Kiara gasped for air as her head finally broke the surface of the tub. Her father stood over her with his meaty paws fisted in her shirt and ready to shove her under again if she answered incorrectly. "What the hell were you thinking?" The question wasn't yelled or spat in her face. He waited calmly for the answer, and she was terrified. "You are my daughter. I own you. When I tell you to do something, I don't care what you think, you will do it." She took too long to respond, and was shoved mercilessly under the water before she could gasp for air. It didn't matter though. She could stay under the water with only half a breath for two minutes. If she had been able to fill her lungs, she could've gone for four and a half.
The water was peaceful. She didn't struggle. It had been a harsh lesson two years ago that struggling would get you killed. To fight back was nothing more than a waste of oxygen, so she closed her eyes and imagined a beach. Not the crowded cesspool that made up most of the Gulf Coast, but somewhere peaceful and without a single person who would hurt her. No men. No drunks. None of the shady characters that occupied her house on a daily basis. Just the sand and the sea stretching out before her. And as the two minute mark drew closer, she relaxed.
The irony of course, is that she could not swim. At least she didn't think she could. There had been one attempt in the river behind her house a few years ago, but she quickly found that no matter how badly she might want it, swimming was for those who had not been tortured by the water itself.
She was yanked out of the tub by her scruff. "Go and give Danny whatever he wants. Stupid girl. All he asked was for you to suck him off, but you had to be a bitch about it. I don't care if he asks you to spread your legs! If you deny even one of them what they want, you'll be at the docks working for someone far worse than us before you can blink!" His voice grew louder as he continued, and she bowed her head obediently. "I'm sorry. I was wrong to turn him away." Her voice didn't waver. "It won't happen again, I promise."
She followed him back into the lounge and approached Danny. "I'm sorry I was so rude before. It was wrong of me. Is there anyway I can make it up to you?" His smile was a slimy, disgusting thing, and he took great pleasure in pushing her to her knees. He had himself in hand a moment later. "Lets see how well you can use that mouth of yours when it's full." And with that her lips were wrapped around his shaft and remained there until he finished.
The other men had been watching football, but as she was finally allowed to rise Jacob appeared behind her and dragged her to her bedroom. She was thrown onto her bed and looked up to see him beginning to remove his clothes. His eyes stayed on her shaking form, and once he was fully bare he gave her a single command: "Spread those legs for me girly."
—
Kiara took shallow breaths as she became conscious once more. Jacob had been brutal, not caring that she was so much smaller than him, and she didn't have to open her eyes to know that her body was nothing more than a giant bruise. Her ears strained for any hint that she was not alone, but was met with silence. Gold/brown eyes blinked open and she bushed her dark brown curls out of her face as she forced herself to rise. The men had all left by now and she was already late for school, so she didn't hesitate to rush to the bathroom and attempt to make herself look less like she'd been mugged in an ally.
At four foot two, she was easily the shortest thirteen year old girl in her class, and her skin was tanned from spending as much time exploring the forest behind their tiny three room house as possible. Her dark curls fell past her shoulder blades and was often tangled with Spanish moss and sticks from climbing the great oaks, and her hands and feet were calloused from her adventures. She often received comments that she was far too athletic in appearance to not play a sport, but always laughed it off with a comment about not being much of a team player. Kiara was nothing if not durable, and she preferred to fight any battles she might have alone.
After a long shower on the hottest possible setting, there was no point at all in bothering with school. Showing up this late would do nothing but draw unnecessary attention, and there was no way she could hide her injuries if people bothered to look. With that thought in mind, she grabbed a gray hoodie and sweatpants to pull over her red tank top and black athletic shorts. Sliding on a pair of flip flops, she grabbed her wallet and raced out the door to the bus stop. The ride to the coast was a little over an hour and she had plenty of time to get there and back before her father and his friends came back that night.
—
Finally arriving at the pier, she didn't follow the crowd to the beach but instead leapt over the rope and onto a skinny trail leading between the dunes. The trail weaved in and out of hills of sand and tall grass that was sharp enough to cut your hands and feet. For two miles she walked until she reached a taller hill formed of boulders carved by the sea itself, and walking around it she was thrilled to know that she had not forgotten the location of her Secret Place. A gap in the stones led into a circular cave, in the middle of which was a pool of water that she could not see the bottom of even with the aid of a flashlight. Sunlight filtered through small cracks in the stone and reflected off the damp walls, making them sparkle, and she smiled as she removed her sweatshirt and pants.
Kiara had come to the decision that it didn't matter if she could swim or not. The walls of the pool went down as far as she wanted to go and it would be a simple thing to climb down instead of swimming. The only problem was getting her head under the water without freezing. Sitting beside the pool, it was simple enough to put her legs in, and fairly easy to ease herself down. The water came above her waist and she paused before sinking lower. Abdomen. Chest. Collar bone. The water reached her throat and her lungs seemed to freeze. Scolding her body for having a mind of its own, she held her position and counted down from seventeen. It took two more rounds of counting before she could breath more or less freely and she kicked her legs slowly as she prepared herself to go under. Clinging to the wall with a white knuckled grip, she plunged her head beneath the water and waited for her heart and stomach to settle before going lower. After four minutes under the surface and being able move around with only some hesitation, she came up for air and grabbed her flashlight from the edge before going back down. Placing the light in her mouth, she maneuvered until she was upside-down and began the climb towards the bottom.
One minute in: Rock. Rock. Big rock. This was what she fought with her brain and lungs over?
Two minutes in: Arms becoming sore from fighting the current trying to push her upwards. Which means there's another opening at the other end and she was going to find it.
Three minutes in: Ow. Ow! OW! Freakin' heck?
—
Kiara's POV:
It was like being squeezed from all sides. My lungs were being compressed by my ribs which were being constricted by my skin. I clenched my eyes shut and clung to the wall as I felt my bones begin to bend. This was worse than anything I'd ever experienced and I wanted out! I opened my eyes and attempted to turn around, but froze as my flashlight illuminated the water. It was red. The water was red as blood. The water was red from blood. The water was red from my blood! I heard a snap as my bones finally gave way. And that's when I screamed.