Title: No Birthday Present
Disclaimer: Joss owns Faith, I own Diane and Jay. Ha! I own something!
Author's Note: I wanted to write a story about Faith's childhood, and how it made her so tough etc. It wasn't a happy childhood, I can tell you that before you read it already:P. Keep your tissue-box close!
Summary: ACtually gave that in the AN, but ok. A story about Faith's childhood and what it did to her. Written from little Faith's POV.
Rating: K+
Genre: Drama/Tragedy ( what's the difference?)
Pairings: No familiar pairings like Spuffy or Cangel
Spoilers: None
Feedback: Pleaaaaase yes I'm begging you :P.
No Birthday Present
7- year old Faith LeHane wasn't a normal 7-year old. She grew up at an age she should have been playing with dolls. But how could she play with dolls, while she had a mother who was addicted to drugs and a father she had never even seen?
Her mother expected Faith to clean up her mess after she came home from another night in a place Faith didn't know the least thing about.
She didn't 'want' to know the least thing about it, anyway. It must be terrible there, every morning Diane, her mother, came home all she could do was throw up and sleep. When she woke up she complained about a terrible head ache and made Faith make coffee. After the coffee Diane usually took a swig from an expensive looking bottle. The liquor in it looked like water, but Faith knew better. Her mother said it was her medicine, yet it only seemed to make her more sick.
Diane also took pills. 'Prozac', the box said. The rest Faith couldn't read yet.
When she asked her mother why she took those pills she either got slapped and told it wasn't her business, or her mom said that she needed them to get through this 'rotten' world. And sometimes, Faith got both.
On one day she'd found her mother laying on the couch with the empty box of the Prozac- pills still in her hand. She looked very sick and wouldn't wake up when Faith shook her. Little as she was, Faith understood something was wrong and had called 911. A friendly doctor in the hospital had told her her mom would be okay, but when she was released from the hospital she was even grumpier than before and Faith got more and more slaps every day.
Until on one day, her mood changed.
Diane brought a to Faith unfamiliar man home. He introduced himself as: 'Jay'.
Faith wasn't sure what to think of him, but as long as he seemed to make her mom happy he wouldn't be so bad right?
About two weeks after she'd first met Jay he and her mom announced he would move in with them. Faith expected everything to be different, better, then. She expected her mom to get better so they wouldn't have to spend that much money on her medication anymore. Maybe she could even get a birthday present for her 8th birthday next month! The last time Faith got a birthday present was...
She couldn't remember.
Unfortunately, instead of things going better, everything went worse. Jay and her mother yelled to each other all day, and nothing was the way Faith had wanted it to be!
Also, both grown-ups went out each night now, so she was always home alone at night, when it was dark and scary.
Jay was often angry with little Faith, although most of the time she wasn't even sure why. He probably didn't like her attitude. When he was 'really' angry he would give her a thrashing with his belt. It wasn't long before Faith hated her stepfather, but when he was hitting her she comforted herself with the thought that she probably deserved it. As soon as she would be older, everything would be different.
She would 'be' someone.
Someone strong.
Sometimes Jay came to her at night. It hurt, but Faith didn't dare to tell her mother, she probably wouldn't believe her.
Or wouldn't want to.
On the day Faith turned 8 years old, she found her mother on the kitchen floor, surrounded by blood.
Next to her she found a knifeFaith knew belonged to Jay.
She never got that birthday present.