Stephanie Tanner gazed out the front door of her home wondering what would become of the secret life she had been living. No one had known, and of course no one had expected this from sweet Stephanie. She had always been the charismatic one of the family; a child oblivious to the harshness of the world just had her younger sister Michelle who was only seven years old.
"Steph! It's time for dinner!" Danny Tanner bellowed from the swinging kitchen door. Stephanie aroused from her trance-like state and unwrapped her arms from under her knees.
"Coming," She said and closed the door behind her. She sat herself at the dinner table alongside Michelle and her younger cousin Nicky.
"Hi Stephie" Nicky said with a large grin on his smug face. She smiled at the toddler and kissed his cheek.
"So how was school today?" Her father asked, placing a bowl of salad in the middle of the table. Stephanie shrugged and helped herself to the steaming dish of lasagna in front of her.
"School is school. Nothing new to report just a lot of homework." She took a small portion of salad as well. Danny smiled at his daughter, unaware of the pain she was truly facing. Stephanie had learned to hide it very well.
"Dad?" Michelle asked as Danny placed some pasta on her plate.
"Yes honey?"
"What kind of abuse is there?"
Everyone at the table stopped and looked at Michelle. Stephanie almost choked on her food and took a small sip of water.
"Well um, honey – abuse can mean a lot of different things. It could be physically or emotionally. Where did you hear about that?"
Michelle looked at Stephanie quickly then back on her plate. "Oh no reason." She said and picked up her fork.
Stephanie did not say much at dinner, however no one seemed to notice her silence. They were much too busy chattering about the happenings of their days and the twins using their dinner plates as drums and their forks as anything but utensils to eat with. The table was cleared, dishes put away, and Stephanie stormed to her bedroom she shared with her younger sister and opened her science book.
That was close. Way too close. Stephanie thought to herself as she ripped out a piece of paper from her notebook. Slowly, she pulled up her sleeve and glared at the yellowing bruise Ryan had given her a few days before.
He really hadn't meant to, it was just an accident from playing too rough in the parking lot of the mall but the look in her boyfriend's eyes did not assure Stephanie one hundred percent.
"Well, you deserved it." He grumbled when she flinched, however began apologizing profusely when he dropped her off by the backdoor.
"It's okay," Stephanie said, still holding her arm. "I know you didn't mean to do it."
Ryan smiled and kissed Stephanie in a way that made her forget all the pain he had caused her, leaving her wanting more than Stephanie would ever know. She loved him, and nothing; especially an accident would cause that connection to subside.
