Chapter 3
Alyssa walked into her house and closed the door quietly. She was about to head to her room when a voice stopped her. "What took you so long? You know to come home right after school and make dinner." Alyssa turned to look at the angry man that spoke.
"I'm sorry, I lost track of time." He glared at her.
"You lost track of time? You don't get to lose track of time, you hear me? You have responsibilities you little bitch and I expect you to stick to them. Now get your ass in that kitchen and make me something to eat and I don't wanna hear anything else from you, got it?" Alyssa just nodded afraid to say anything else as her father walked away from her and headed back into the living room. She went into the kitchen and decided to do as he said. She headed to her room about an hour later and closed her door, resting her head on it. She walked over to her bed when her door suddenly burst open and her father stood there glaring at her. "Did I tell you to come to your room? I don't think I did. You have a house to clean." Alyssa took a step away from him.
"I have homework to do right now." He grew angrier as he walked over to her and slapped her hard across the face. She touched her stinging cheek as she looked back at him.
"You don't talk back to me! It's bad enough that I have to deal with having a freak for a daughter! You're just like your mother. I couldn't control her, but I sure as hell will control you." He said as he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. "Do your work or I will lock you in the cellar again for the rest of the night with nothing to eat or drink. Do I make myself clear?" Alyssa didn't say anything as she continued to stare into his cold eyes and he got even angrier that she wouldn't answer him. "Do I make myself clear?" He asked again with more venom in his voice and all she did was continue to stare at him when he suddenly flew away from her and landed on the floor outside of her room. He stood up and glared at her again. "You little freak! You'll pay for that!" He was about to head back in her room when her door suddenly closed and locked by itself. She let the breath out that she was holding as he continued to pound on her door. It was then that she realized she couldn't take it anymore. She opened up her window and climbed out. She landed on the ground and took one more look at her house before she walked away. She walked for what seemed like hours when she suddenly got cold. She really wished she would have grabbed a jacket before she left, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. She was tired of living like this, getting treated like a freak every day of her life. She wanted it all to end. She walked some more when she headed to her destination. She walked over to the cliff and looked down at the rocks below. Her eyes started to tear up at the thought of what she was about to do, but she didn't have a choice. Things would never get better. She was about to jump when a voice stopped her.
"It's a pretty long fall; you probably wanna step away from the ledge." She turned around to look at the person that spoke and saw that it was an older man with a long leather coat and white blonde hair. She shook her head.
"I can't, I have to do this. Don't try and stop me." She said as she turned back to the rocks below. Spike walked closer to her without trying to startle her.
"I have to, love. You're about to kill yourself here and I can't let you do that." Alyssa turned back to look at him.
"Why do you care? You don't even know me." Spike nodded.
"No, but I can tell that you're very young and you've had a pretty rough life. Why else would you be here trying to end it? Whatever it is we can talk about it, pet. You don't want to do this. It's not the way." Alyssa was crying now at what he was saying.
"I don't have a choice. I can't live like this anymore; I want it all to go away." Spike reached out his hand to her.
"I can help you if you'll let me. Take my hand, sweetheart. You're too young to die, you don't really want this. There's always another way and we'll find it together." She just stared at his hand and then into his intense blue eyes and could tell that he was being sincere. She just didn't know what to do. "Trust me, love. I won't hurt you." Alyssa looked at his hand again and then without much thought she placed her hand in his. He wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her away from the ledge. She then broke down into more tears when she thought about what she almost did and Spike wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his chest. He rubbed her back to try and comfort her. He didn't really know the girl, but he already felt a connection to her. "It'll be alright now, I promise." He whispered to her as she continued to cry. Alyssa couldn't believe that she was openly crying in front of a stranger, but he didn't seem that much like a stranger and he did just save her life. She looked up at him and he gave her a smile as he wiped one of her tears away. "Come on, let's go for a walk." He said as he grabbed her hand again and headed away from the cliff.