"Daddy." I screamed. "Please don't do this!" It wasn't a demand, but of course I couldn't keep the spite out of my tone. However, I pleaded with the man anyway. It was almost Christmas, and he was always bad around this time. Six years ago, mom left the family (me, my little sister, and my 'Dad'). He wasn't my dad though. Only in name, and not even really then. He blamed me. For my mother's infidelity. He thought, if I was his, mom wouldn't have left. "I'm not your father, you disgraceful bitch." He whispered in my ear, punching me in the gut. And while you get used to the pain, the 'vomit when violently hit in the stomach' reflex never really leaves.
My mind went blank. Then the thought came pouring in, but not about my situation. No, I tried to block it out, especially during this time of year, when it's the worst. And naturally since this was her fault, my mind went rushing to thoughts of her. My last memory of her, her tucking me into bed, telling her she loved me. It all went downhill from there. After mom left, I was left with James and Esmeralda. Esmeralda, or Ezzy for short, is about six years younger then me. So from then on, I took care of both James and Ezzy, to the best of my ability. When James came home, I was to have dinner on the table, with whisky to drink. He worked late, so Ezzy was to have already eaten, and be in bed. I was the woman of the house, not her. She was a child, so she had to act like one.
On top of that, I wasn't allowed to embarrass him with bad grades at school, so straight A's were all that were acceptable. However, I wasn't allowed to eat, or even sit down, until he passed out drunk. And then I had to eat, do all my homework, and sleep in that period. Then I'd get up, take Ezzy to school, and then go myself. I am now 12, and my sister is five. She kept getting hit for my mistakes more, and more often.
I was taken out of my thoughts when I was hit in the face. "Did you hear me?" He decided it would be fun to spit in my face at that particular moment. "N… no sir." I stutter from my broken lip. "Keep it down over there. I'm trying to get some bloody rest." I heard from the other room. Naturally, this made my father even more angry than he was. During this part of the holiday, Ezzy would go stay with her friend, every year without fail. This gave my father time to take me to a hotel room, and beat me senseless. "Let's go." he said, gripping my arm, quite literally dragging me to whoever said that door.
Releasing my arm, only after we were in front of the person's door, my father pounded on it. And he didn't stop until it was opened. "How may I help you sir?" Someone in a black suit asked. I just put my head down, trying to keep myself out of more trouble. "You rudely interrupted me and my daughter time here." My father said, his words slurring. I flinched as James grabbed my arm. "Tell'm watcha think, hon." I looked away, embarrassed about what I was about to say.
Holding in a sigh, I look the man dead in the eyes and say, "You should probably be a bit more quite. We are in a public place." The man didn't even flinch, but I did. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, my head flicked down to the ground, and James let go of my arm. I heard a chuckle coming from the background, but refused to look up. I heard the same chuckle fade into a sigh, as I heard my father ask, "What's so funny?" James looked at the man, as if he had two heads. "You see, I just don't believe you."
I shook my head no, as James stared at the man, anger increasing each second. "Yes we do. Isn't that right, hun?" I looked at James, studying his face, seeing how much trouble this would lead to I said the wrong thing. He quickly grabbed my arm, quite hard. "Yes, that is correct. We do." My voice strained as I spoke, faking confidence to hide pain underneath it.
"I'm afraid she's not telling the truth. Now, if you would please remove your hand from her arm, so we could get a truthful answer from her." The man in the suit said, adjusting his cufflinks. My eyes widened, and I shook my head no, and mouthed the word, 'Stop.' James glared at me, and I knew I was in for it. My jaw slammed close- with an audible click of my teeth, and I stood in the smallest position I could, without bending my lets. I think about running, for the thousandth time today, but James would beat me to Esmeralda with the car, and god only knows what he might do to Ezzy.
"I do apologize, and will try to keep my brothers ruckus to a minimum." The man in the suit said, Once James thought he was out of ear shot, he whispered to me, "Get your things. We're going home." I silently nodded, hoping to lessen the punishment that was waiting for me.
Hope you enjoyed reading it. I know I like to write the story.
With love Lady DX.