scouring the ground for pretty rocks, watching the ants, pretending to be a unicorn roaming the forest.
Lila poked her head back inside the house. "Mommy, can I go to the backyard?"
"Okay, but don't go into the woods," came Laura's reply.
"I won't," Lila replied. She knew the rules. She and Cooper were allowed to play in the trees surrounding the house, but they couldn't venture into the woods unsupervised.
Lila stepped off the porch and walked around the house to the back. She wandered to the edge of the woods and crouched down, amusing herself with the little acorns and rocks littering the ground. She was just working on gathering a pile of them, pretending to make a meal, when she suddenly felt someone seize her from behind.
Lila's first instinct was to scream, but before she could get a sound out, a hand clamped down over her mouth. She thrashed wildly, trying to free herself, but whoever was holding her only squeezed her tighter. She felt warm breath on her cheek, and a low voice said menacingly into her ear, "Stop struggling. If you try to scream, I'll snap your neck. Got it? Nod if you understand." It was a man's voice, and it was scary.
Lila let out a terrified squeak, which was muffled by the hand, and nodded.
The strange man began dragging her into the woods. Lila fought as hard as she could to get away, but the iron grip never wavered. She tried to kick the man, but he had her by the waist, hefting her off the ground so that her feet dangled uselessly in midair.
Lila didn't know how deep into the woods they went – only that it was deep enough for her to get in big trouble – but after some ways the man dropped her down on her feet. When Lila spun around, she realized with a jolt that she recognized him.
"Mr. Anderson?"
He was Catia's father. But this Mr. Anderson was nothing like the nice man who'd given them chocolate milk and pizza. This man's face was hard as marble, and his gray eyes blazed with fury and malice such that Lila had never seen before. She had no doubt that Mr. Anderson was one of those bad guys that her father always spoke about.
"That's right, Lila," Mr. Anderson replied, spitting out the girl's name like rotten fruit.
"W-what do you want?" Lila stammered, trembling with terror. She shrunk against the nearest tree trunk.
Mr. Anderson looked down at her with such a burning gaze that Lila felt terror strike deep within her, like lightning traveling down a rod into the ground.
He knows!
Mr. Anderson leaned in close to her face. "I want to know why you pushed my daughter in front of that car," he snarled, turning Lila's blood to ice.
"No, I didn't!" she cried. She knew it was a lie, but she was terrified of what he'd do to her.
"Don't lie to me, bitch!"
His arm moved like a whip. The next thing Lila knew, she was suddenly lying on the ground, face half sunk into the leaves. Her cheek stung badly, and stars popped up before her eyes.
"Was my daughter's life worth a damn toy? Was it?" Mr. Anderson shouted at her.
Lila looked up as her vision cleared, just in time to see him undoing his belt. Eyes going wide with terror, Lila scrambled backwards, trying to get away from him. Then the lashes came raining down upon her, hard and fast. Each one stung as though her skin were splitting open.
"Ow! Stop it, stop it!" Lila cried beseechingly, curling up and trying to shield as much of her body as she could from the attack.
"It should have been you!" Mr. Anderson roared. He struck the girl over and over again with the blind fury of a madman. "It was all your fault, you little bitch! It should have been you!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was an accident. PLEASE!" Lila half-screamed, half sobbed. "Mommy…Mommy!"
Why wasn't someone coming to save her? Couldn't anyone hear her?
Maybe her pleading finally struck a chord. Or maybe the man simply tired. Either way, the lashings finally ceased.
Lila lay on the ground, sobbing and shaking. Her whole body felt raw and stinging. She looked up at the man who had once been kind to her with imploring eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please…" she croaked. "Don't hurt me anymore."
"If you tell anyone about this…" Mr. Anderson swooped down and grabbed Lila by the throat, giving it a threatening squeeze. "I'll kill you."
Then he turned on his heel and blundered back through the forest, leaving Lila behind. Terrified, she lay still until she could no longer hear the crunching leaves and the swishing of parting tree branches. When Lila was certain that Mr. Anderson had gone, she jumped to her feet.
The forest passed her in a green blur as she tore through the trees towards the safety of her home.
Hopefully that didn't send anyone to the therapist. Anyways, in case you were wondering, Natasha will finally be making an appearance in the next chapter. Yay! Hang tight! Reviews, follows, and favorites are greatly appreciated!