"I can't text now. I have to go. See you at school."
Kitty tapped her phone vigorously, making a desperate attempt to reassure Marley before her furious mother ripped it from her grip.
"Hey! You can't take that!" Kitty yelled, trying to snatch the phone back.
"I payeh fer thiss phun. You can nut jst do whaever you pleaz!"
Kitty's mother was already drunk, and was keeping the phone far out of her daughter's reach. But, Kitty was persistent. She knew that Marley would be worried, and she wanted to tell her girlfriend that she was alright. Kitty's mother grew impatient with playing keep away, so she shoved the phone in her back pocket. Kitty grabbed desperately at the phone, leaving herself open. Before she could react, Kitty felt a sharp sting above her eye, preceded by a loud cracking noise.
"Ow!" Kitty screamed out, unable to stifle the yell. She lost her balance at the blow, and fell crashing to the floor. The glass that had been shattered on her face was scattered about the floor, causing some of the pieces to wedge themselves in to Kitty's hands. She groaned in pain, but refused to give her mother the satisfaction of hearing her scream again. Kitty's mother stood over her, wavering slightly on her feet.
"Aft all thee things in thys werld thaaa we giv ya, you nev deserveee any it" Kitty's mother slurred out, pointing a threatening finger at Kitty. Kitty simply cowered on the ground, placing a protective hand over her now-swollen eyelid. She looked up at her mother, and tried to picture the loving and sympathetic image that was Marley's mother. Kitty closed her eyes, and tried to escape to her own world. Kitty's mother lost her temper once more, assuming that Kitty was ignoring her. She took the opportunity to once again catch Kitty off guard, and kicked her daughter roughly in the leg. Kitty yelped, rolling on to more broken glass. Her mother continued kicking at her sides, tormenting her with loud grunts.
"You don't eeen desrrve this!" Kitty's mother howled, continuing to kick her daughter. Kitty wasn't sure how long her mother went at her; she had never seen her mother lose her temper this atrociously. She simply closed her eyes once more, and waited until her mother's attack ceased. Eventually, the kicks died down, and she heard her mother stumble back in to her bedroom. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks, as she tried to rationalize her mother's actions.
I must be a horrible person..why does she hate me so much? I don't think I ever went out of my way to ruin her life. Why does she constantly pick fights with me? And where is dad? He didn't even come home tonight...
Kitty sobbed quietly, mentally calculating the amount of damage that had been done to her body. She rolled off of the ground and stood slowly, not wanting to test her body's strength just yet. She found it significantly difficult to merely stand, let alone walk. But, she knew she couldn't stay at her home. Even though her mom had likely passed out, she couldn't stand the thought of one more second in this hell hole.
I could text Marley..Kitty considered.
Damn it. My phone is still in my mom's pocket. I don't want to chance waking her up...
Instead, Kitty plucked her keys from the ground where she dropped them, and headed back out the door. The bitter winter air felt soothing on her sore body; she stood at her doorstep momentarily, just enjoying the feeling of the frost. Eventually, she felt herself getting light headed, and stumbled quickly to her car. She made it inside, but was almost positive that she wouldn't be able to stand on her own after this. She glanced at her arms, and frowned at the amount of glass that had ended up embedding itself. She flexed her hands, and found them almost useless, as they had absorbed the majority of the blow from her fall.
Where should I go...not the hospital. They will know what happened and I will lose my parents and my house and my money...I can't be homeless.
While Kitty couldn't seek solace at a medical treatment center, she considered an option that would be even better.
Kitty sighed. I don't want to scare Marley...I don't think she knows how serious my mother can get when she's really upset...but, then again, she did ask me to come over if anything happened. I promised her I would...and if she doesn't see it now, she'll see it later.
Kitty's internal debate ceased as soon as she felt light-headed again. She started the car, and slowly drove off towards Marley's house.
Marley paced back and forth across her kitchen for the second hour in a row, her mother never leaving her side.
"What could have happened? I can't get ahold of her. I've tried calling her, texting her, leaving her voice mails. Something is seriously wrong. And I don't even know where she lives, so I can't check on her! Mom, what do I do?" Marley felt her heart begin to race.
"Now, Marley. I'm sure Kitty is fine. Maybe her family wanted to spend some time together? Almost anything could have happened. Kitty didn't tell you where she was going, did she?" Marley's mom tried to comfort her daughter, but she knew that nothing she could say would make her feel any better.
"No, mom, she didn't. And that frightens me. What if her mom attacked her again? There is nobody there to protect her. She wouldn't bring her with me, because she wanted me to be safe. I should have gone with her...I could have...could have..." Marley reasoned with herself, trying to think of any way that she could have prevented Kitty's sudden phone silence.
"Marley, Kitty did the right thing. I know you want to protect her, but she wanted to do the same thing. She did a good thing leaving you here; you wouldn't have been able to protect her any more than she would have been able to protect herself. You two are thin teenage girls; her mother is much older, frequently drinks, and I'm sure is much larger. That fight simply isn't fair.." her mother was trying to convince her that everything would be all right, despite her own suspicions and doubts.
Marley didn't respond but continued pacing the kitchen, occasionally glancing at her phone. She somehow felt that staring at it long enough would cause a text message from Kitty to come through. After several more minutes, she sighed at how hopeless the situation felt to her.
Suddenly, Marley heard a car door open outside of her house. She could tell that it was parked in front of her house. She raced outside, hoping that Kitty had returned. Kitty's red convertible sat in her driveway, still turned on. Marley's body flooded with relief at the sight. She walked over towards the car, unsure of why Kitty hadn't climbed out of the already-open door.
"Kitty, thank God. I know I said I didn't want to be that stalker girlfriend, but your text really worried me. I told you that I wanted some line of communication with you all weekend. You scared me half to death! But, you're here now...Kitty?" Kitty hadn't responded to Marley's greeting, though Marley was sure she was seeing Kitty's leg slide out of the car. She walked around the side of the open door, and found Kitty slumped over the steering wheel, starting to fall out of the car.
"Kitty!" Marley rushed forward, catching Kitty just before she hit the concrete. Kitty was breathing heavily, and the Pjs that Marley had lent her were torn and bloodied. Fear filled Marley; what happened?!
"Kitty! Kitty?! Talk to me! Honey?" Marley gently but quickly shook her girlfriend, turning her body over on her lap. Kitty's eyes were open, but she was clenching her teeth as if her life depended on it. Blood covered Kitty's entire torso, and her other eye was now bruised and bloody as well.
"M-m-mar.." Kitty started, but Marley pushed a finger on to her lips.
"Shh...shh sweetie it's okay. I'm here. Oh God...there is so much blood.." tears welled up in Marley's eyes, clouding her vision. Kitty slowly reached up to wipe one away, and put all of her effort in to smiling at Marley.
"I-its okay...Marley. My mom was drunk...again." Kitty was taking in rough breaths between words, obviously having trouble controlling the pain.
"God. Damn it! I knew you shouldn't have gone home...Kitty...what did she do to you..." Marley began, delicately touching some of the glass shards that protruded from Kitty's hands. Kitty yelped, making a pathetic grimace. Marley apologized profusely in response, still shedding tears.
"It's okay, Kitty. I know you don't want to go to the hospital, but you're just going to have to trust me with this. You trust me, don't you honey?" Marley gently stroked Kitty's face, trying to keep her awake. Kitty couldn't will herself to speak anymore, so she simply nodded in response. She allowed her girlfriend to call an ambulance. After insisting that she stayed with her girlfriend and hanging up her phone, Marley looked back down at Kitty.
"Where does it hurt most, sweetie?" Kitty's eyes closed sadly, and she began to cry. The sight broke Marley's heart; she didn't know how to make it better. She gently kissed her girlfriend, unable to think of anything else. Kitty's crying seemed to have subsided, which encouraged Marley to continue. Kitty had definitely stopped crying at this point, so Marley finally pulled away to gaze into those blue orbs.
"I'm..a terrible...daughter" Kitty managed between breaths, allowing more tears to fall.
"What? Kitty, what would make you say that?" Marley said, delicately stroking her girlfriend's hair.
"My mom...she only...picks on me...why does...she drink.." Marley felt shocked. Kitty blamed herself for her mother's actions. But why? Kitty could be aggressive on her worst days, but God knows that your mother should love you no matter what. The way that she treated her daughter was inexcusable, and Kitty shouldn't have to blame herself for those actions.
"It's not your fault, sweetheart. Your mother has some serious issues that have nothing to do with you. You can't blame yourself, Kitty. It's not your fault. You know I would never lie to you; it's not your fault." Marley stared at her girlfriend, hoping to have convinced her. Kitty didn't respond, but offered a tight-lipped nod in response.
"What happened..." Marley muttered, unsure of whether or not she wanted to know the answer.
"Got home...mom was drunk...she took...the phone...hit me...alcohol bottle broke...I fell..." Kitty's eyes snapped shut and she was clenching her teeth again, obviously hyperventilating.
"Oh, God! Okay. Kitty, it's okay. I'm here. Just breathe...just breathe..." Marley ran her fingers through her girlfriend's hair, trying to soothe her. Eventually, it seemed to be working. Kitty was no longer hyperventilating, and she had willed her eyes to open again.
"Does the glass sting?"
"Just...a bit" Kitty was finally attempting some HBIC humor. Marley smiled, but still looked at her girlfriend with concern. God she looks pale...when is that ambulance going to get here?
Marley rested her hand on Kitty's abdomen, gently stroking it. When she heard Kitty groan loudly, she stopped her movements and frowned.
"Oh, God...not there, too..." Marley knew what she had expected to see, but that didn't make the sight any easier to stomach. She delicately gripped the bottom of Kitty's top and pulled it up slightly, not hearing any complaints from her girlfriend. She instantly felt sick; Kitty's stomach was covered in shoe-sized bruise marks, which seemed to be getting darker by the second. She couldn't stand to look at them anymore, and quickly draped the top back over them. She bowed her head over Kitty's frail form, silently sobbing at the horror that her girlfriend had faced alone.
Kitty had grown eerily quiet, and Marley picked up on the silence.
"Hey! Kitty, come on now. Stay awake. You have to stay awake, sweetie. Please stay awake!" Marley couldn't help herself from sounding desperate; she was beyond pleading.
"Marley...you are so beautiful...I'm sorry...for everything. If..anything...happens...I love you, okay?" Kitty gently caressed Marley's face with the back of her hand, smiling up at her girlfriend.
"Kitty! Stop it! You are going to be fine, you have to be okay! Please stop.." Marley begged, letting more tears flow. When Kitty didn't respond but continued touching Marley's face, Marley felt the desire to respond.
"I love you too, okay? But you have to stay awake for me sweetheart. You can't fall asleep. You have to..." Kitty's hand fell from her face, and her eyes fell shut. Her head rolled back into Marley's lap, and her breathing stopped. Marley couldn't process the amount of shock she was feeling. Kitty was...dead? Marley heard the ambulance sirens in the distance.
"Kitty!" Marley screamed.
Oh no! Not another cliff hanger! I hope you kids are enjoying this story, because it is giving me a lot of opportunity to explore my desired settings for this couple. R&R please! Because, you know, you are hopefully liking this story.
PS I am trying to make the chapters longer, but I'm also trying not to ware out more than one idea per chapter, thus my shorter chapters. Thanks again for reading!
PPS Happy Holidays, to all who celebrate!