Disclaimer: Okay, I totally forgot to do this in the last chapter, but I do NOT own Summerland or any of its characters. If I did, Bradin would so be mine. Lol.
Chapter Two
It felt like forever before the heavy weight of his body lifted off Marie. She lay there, listening to his feet as he marched down the stairs. Tears flooded her eyes and she bit her lip to keep from screaming in disgust at herself and her stepfather. Marie felt dirty, she always did after those encounters. She buried her face in her pillow and let the tears fall. Beating her fist into the mattress, she pounded out her frustration, shame, and anger.
Why did this have to happen to her? Why did her stepfather have to be so mean and perverted? She asked herself those questions every day. Every other thought was another why, another question, another doubt.
Marie had never been a negative person. When she was little, she had been smiling and bubbly. She had always been happy and ready to talk to anyone who was within ten feet of her. Even after her father's death, though slightly mellowed, she was still talking and laughing with everybody around her. Then her mother remarried and the beatings started. Marie became sullen and reclusive. She dared not venture outside less someone see the bruises that covered her body. She hid herself in her room so that he wouldn't have a reason to hit her. Then he started coming up and "visiting" her. After that, Marie tried to be out of the house as much as possible. Well, her stepfather put a stop to that by locking her in the house and only allowing her out for an hour every day.
Her tears spent and anger under control, for the moment, Marie wiped her eyes and sat up. She looked outside her window at the waves, the sand, and the people that walked the surf. How she wished she could be one of them. Happy and smiling, her only worries about getting a tan, shredding the perfect wave, and catching the eye of the local hottie. But things weren't that simple.
Marie often dreamed of being freed from her prison by some knight in shining armor. She could picture it all in her mind. Often she would pick out on of the guys on the beach and make up how he would save her and how perfect their life together would be. Now, as she sat there dreaming she could picture vividly who she wanted to save her.
Bradin walked onto the back porch of his Aunt Ava's and opened the door. His little sister Nikki sat on the couch reading a book and Johnny, one of his aunt's housemates, was ordering pizza over the phone.
"Where have you been?" Nikki asked looking up from her book and fixing him with one of her Mom Looks.
"Out." He said simply. Bradin made his way into the kitchen and pulled out a can of soda, opening it he swallowed a large mouthful. Leaning up against the fridge, the young blonde thought back on what had transpired at Spanish Cove.
There was something about Marie that had drawn him, something that Erica, his surfing teacher that he had a crush on, didn't have. Marie had a special quality that was so alluring, so captivating that Bradin had wandered the entire beach all afternoon just thinking about her.
"Hey Bradin you want to let somebody else have a shot at the fridge." Johnny said with a smirk.
"What? Oh sorry." Bradin said sheepishly. He stepped away from the refrigerator and started to leave the kitchen.
"What's on your mind?" the older man asked as he fished out a bottle of juice.
"Nothing," Braden said, "just some stuff."
"Stuff?" Johnny gave him a yeah-like-I'm-gonna-believe-that look.
"I met this girl down at Spanish Cove," Bradin said, feeling that he could talk to Johnny about this, "and she's really gorgeous."
"Yeah, so what's the problem?"
"She seemed almost...scared of me." Bradin looked at Johnny in question, "Do you think I did something?"
"Well," Johnny said after a pause, "I don't know. What did you say to her?"
"I introduced myself." Bradin shrugged his shoulders, "Was there something wrong with that?"
"No," Johnny laughed, "but who knows anymore." He walked over and put his arm around Bradin's shoulders. "Tell you what," he said, "next time you see her, keep your distance and let her get used to you before you do anything."
"Ok," Bradin said with a slightly confused look on his face, "I'll give it a try. Thanks."
"Glad I could help." Johnny smiled, pulled away from the young man and took another swig of juice.
It was dark out when Marie woke from the sleep that she had cried herself into. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up, her hair falling about her face in disarray. The backdoor slammed shut, Marie looked out the window and saw her stepfather stumbling along the sand heading towards the bar he frequented every night. As soon as he was out of sight, Marie jumped from her bed and hurried to the bathroom that was down the hall.
Turning the water on hot, she allowed the steam to fill the bathroom and fog the mirror. She stripped out of her clothes and stood before the mirror studying her body. She didn't have a bad figure, but any beauty she had was marred by bruises from beatings past and present. Dark plum purple bruises with small splotches of blue and black mingled with fading yellow bruises. Gingerly, she ran her fingers over the fresh bruises on her left breast. Turning away from the mirror quickly, Marie climbed into the shower wanting desperately to clean the invisible filth from her body.
Hot, scalding water fell on her skin, relaxing her tense and aching muscles. Marie picked up her loaf and began to scrub her skin roughly, hoping that it would be enough to clean away the shame that covered her. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was red and raw, but she still did not feel clean. Tears mixed with the water that streamed down her face. Her legs suddenly lost all strength and Marie sunk slowly to her knees, her trembling hands covering her face.
Many nights Marie would pray that her life was just a dream, a nightmare that she would wake from at any moment. But the next day would always bring the same pain. Her life was a never ending cycle of shame and anger. Every day was the same as the one before. As she kneeled there in the shower, the water cascading over her body, Marie prayed to God that something would change. She didn't know how much longer she could survive the torture of her life. She stayed there, praying and crying until the water turned ice cold. Finally, she gathered her strength and forced herself to stand. She dried off, crept back into her room, and burrowed beneath the covers.
A strange feeling startled Bradin from his sleep. He sat up, gulping for air. It felt as if he had just woken from a nightmare, but he didn't remember dreaming anything.
"This is too weird." He thought. Lying back down, he stared up at the ceiling, trying to understand what had happened. He could recall vaguely the feeling of something heavy weighing him down, he felt a dull pain in his abdomen as if he had been punched there. What was going on? Bradin shook his head and turned over on his side. He could see Derek, his little brother, lying in the bed at the other side of the room. His slow, even breathes resounded through the room. Bradin focused on Derek's breathing and let it lull him back to sleep.
Okay, there you go, the second chapter. I don't really like the scene between Johnny and Bradin, but I'm not the one sending the reviews. Lol. Anyways, I hope you liked it and will review.
Sadlovepoet7: Thank you for reviewing.
