CHAPTER 3 - Waking up

I wake up with a jerk. When I open my eyes, everything is blurred. My ears ring, and my head aches. Slowly my eyes adjust, and I sit up. I look around and think for a moment "Did I get beaten again? What happened? Wait, I'm in the woods? What the heck?"

I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment. Memories flood back. I was in the woods, and some guy attacked me. They followed me into the woods and then knocked me out...

I stand up with a groan, and look around. With a wobble, I stammer forward a few steps. I hold my head, as my ears thud with the sound of my heartbeat. I wince slightly when another wave of pain shoots through my head. I look at my hand and sigh when there is no blood. At least my head didn't hit anything serious. But my head still hurts like a brick was thrown at it.

I force myself to balance out, and I take a look around. I'm exactly where I passed out, so that's good. I look up at the sky, and see that the sun is mostly in the same place. Unless I was out all day and no one came to look for me, I should be good.

"Where the hell did that guy go?" I ask myself mentally, while taking note of the strangers disappearance.

Once I get my bearings, I slowly start to walk back home. Everytime I hear the snap of a twig or rustle of leaves, a wave of panic rushes through me. But it only leads to a throbbing pain in my head.

The only other thing I can think about other than that guy is Mr. King. I hope he isn't mad at me. I can only pray not much time has passed.

With that thought, I start to walk faster. The pain fades into the back of my mind as I focus on getting back home. I have mapped out the layout of the woods near my house, so I shouldn't have too much of a problem getting back.

As I walk forward I have this looming feeling of being watched. Like that feeling you would get as a kid when you were trying to sleep, but nothing was there. That's how I feel right now. And it's only amplified by the fact that I was mysteriously tackled by a weird man, only to come out mostly unharmed. Could I have a stalker? Not that it matters, I can't contact authorities, and even if I got the chance my dad would find a way to cover it up. Even if that means killing me in cold blood.

I sigh. "How has it come to this?" I wonder as I slowly continue my way forward. The urge to cry only held back by the pain it would cause. These are the times I would run to my mother and she would hug me tightly like I would evaporate into thin air. She would whisper comforting words to me and tell me that "Everything will be okay."

I wish she was still with us. Life was so much better when my mother was around. What I would do to see her again. To run to her with open arms and tell her how much I love her.

A small sniffle echoes off of me, the quiet woods only making me feel more alone. Silent tears drip down my cheeks freely, stopping my journey back home. My body feels weak, making me fumble as I try to sit down.

I crawl into a ball and slowly start to rock back and forth. The pain coming from my side reminding me of my broken rib.

"Please come back," I say quietly to myself, knowing she never would.

My head rings with pain as the headache is amplified by my weeping. My eyes burn with the feeling of crying so much. It makes me squeeze them shut in hopes to lessen the pain.

I feel so alone. So empty. Craving the feeling of love I had long forgotten. It has been so long since someone has truly cared about me.

"5 years," I think, "5 freaking years I've been beaten and tortured by the man I used to call my father. For 5 years I've been forced to stay at home and take online classes so I can't escape. 5 years of breaking my back doing everything for Mr. King, and for what? Just so he can beat me more?" I think, screaming it in my mind. Pain searing through my entire body. Broken bones, bruises, cuts, scares, and for what?

My crying only gets worse. The unrestrained bawling echoes through the woods as screams of sadness escape out of me.

But slowly, I stop. Leaving me with a hollow, empty feeling. The pain of my headache shooting through me in waves as the sound of my heartbeat thumps in my ears.

"Why me?" I whisper quietly to myself, my voice hoarse from crying.

I sit there for a while, leaning against that tree waiting for the pain to stop. Eventually it gets to a point where I think I can keep going.

So I do. I keep going. This endless cycle of pain and sadness. But I keep going. Why? I honestly don't know anymore. Maybe it's the lingering feeling that just maybe I'll escape. The hope that one day I'll be free.

And so I move forward. Walking back to the hell I find myself trapped in.

"One day, I'll escape," I say with determination clear in my voice even though it's quiet and raspy.

I take in the sound of the woods as I walk. The quote crunching of leaves as I walk. The sound of birds chirping. The distant sound of the wind blowing through the trees. It's a perfect place. Mostly untouched by the greedy hand that is mankind.

But like a good book, all things must end. The fear I hadn't noticed I was feeling welling up inside me as I closed in on the house in the distance. It's brownish exterior and small size striking terror into my very being. It's not the house that scares me, it's the man inside.

But I need to get inside. I have work to do.

I slowly walk up to the house, making sure I only showed submission. As I step up to the door I freeze and take a deep breath. I put my hand onto the handle and turn it.

The small creek of the door stressing me as I slowly creep into the room. I glance over at Mr. King who is still on the couch. He glares as me, silently telling me to get moving and get to work.