Chapter 1: Secrets
"Maybe if you were home more often you would actually understand her!" Molly pressed her face into the handrails of her stairs. It was happening again. Her parents were argueing over her again. The sound of her mom's voice echoed into her ear and banged against her ear drum. For all of her life, she had heard this day in and day out. The fighting between her parents wouldnt stop. She couldnt run. For 13 long years, Molly became used to it. But after awhile, wouldnt you get sick of it? It was as if she were stuck in her own world, screaming at the top of her lungs for it to stop, but no one would listen. A couple of years ago, people would have thought you were crazy if you said that these parents even fought. At a point they had been so in love. Free of all worry and were able to just plainly relax. But those days were over. Pressing her face farther into the railings so that the markings across her face turned a light pink, Molly listened intently hoping not to miss anything that they were talking about. For everyday of Molly's life, she survived by believeing that one day, she would escape. Escape to a place where she could be herself and be happy. 'I wonder what its about this time, I hope they dont send me away' she thought pleadingly. Carefully pulling one of the sides of her pants up so she could scratch a mosquitto bite, she hit a bruise. She pulled her face away from the rail and looked down at her bruised body. Her legs were filled with black and blue marks that screamed as if they were made just a second ago. No one knew Molly's secret with her Dad. No one. Not even her mom. Pulling her arms away from the railings and pulling her sleeves up, Molly looked at the handprints made on her arms from her dad. Molly had got in her dad's way enough times and these markings were proof of it. She touched one soothingly and bit her lip hard with hope that she wouldnt make any noise. If she did, it would only mean her dad and her would have another little "talk" in her room. And after she would come out with new bruises and markings that would never go away. And even if they did, the marks on her heart would always be there. These bruises had been in Molly's life for the most of it. Most of the time she wore covering clothes that concealed her secret injuries. Fighting against a battle in her home was hard, but it was even harder to abandon it. Other than the place she called home, Molly had her school. Surprisingly, she was popular. She had a lot of good friends even though she wasnt very pretty. Other than that, she was pretty much alone. She did have her mom. Her mom understood her somewhat. But she still couldnt tell her her secret. Abandoning the fight that her mom and dad were having, Molly quietly stood up and took the stairs 2 at a time. As soon as she reached the 2nd floor, she walked to her room as quietly and quicky as possible like when a tiger went after its prey . "What are you doing freak?" she heard from a voice on her right. She looked into her sister's room and saw her lying on her bed, upside down looking out the door. "Just going to my room" Molly replid quickly in hope to get to her room as soon as possible. "Doesnt seem that way...you are way too quiet," her sister, Melanie, Mel for short, replied suspiciously. "Im just going to my room" Molly snapped back. "Whatever," Melanie replied, losing interest and turning her head up to the ceiling. Melanie was pretty. She had all the guys after her at school and was popular just like Molly. Her hair was creamy brown and curly. Her curls were perfect and bouncy with no frizz what so ever. She even had been allowed to get blonde highlights! Her light hazel eyes sat on her face with small but full lips. She was very petite when it came to everything. She had a light brown skin tone just like their mom. Hey body was small, thin, and short, but yet full and curvy. For all of Molly's life, Mel had always been the center of attention while she got pushed to the side. Mel was always told how pretty she was and how much of a lady she was becoming. And she knew it. That was one of the things that Molly disliked about her sister. Mel knew how pretty she was and usually shoved it in Molly's face when she was around her friends. Making fun of Molly when Mel's friends were around was what Mel loved to do. It was like she turned into a different person though. She would always complain about how hard she had it at home because she wouldnt get all that she wanted. To Molly, she didnt know the first thing about how hard it was to live at home. Melanie was the one who also gave Molly her low self-esteem. On the phone, she always talked about how stupid and ugly Molly was with her guy friends and spend the rest of the time talking about herself. She even did it in front of their parents and the rest of the family. She was their father's favorite, obviously, and was his little princess. At family parties she would go on and on about her life and would flip her hair perfectly when she saw Molly around the corner. Putting on her fake giggle when anyone told a joke made Molly furious. Oh, how it annoyed Molly to be around her sister when she wanted to be a snob. No one knew that Mel did this on purpose just to drive Molly crazy. To be an even worse sister, Mel always talked about how thin she was and how much of a good dancer she was and afterwards, would tell Molly that she ate eveything and that she was a much better dancer than her. At moments like that, Molly resisted the urge to slap her. It drove her insane at how she had all these guys come over and take her on dates. She had gotten the pretty traits while Molly felt she had gotten the ugly ones. Sometimes at night, Molly would question God and ask Him why He had made her this way. At some points she would cry and cry until she fell asleep. I guess you could say that Molly was slighty jealous of her sister. Actually, for all of Molly's life, she had always been jealous of her perfect sister. "You can go now.." her sister said tonelessly as she pulled at a curl to make it bounce. Molly glared back at her sister and took off for her room quickly and shut the door quietly. She turned back to face her room and ran to her bed to collapse on it. Her room wasnt the best thing in the world but she didnt mind it. It was peaceful and it was the only place where she could hide from the world. That is, when her dad didnt come in and have a "talk" with her. A knock was made on Molly's door which made her jump. "Hunny, can I come in?" "Uhh...Yea, hold on Mom," Molly replied back, checking herself to make sure no bruises were visible and jumped off her bed. "I'm coming..." she said to the door and she opened it for her mom. She stared at her mom intently for a moment. "What? Is there something on my face? Does my hair look alright?" "Oh no, nothing, you look fine, your beautiful" Molly said looking her mom up and down. "Alright, I just need to talk to you about something hunny" her mom said while walking into her room and plopping herself down on her bed. Molly closed the door and leaned agaisnt it. "Well hunny, its about your grades-" Molly sighed. "They've just been so-" Molly zoomed out and looked at her mom carefully. Just staring at her mom made her get tingles all over. She was extremely lucky to have someone like her. She was extremely beautiful no matter what she did. Next to Molly, they looked nothing alike. a You would think that Molly lived out in the streets to be perfectly honest. Her mom's hair was layered perfectly and was a light brown. Her skin was smooth, acne free, and as soft as a silk blanket. You could smell the Country Apple perfume from miles away which made Molly thirst to put some of it on. Her eyes were a beautiful blue and hazel color that were very entrancing. Her face was a perfect oval and her neck wasnt long, but wasnt short either. She had a perfect light brown skin tone that must people would want as a tan. She was pretty much...Perfect. She was an angel. An angel sent from above. Not only in real life, but in Molly's dreams too. She protects her from all harm in her dreams. The evil; the darkness of her life. She shields her from her dad at all times in her dreams. Molly looked over at her perfect mom. She wanted to tell her so bad about her secret. Knowing that one day she wouldnt see her mom again scared her. And it scared her even more knowing that one of these years, her mom would die, and she would die not knowing the first thing about what Molly went through. Hiding back her emotions while her mom was talking, Molly closed her eyes. At first, she saw blackness, but than she saw her mom. You would never think that at a point, Molly and her mom never got along. Your wrong though. At the beginning of Molly's life, she had pretty much nothing to do with her mom. Her mom was just that person who, in her mind, liked to torture her and deprive her of having fun. She had always felt this way about her mom until one day, everything in her life changed. Because not only did her dad beat her, but he beat her mom too. When Molly had been 8 years old, she had came home from her friend Nichole's house. At the time she didnt know what to expect when she walked through that door, but when stepped through, she only wished that she hadnt. Her mom, the evil witch who lived in her home, was on the floor with a hand print plastered on her back. "Get up!" Molly's dad screamed. Watching her mom staggering to get off the ground shattered all her thoughts about her mom. She wasnt a witch anymore. She wasnt the same person she knew anymore. Before she knew what she was going to do, she did something that even surprised herself. She screamed. She screamed at the top of her lungs and ran to her mom. "STOP IT! STOP IT!" She shrieked up at her dad. Molly's mom looked up at her, eyes filled with tears, pleading her to go away. "Molly," she whispered, "get out of here...I'll be alright" Her voice had been all croaked, weak from the torture. From that day on, Molly loved her mom. She was always afraid of coming home, afraid of what her eyes might see after that day. Her mom's last words before Molly ran out on her mom that day haunted her before she went to sleep. And would probably haunt her forever. Shuddering this memory away, Molly snapped open her eyes and walked to her wardrobe. Looking carefully into the mirror, she saw black circles around her eyes. Studying her features carefully Molly noticed that her mom and herself were complete opposite's when it came to physical appearance. Well sort of. Contrary to her mom, her hair was a dark brown color that looked black from far away. Her hair looked like it was plastered to her head by mistake. Her big, brown, curious, eyes took up most of her forehead with big, full lips. I guess you could say she looked a little chinese. But that was only because her father looked that way also. Well somewhat. Her skin tone though, was a creamy, light brown color. As smooth as a baby's bottom is what people would say. Staring dreamily at the mirror, Molly thought back to how much her daddy used to love her. Seeing his smiling face in her head always made her smile. She used to always be his little "duckling"; his love, and they would always play horse around the house. What had happened to that man? Seeing her dad's face turn from happiness to anger made her mind blur this image away and come back to reality. Molly turned back around to face her mom and saw that her face had changed from looking at her, to the ground. Her voice was so sweet. Getting lost in her own thoughts, Molly thought longlingly of what she might have for supper. Her stomach was rumbleing with hunger and the insides of her mouth were dry. 'Turkey sounds well' she thought to herself while imagining what it would look like. 'Maybe I'll get some gravy to go wi-' "Im Leaving." Molly snapped away from her food fantasy. 'Did she...did she just say she was leaving?' she thought to herself. As if Molly's mom could read her mind she said "Yea, Im leaving." Molly looked longingly at her mom. 'No, this is a joke...yea very funny mom ha ha' she thought to herself. She couldnt help but smile. "Nice one mom, thats very funny" she said to her mom with a smile on her face. "I'm not kidding..I cant...I cant put up with your father anymore. I'm leaving in the morning..." "Why are you telling me this?" Molly asked in a pleading voice. "Because...because I want you to come with me.." Molly stared at her mom in shock for an internal amount of time. Her? Her go with her? Yea, she had lost it. "Mom your funny your no-" "SHHH!, speak quieter, if your father knew, I would, I dont know but I want you to come with me" She replied quickly while eyeing the room nervously. Molly stared blankly at her. Here was her perfecr mom, running away from a situation. This was crazy! She couldnt leave her friends. She couldnt deal with this. "Mom?" Molly whispered. "Mmmmhmm? " "Why do you want me to go with you? I'm fine here..." Molly said guiltily even though she knew that the only thing she wanted to do was run away. "Its just," her mom started, "I dont want your father to hurt you. When I leave, he will most likely get angry and I'm scared that he will hurt you-" Molly's body gave a small twitch as she covered her body with even more clothes to conceal her bruises-"and, I dont want that to happen...you and your sister mean everything in the world to me." A piece of dark brown hair fell from Molly's head and onto her face. She stared at it for a moment and grabbed it with her long fingers so that she could begin twisting it between them. "Mom...I cant.....I mean...Umm..." Molly twisted her hair even harder until it burned with agony. "I know this is tough sweety, but I want what's best for you." 'What's best for me!? WHAT'S BEST FOR ME!? your asking me to leave my life abandoned here and to go to the middle of no where with you! I do want to go but still! I do have a life, I cant take this!!' Molly thought angrily. Knowing that a note of anger was probably visible on her face made her blush. Here was her mom trying to protect her. And she was angry at her for even suggesting that she leave her life. "Mom...I-" "I have to go, I'll be here in the morning to get you. Be ready." And with that, Molly's mom glided out of her room and shut the door. That was it. Millions of questions barged into Molly's head. "Why wasnt she taking Melanie?", "Why was she not as afraid as Molly was?", and "Why did she all the sudden want to leave?" These questions bothered Molly as she lay upon her bed. "I cant take this.." Molly yelled at herself. She got off her bed and walked to her mirror. She took one glance at herself and punched it with all her might. The glass shattered into a million pieces and fell onto the floor. Groaning with pain, Molly removed her hand from the position it was in and let it fall to her side. Her knuckles were soaked in blood and screamed with agony. Her reflection was gone. And it would never be the same again. She looked down at the floor and saw her blood splattered all around her. She stared at it closely when she saw something that made her jump. A cross had taken shape at the foot of her right toe and it looked like it was getting brighter. Looking down at it terrified, Molly heard her dad's angry voice. "MOLLY!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!?" Feeling the ground below her vibrate at every step he took, she retreated to her window and sat on the ground, holding onto herself with all the strength she had left. Humming softly to herself, Molly began to shake as she heard her dad put his hand on her doornob. As he turned it and opened the door, he opened it with rage and stared at her with total loathe. Slaming the door behind himself, he took after her. 'No daddy...Please...no more chats... no more pain..' she thought pleadingly.
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Walking slowly and carefully out of her room, Molly trembled when she heard her sister put her feet on the ground from her room. Looking down at her arms, she saw new and bigger handprints that shined bright red. Pulling her sleeves down to cover her arms, she retreated back to the stairs. As she walked, she looked down at her knuckles and saw that they had at last stopped bleeding and were now cuts. Bruised and scared from the abuse her father had just put her through, it killed her legs to walk fast but quietly. Sitting down carefully on the first step, she heard her mom humming in the kitchen. For almost half of her life, her mom never ran away from a situation and was strong. Did she know that when she married this man she would be running away from him? Thinking this over and over again, Molly once again got lost in her thoughts. "What are you doing??" her sister sniggered. Molly looked up and saw her sister standing above her with a grin on. "Nothing, just thinking..." "Suure" she replied sarcastically. "Leave me alone Mel...I dont really want to talk to you...Im not that bored.." Molly snapped back cooly. "What's wrong with you!? Are you pms-ing?" "Oh my God, Im not, just leave me alone!" She replied angrily and with that, got off her feet and walked down stairs. Taking in the light blue features of the walls that were happy, she did her best to not look upset with her mom for running away from this. "MOMMY!!" she forced out making her sound happy. "DAUGHTER!" her mom yelled back. "What are we having for supper?? Im hungry!" Molly replied as she walked into the bright kitchen. "Chicken and rice.." Molly made a disgusted face. "Chicken?? Oh mommy cant we have something else? I hate chicken!!" Molly whinned. "We are having chicken.Tom..tomorrow-" Molly's mom looked at her with please-play-along eyes"-you can pick what we can eat.." 'I hate chicken!! I'd rather starve..I wonder what you would do to me if I didnt play along...' Molly thought. "Right," she said. She stepped back out the door backwards, and grabbed a cookie. Because she was walking backwards, she banged into something. Lookin up, she saw her dad standing above her. His eyes were full of anger and his lips turned into a malicious grin. Her voice caught in her throat and she felt her heart beating hard and fast. Hoping that he wouldnt use her walking into him as another excuse for a beating, she jumped out of his way and put the cookie back on the plate. "S-s-sorry" she forced out and she ran out of his way and up the stairs. Feeling the pain of the bruises on her legs as she ran up the stairs made her jam her fingernails into her right hand. Walking back to her room now more slowly, her sister called her into her room. As Molly stepped into her sisters pretty, dirty room, she found her sister rumaging through her closet. "What!?" Molly questioned. "Geez, no need to explode idiot" "If your not going to be nice than I'm getting out of here" Molly replied back angrily. She didnt mean to come off all mean but right now she wanted more than anything to be safe in her room. "Sorry sorry, I just need your help.." Mel said as she walked out of her closet. "My help? Since when do you listen to me and ask me for help??" Molly questioned. 'Oh yeah, I rock, shes asking me for help! woohoo' Molly thought. "Since now...I'm going on a date and I need to know what will look better..." "Oh" Molly replied disappointed. 'Just for her stupid date...goody' she thought. Molly sat down on her bed and sighed as her sister ran back into her closet for her clothes for that night. "I'm guessing were not fighting anymore?" Molly questioned. Melanie ignored her. "Okay, theres this" She pulled out a pink Abercrombie and Fitch shirt with a cute mini skirt to go with it. It was a cute match that had a pink belt too. The skirt was a light blue and ripped at the bottom which also meant she got this from Abercrombie. It was what they called, vintage. To many other parents it was a pile of crap that was wrinkled and ripped. "Or theres this one.." She pulled out a bright and shiny purple shirt that was made from silk. "No...no! too bright.." Molly replied. "I like the first one.." Molly said. "Oh but what about this one?" Getting bored with her sisters obsessive nature with fashion she layed back on her bed and reached over for one of her magazines. She held it above her face and replied to her sisters talking with random "right's", "sure's", and "mmhmmm's". She was just reading a "How to make your hair all shiny" article when her sister grabbed her arm. "What...Whats happenned to you??" Her sister quesioned urgently. Molly looked over at her arm and felt the color drain out of her face. She had gotten so into the magazine she hadn't even realized that one of her sleeves had fallen below her elbows. Her bruises and bright red markings were clearly visible. Sitting up quickly and staring up at her sister, she managed to talk. "I...uhh..nothing" "This looks a lot like handprints, have you been hit?" Her sister asked with a note of worry in her voice. 'Uh oh...What do I do now? ahh little people in my head! Help me! I guess..I guess I could tell her..' she thought pleadingly. "I...Nothing I just fell.." Molly replied hoping that her face looked convincable. "I dont believe you," Mel replied. "Well you should.." Molly replied strongly. Mel looked at her carefully and seemed to be x-raying her. Turning her back on Molly, Molly let out her breath slowly. Like lightning, Mel turned around suddenly and ran towards Molly. She put her hand on Molly's other arm and began to pull up her other sleeve. "MEL! stop it! Get off me" Molly yelled as she struggled to get her arm from her grip. Tears formed behind her eyes as her sister squeezed one of her bruises. Mel wouldnt let her go and she suddenly found herself hitting her sister for her to let go. Her sister may have been 16 but she wasnt going to let in that soon. Feeling her arm getting fully exposed from behind her sleeve, she figured she could just make something up when her sister let go of her. But than she felt her sister dive for her legs. "MEL! LISTEN TO ME! LET ME GO!" Molly screamed. But Mel wouldnt give up. Molly could feel tears running down her cheek as her sister presisted on letting Molly's secret bruises get out. She struggled and tried to shake her off but nothing would work. Feeling her sister grab onto another bruise on her leg, she felt tears stream down her face and the pain on her leg get stronger. So, she began to kick, but nothing would do. And finally, after a couple of minutes, she could feel both of her legs fully exposed to the world. And finally, her sister let go. Staring back at her sister, Molly saw that the color was now draining out of her face. Her hands were pressed over her mouth and her eyes looked at Molly with total terror. Seeing that her secret was revealed made Molly looked away and down at the bed. "Who...who has done this to you!?" Mel yelled worried as she lowered her hands from her mouth. 'Well..shes figured it out' Molly thought. Molly could feel her tears now coming down hard as she pressed her hands on one of her bruises. She turned her face back to her sister. "Well... Dad...Dad has-" "Daddy!?" Mel whispered terrified. She backed away slowly from Molly and could only say "no"again and again. Mel was now clearly as pale as a ghost. She kept on walking away from Molly and finally she stopped moving and retched onto the floor. Molly looked away in disgust and going against her thoughts to run out and get to her room, she walked to her sister and gave her a towel. Seeing the sweat on Mel's face and the puke all over the floor made her feel sick. Mel wiped away her sweat and wiped her mouth. Carefully, Molly helped her out of her room and into the bathroom. As she closed the door for her sister, she slid down the wall and leaned her head against it. She could hear her sister being violently sick in the bathroom and she felt awful that she was going to be a total wreck for her date. 'This is all my fault' she thought and she banged her head softly against the wall. Hearing her sister flush the toilet and open the door made Molly jump to her feet. "Are you alright?" Molly asked softly. Mel was still pale but she nodded. Taking her hand, Molly led her sister back to her room and shut the door. "You cant tell anyone about what just happened here..I mean, about what you just found out.." Molly said. Mel opened her mouth to argue but closed it back up in terror that she might get sick again. "Understood?" Molly asked. Mel nodded. "Good..I need to get ba-" "How long has this been happening?" Mel asked. Molly looked over at her sister. For once, it looked like Mel was a small little animal that was hiding just like Molly had done for all of her life. Feeling sympathy for her sister, she smiled at her. Mel smiled back. "Well..for...umm...for awhile...since I've been in like 3rd grade." Mel looked at her as if she had just seen a ghost. "Nothing to get worried about.." Molly replied quickly with guilt. It was something to worry about, but she didnt want to put it on her sister's shoulders. Mel didnt say anything but looked down on the floor. Molly knew that she was probably thinking of how selfish she had been all these years. 'Thats right...you better feel selfish...I am so going to get back at you for everyone thing you've done to me' Molly thought. She opened her mouth to start but didnt say anything. She than closed it back up. She couldnt bring herself to do it. Instead of starting something to get back at her sister, Molly walked over to her and awkwardly gave her a small hug. Theres no doubt that Molly and her sister felt like strangers to each other, but what happened next surprised Molly. Mel gave her a big hug and wouldnt let go. She began to cry softly into Molly's shoulder and kept on saying she was sorry. That was the moment that made Molly cry too. After all the pain she had gone through and all the fights she had had with Mel, Molly felt as if Mel was actually being a sister who cared for her. Thinking of how she was going to abandon her sister tonite made her cry even more. For once in her life, her sister and herself were on an even footing and actually loved each other and she was about to wreck that by running off with their mom. Mel let go of Molly and wiped her tears away. Mel looked at Molly and finally broke the awkwardness of both of them crying, "I'm not just going to ignore this, no one, and I mean, NO ONE, does this to my sister.."
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"Maybe if you were home more often you would actually understand her!" Molly pressed her face into the handrails of her stairs. It was happening again. Her parents were argueing over her again. The sound of her mom's voice echoed into her ear and banged against her ear drum. For all of her life, she had heard this day in and day out. The fighting between her parents wouldnt stop. She couldnt run. For 13 long years, Molly became used to it. But after awhile, wouldnt you get sick of it? It was as if she were stuck in her own world, screaming at the top of her lungs for it to stop, but no one would listen. A couple of years ago, people would have thought you were crazy if you said that these parents even fought. At a point they had been so in love. Free of all worry and were able to just plainly relax. But those days were over. Pressing her face farther into the railings so that the markings across her face turned a light pink, Molly listened intently hoping not to miss anything that they were talking about. For everyday of Molly's life, she survived by believeing that one day, she would escape. Escape to a place where she could be herself and be happy. 'I wonder what its about this time, I hope they dont send me away' she thought pleadingly. Carefully pulling one of the sides of her pants up so she could scratch a mosquitto bite, she hit a bruise. She pulled her face away from the rail and looked down at her bruised body. Her legs were filled with black and blue marks that screamed as if they were made just a second ago. No one knew Molly's secret with her Dad. No one. Not even her mom. Pulling her arms away from the railings and pulling her sleeves up, Molly looked at the handprints made on her arms from her dad. Molly had got in her dad's way enough times and these markings were proof of it. She touched one soothingly and bit her lip hard with hope that she wouldnt make any noise. If she did, it would only mean her dad and her would have another little "talk" in her room. And after she would come out with new bruises and markings that would never go away. And even if they did, the marks on her heart would always be there. These bruises had been in Molly's life for the most of it. Most of the time she wore covering clothes that concealed her secret injuries. Fighting against a battle in her home was hard, but it was even harder to abandon it. Other than the place she called home, Molly had her school. Surprisingly, she was popular. She had a lot of good friends even though she wasnt very pretty. Other than that, she was pretty much alone. She did have her mom. Her mom understood her somewhat. But she still couldnt tell her her secret. Abandoning the fight that her mom and dad were having, Molly quietly stood up and took the stairs 2 at a time. As soon as she reached the 2nd floor, she walked to her room as quietly and quicky as possible like when a tiger went after its prey . "What are you doing freak?" she heard from a voice on her right. She looked into her sister's room and saw her lying on her bed, upside down looking out the door. "Just going to my room" Molly replid quickly in hope to get to her room as soon as possible. "Doesnt seem that way...you are way too quiet," her sister, Melanie, Mel for short, replied suspiciously. "Im just going to my room" Molly snapped back. "Whatever," Melanie replied, losing interest and turning her head up to the ceiling. Melanie was pretty. She had all the guys after her at school and was popular just like Molly. Her hair was creamy brown and curly. Her curls were perfect and bouncy with no frizz what so ever. She even had been allowed to get blonde highlights! Her light hazel eyes sat on her face with small but full lips. She was very petite when it came to everything. She had a light brown skin tone just like their mom. Hey body was small, thin, and short, but yet full and curvy. For all of Molly's life, Mel had always been the center of attention while she got pushed to the side. Mel was always told how pretty she was and how much of a lady she was becoming. And she knew it. That was one of the things that Molly disliked about her sister. Mel knew how pretty she was and usually shoved it in Molly's face when she was around her friends. Making fun of Molly when Mel's friends were around was what Mel loved to do. It was like she turned into a different person though. She would always complain about how hard she had it at home because she wouldnt get all that she wanted. To Molly, she didnt know the first thing about how hard it was to live at home. Melanie was the one who also gave Molly her low self-esteem. On the phone, she always talked about how stupid and ugly Molly was with her guy friends and spend the rest of the time talking about herself. She even did it in front of their parents and the rest of the family. She was their father's favorite, obviously, and was his little princess. At family parties she would go on and on about her life and would flip her hair perfectly when she saw Molly around the corner. Putting on her fake giggle when anyone told a joke made Molly furious. Oh, how it annoyed Molly to be around her sister when she wanted to be a snob. No one knew that Mel did this on purpose just to drive Molly crazy. To be an even worse sister, Mel always talked about how thin she was and how much of a good dancer she was and afterwards, would tell Molly that she ate eveything and that she was a much better dancer than her. At moments like that, Molly resisted the urge to slap her. It drove her insane at how she had all these guys come over and take her on dates. She had gotten the pretty traits while Molly felt she had gotten the ugly ones. Sometimes at night, Molly would question God and ask Him why He had made her this way. At some points she would cry and cry until she fell asleep. I guess you could say that Molly was slighty jealous of her sister. Actually, for all of Molly's life, she had always been jealous of her perfect sister. "You can go now.." her sister said tonelessly as she pulled at a curl to make it bounce. Molly glared back at her sister and took off for her room quickly and shut the door quietly. She turned back to face her room and ran to her bed to collapse on it. Her room wasnt the best thing in the world but she didnt mind it. It was peaceful and it was the only place where she could hide from the world. That is, when her dad didnt come in and have a "talk" with her. A knock was made on Molly's door which made her jump. "Hunny, can I come in?" "Uhh...Yea, hold on Mom," Molly replied back, checking herself to make sure no bruises were visible and jumped off her bed. "I'm coming..." she said to the door and she opened it for her mom. She stared at her mom intently for a moment. "What? Is there something on my face? Does my hair look alright?" "Oh no, nothing, you look fine, your beautiful" Molly said looking her mom up and down. "Alright, I just need to talk to you about something hunny" her mom said while walking into her room and plopping herself down on her bed. Molly closed the door and leaned agaisnt it. "Well hunny, its about your grades-" Molly sighed. "They've just been so-" Molly zoomed out and looked at her mom carefully. Just staring at her mom made her get tingles all over. She was extremely lucky to have someone like her. She was extremely beautiful no matter what she did. Next to Molly, they looked nothing alike. a You would think that Molly lived out in the streets to be perfectly honest. Her mom's hair was layered perfectly and was a light brown. Her skin was smooth, acne free, and as soft as a silk blanket. You could smell the Country Apple perfume from miles away which made Molly thirst to put some of it on. Her eyes were a beautiful blue and hazel color that were very entrancing. Her face was a perfect oval and her neck wasnt long, but wasnt short either. She had a perfect light brown skin tone that must people would want as a tan. She was pretty much...Perfect. She was an angel. An angel sent from above. Not only in real life, but in Molly's dreams too. She protects her from all harm in her dreams. The evil; the darkness of her life. She shields her from her dad at all times in her dreams. Molly looked over at her perfect mom. She wanted to tell her so bad about her secret. Knowing that one day she wouldnt see her mom again scared her. And it scared her even more knowing that one of these years, her mom would die, and she would die not knowing the first thing about what Molly went through. Hiding back her emotions while her mom was talking, Molly closed her eyes. At first, she saw blackness, but than she saw her mom. You would never think that at a point, Molly and her mom never got along. Your wrong though. At the beginning of Molly's life, she had pretty much nothing to do with her mom. Her mom was just that person who, in her mind, liked to torture her and deprive her of having fun. She had always felt this way about her mom until one day, everything in her life changed. Because not only did her dad beat her, but he beat her mom too. When Molly had been 8 years old, she had came home from her friend Nichole's house. At the time she didnt know what to expect when she walked through that door, but when stepped through, she only wished that she hadnt. Her mom, the evil witch who lived in her home, was on the floor with a hand print plastered on her back. "Get up!" Molly's dad screamed. Watching her mom staggering to get off the ground shattered all her thoughts about her mom. She wasnt a witch anymore. She wasnt the same person she knew anymore. Before she knew what she was going to do, she did something that even surprised herself. She screamed. She screamed at the top of her lungs and ran to her mom. "STOP IT! STOP IT!" She shrieked up at her dad. Molly's mom looked up at her, eyes filled with tears, pleading her to go away. "Molly," she whispered, "get out of here...I'll be alright" Her voice had been all croaked, weak from the torture. From that day on, Molly loved her mom. She was always afraid of coming home, afraid of what her eyes might see after that day. Her mom's last words before Molly ran out on her mom that day haunted her before she went to sleep. And would probably haunt her forever. Shuddering this memory away, Molly snapped open her eyes and walked to her wardrobe. Looking carefully into the mirror, she saw black circles around her eyes. Studying her features carefully Molly noticed that her mom and herself were complete opposite's when it came to physical appearance. Well sort of. Contrary to her mom, her hair was a dark brown color that looked black from far away. Her hair looked like it was plastered to her head by mistake. Her big, brown, curious, eyes took up most of her forehead with big, full lips. I guess you could say she looked a little chinese. But that was only because her father looked that way also. Well somewhat. Her skin tone though, was a creamy, light brown color. As smooth as a baby's bottom is what people would say. Staring dreamily at the mirror, Molly thought back to how much her daddy used to love her. Seeing his smiling face in her head always made her smile. She used to always be his little "duckling"; his love, and they would always play horse around the house. What had happened to that man? Seeing her dad's face turn from happiness to anger made her mind blur this image away and come back to reality. Molly turned back around to face her mom and saw that her face had changed from looking at her, to the ground. Her voice was so sweet. Getting lost in her own thoughts, Molly thought longlingly of what she might have for supper. Her stomach was rumbleing with hunger and the insides of her mouth were dry. 'Turkey sounds well' she thought to herself while imagining what it would look like. 'Maybe I'll get some gravy to go wi-' "Im Leaving." Molly snapped away from her food fantasy. 'Did she...did she just say she was leaving?' she thought to herself. As if Molly's mom could read her mind she said "Yea, Im leaving." Molly looked longingly at her mom. 'No, this is a joke...yea very funny mom ha ha' she thought to herself. She couldnt help but smile. "Nice one mom, thats very funny" she said to her mom with a smile on her face. "I'm not kidding..I cant...I cant put up with your father anymore. I'm leaving in the morning..." "Why are you telling me this?" Molly asked in a pleading voice. "Because...because I want you to come with me.." Molly stared at her mom in shock for an internal amount of time. Her? Her go with her? Yea, she had lost it. "Mom your funny your no-" "SHHH!, speak quieter, if your father knew, I would, I dont know but I want you to come with me" She replied quickly while eyeing the room nervously. Molly stared blankly at her. Here was her perfecr mom, running away from a situation. This was crazy! She couldnt leave her friends. She couldnt deal with this. "Mom?" Molly whispered. "Mmmmhmm? " "Why do you want me to go with you? I'm fine here..." Molly said guiltily even though she knew that the only thing she wanted to do was run away. "Its just," her mom started, "I dont want your father to hurt you. When I leave, he will most likely get angry and I'm scared that he will hurt you-" Molly's body gave a small twitch as she covered her body with even more clothes to conceal her bruises-"and, I dont want that to happen...you and your sister mean everything in the world to me." A piece of dark brown hair fell from Molly's head and onto her face. She stared at it for a moment and grabbed it with her long fingers so that she could begin twisting it between them. "Mom...I cant.....I mean...Umm..." Molly twisted her hair even harder until it burned with agony. "I know this is tough sweety, but I want what's best for you." 'What's best for me!? WHAT'S BEST FOR ME!? your asking me to leave my life abandoned here and to go to the middle of no where with you! I do want to go but still! I do have a life, I cant take this!!' Molly thought angrily. Knowing that a note of anger was probably visible on her face made her blush. Here was her mom trying to protect her. And she was angry at her for even suggesting that she leave her life. "Mom...I-" "I have to go, I'll be here in the morning to get you. Be ready." And with that, Molly's mom glided out of her room and shut the door. That was it. Millions of questions barged into Molly's head. "Why wasnt she taking Melanie?", "Why was she not as afraid as Molly was?", and "Why did she all the sudden want to leave?" These questions bothered Molly as she lay upon her bed. "I cant take this.." Molly yelled at herself. She got off her bed and walked to her mirror. She took one glance at herself and punched it with all her might. The glass shattered into a million pieces and fell onto the floor. Groaning with pain, Molly removed her hand from the position it was in and let it fall to her side. Her knuckles were soaked in blood and screamed with agony. Her reflection was gone. And it would never be the same again. She looked down at the floor and saw her blood splattered all around her. She stared at it closely when she saw something that made her jump. A cross had taken shape at the foot of her right toe and it looked like it was getting brighter. Looking down at it terrified, Molly heard her dad's angry voice. "MOLLY!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!?" Feeling the ground below her vibrate at every step he took, she retreated to her window and sat on the ground, holding onto herself with all the strength she had left. Humming softly to herself, Molly began to shake as she heard her dad put his hand on her doornob. As he turned it and opened the door, he opened it with rage and stared at her with total loathe. Slaming the door behind himself, he took after her. 'No daddy...Please...no more chats... no more pain..' she thought pleadingly.
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Walking slowly and carefully out of her room, Molly trembled when she heard her sister put her feet on the ground from her room. Looking down at her arms, she saw new and bigger handprints that shined bright red. Pulling her sleeves down to cover her arms, she retreated back to the stairs. As she walked, she looked down at her knuckles and saw that they had at last stopped bleeding and were now cuts. Bruised and scared from the abuse her father had just put her through, it killed her legs to walk fast but quietly. Sitting down carefully on the first step, she heard her mom humming in the kitchen. For almost half of her life, her mom never ran away from a situation and was strong. Did she know that when she married this man she would be running away from him? Thinking this over and over again, Molly once again got lost in her thoughts. "What are you doing??" her sister sniggered. Molly looked up and saw her sister standing above her with a grin on. "Nothing, just thinking..." "Suure" she replied sarcastically. "Leave me alone Mel...I dont really want to talk to you...Im not that bored.." Molly snapped back cooly. "What's wrong with you!? Are you pms-ing?" "Oh my God, Im not, just leave me alone!" She replied angrily and with that, got off her feet and walked down stairs. Taking in the light blue features of the walls that were happy, she did her best to not look upset with her mom for running away from this. "MOMMY!!" she forced out making her sound happy. "DAUGHTER!" her mom yelled back. "What are we having for supper?? Im hungry!" Molly replied as she walked into the bright kitchen. "Chicken and rice.." Molly made a disgusted face. "Chicken?? Oh mommy cant we have something else? I hate chicken!!" Molly whinned. "We are having chicken.Tom..tomorrow-" Molly's mom looked at her with please-play-along eyes"-you can pick what we can eat.." 'I hate chicken!! I'd rather starve..I wonder what you would do to me if I didnt play along...' Molly thought. "Right," she said. She stepped back out the door backwards, and grabbed a cookie. Because she was walking backwards, she banged into something. Lookin up, she saw her dad standing above her. His eyes were full of anger and his lips turned into a malicious grin. Her voice caught in her throat and she felt her heart beating hard and fast. Hoping that he wouldnt use her walking into him as another excuse for a beating, she jumped out of his way and put the cookie back on the plate. "S-s-sorry" she forced out and she ran out of his way and up the stairs. Feeling the pain of the bruises on her legs as she ran up the stairs made her jam her fingernails into her right hand. Walking back to her room now more slowly, her sister called her into her room. As Molly stepped into her sisters pretty, dirty room, she found her sister rumaging through her closet. "What!?" Molly questioned. "Geez, no need to explode idiot" "If your not going to be nice than I'm getting out of here" Molly replied back angrily. She didnt mean to come off all mean but right now she wanted more than anything to be safe in her room. "Sorry sorry, I just need your help.." Mel said as she walked out of her closet. "My help? Since when do you listen to me and ask me for help??" Molly questioned. 'Oh yeah, I rock, shes asking me for help! woohoo' Molly thought. "Since now...I'm going on a date and I need to know what will look better..." "Oh" Molly replied disappointed. 'Just for her stupid date...goody' she thought. Molly sat down on her bed and sighed as her sister ran back into her closet for her clothes for that night. "I'm guessing were not fighting anymore?" Molly questioned. Melanie ignored her. "Okay, theres this" She pulled out a pink Abercrombie and Fitch shirt with a cute mini skirt to go with it. It was a cute match that had a pink belt too. The skirt was a light blue and ripped at the bottom which also meant she got this from Abercrombie. It was what they called, vintage. To many other parents it was a pile of crap that was wrinkled and ripped. "Or theres this one.." She pulled out a bright and shiny purple shirt that was made from silk. "No...no! too bright.." Molly replied. "I like the first one.." Molly said. "Oh but what about this one?" Getting bored with her sisters obsessive nature with fashion she layed back on her bed and reached over for one of her magazines. She held it above her face and replied to her sisters talking with random "right's", "sure's", and "mmhmmm's". She was just reading a "How to make your hair all shiny" article when her sister grabbed her arm. "What...Whats happenned to you??" Her sister quesioned urgently. Molly looked over at her arm and felt the color drain out of her face. She had gotten so into the magazine she hadn't even realized that one of her sleeves had fallen below her elbows. Her bruises and bright red markings were clearly visible. Sitting up quickly and staring up at her sister, she managed to talk. "I...uhh..nothing" "This looks a lot like handprints, have you been hit?" Her sister asked with a note of worry in her voice. 'Uh oh...What do I do now? ahh little people in my head! Help me! I guess..I guess I could tell her..' she thought pleadingly. "I...Nothing I just fell.." Molly replied hoping that her face looked convincable. "I dont believe you," Mel replied. "Well you should.." Molly replied strongly. Mel looked at her carefully and seemed to be x-raying her. Turning her back on Molly, Molly let out her breath slowly. Like lightning, Mel turned around suddenly and ran towards Molly. She put her hand on Molly's other arm and began to pull up her other sleeve. "MEL! stop it! Get off me" Molly yelled as she struggled to get her arm from her grip. Tears formed behind her eyes as her sister squeezed one of her bruises. Mel wouldnt let her go and she suddenly found herself hitting her sister for her to let go. Her sister may have been 16 but she wasnt going to let in that soon. Feeling her arm getting fully exposed from behind her sleeve, she figured she could just make something up when her sister let go of her. But than she felt her sister dive for her legs. "MEL! LISTEN TO ME! LET ME GO!" Molly screamed. But Mel wouldnt give up. Molly could feel tears running down her cheek as her sister presisted on letting Molly's secret bruises get out. She struggled and tried to shake her off but nothing would work. Feeling her sister grab onto another bruise on her leg, she felt tears stream down her face and the pain on her leg get stronger. So, she began to kick, but nothing would do. And finally, after a couple of minutes, she could feel both of her legs fully exposed to the world. And finally, her sister let go. Staring back at her sister, Molly saw that the color was now draining out of her face. Her hands were pressed over her mouth and her eyes looked at Molly with total terror. Seeing that her secret was revealed made Molly looked away and down at the bed. "Who...who has done this to you!?" Mel yelled worried as she lowered her hands from her mouth. 'Well..shes figured it out' Molly thought. Molly could feel her tears now coming down hard as she pressed her hands on one of her bruises. She turned her face back to her sister. "Well... Dad...Dad has-" "Daddy!?" Mel whispered terrified. She backed away slowly from Molly and could only say "no"again and again. Mel was now clearly as pale as a ghost. She kept on walking away from Molly and finally she stopped moving and retched onto the floor. Molly looked away in disgust and going against her thoughts to run out and get to her room, she walked to her sister and gave her a towel. Seeing the sweat on Mel's face and the puke all over the floor made her feel sick. Mel wiped away her sweat and wiped her mouth. Carefully, Molly helped her out of her room and into the bathroom. As she closed the door for her sister, she slid down the wall and leaned her head against it. She could hear her sister being violently sick in the bathroom and she felt awful that she was going to be a total wreck for her date. 'This is all my fault' she thought and she banged her head softly against the wall. Hearing her sister flush the toilet and open the door made Molly jump to her feet. "Are you alright?" Molly asked softly. Mel was still pale but she nodded. Taking her hand, Molly led her sister back to her room and shut the door. "You cant tell anyone about what just happened here..I mean, about what you just found out.." Molly said. Mel opened her mouth to argue but closed it back up in terror that she might get sick again. "Understood?" Molly asked. Mel nodded. "Good..I need to get ba-" "How long has this been happening?" Mel asked. Molly looked over at her sister. For once, it looked like Mel was a small little animal that was hiding just like Molly had done for all of her life. Feeling sympathy for her sister, she smiled at her. Mel smiled back. "Well..for...umm...for awhile...since I've been in like 3rd grade." Mel looked at her as if she had just seen a ghost. "Nothing to get worried about.." Molly replied quickly with guilt. It was something to worry about, but she didnt want to put it on her sister's shoulders. Mel didnt say anything but looked down on the floor. Molly knew that she was probably thinking of how selfish she had been all these years. 'Thats right...you better feel selfish...I am so going to get back at you for everyone thing you've done to me' Molly thought. She opened her mouth to start but didnt say anything. She than closed it back up. She couldnt bring herself to do it. Instead of starting something to get back at her sister, Molly walked over to her and awkwardly gave her a small hug. Theres no doubt that Molly and her sister felt like strangers to each other, but what happened next surprised Molly. Mel gave her a big hug and wouldnt let go. She began to cry softly into Molly's shoulder and kept on saying she was sorry. That was the moment that made Molly cry too. After all the pain she had gone through and all the fights she had had with Mel, Molly felt as if Mel was actually being a sister who cared for her. Thinking of how she was going to abandon her sister tonite made her cry even more. For once in her life, her sister and herself were on an even footing and actually loved each other and she was about to wreck that by running off with their mom. Mel let go of Molly and wiped her tears away. Mel looked at Molly and finally broke the awkwardness of both of them crying, "I'm not just going to ignore this, no one, and I mean, NO ONE, does this to my sister.."
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