Chapter 2
My back hurts a little as I pick up every single empty bottle of beer that lies on the ground. I see a lot of empty plastic cups, trash bags, and especially empty beer bottles. The sky is cloudy and it has been for many days now. I don't think I've seen the sun since last week. This place is as dark as my old place with my parents.
I bent down and pick up the last beer bottle when I see a guy, who looks like he's eighteen or nineteen, walking up to me. His hair is blond and his eyes look blue. He kind of looks like Gloss—like's the son he never told me about.
"Excuse me," he says and holds a clipboard. "I'm walking around doing a survey around the neighborhood and I was wondering if you had the time to take it."
I don't think I can. I look over my shoulder to see if Gloss is peeking through the window, but luckily, he's not. Thank, God.
"Ah, sure." I say and begin listening to him explain the process.
He says that the survey is for his school—for his debate class. I guess he's a senior in high school, judging by his looks. His name is Cato.
After he explains, he hands me the clipboard and just as I'm about to answer the first question, my face is wet, my hair is wet, and even the clipboard got wet. The water got into my eyes and just as I regain my vision, I see that he's running away, laughing as he holds a water gun and gives another guy a high-five. Everybody in this neighborhood hates me this much, even the teenagers whom I don't even know.
I throw the clipboard to the street, letting it fly to the other side of the curb and rush inside—only to come face-to-face with Gloss again.
"Why the hell are you wet?" he asks.
I touch my soaking wet hair and watch a few water drops fall and drip onto the floor.
"I know it's not raining outside. What were you doing?" he goes on.
"I turned the water holes on to wash away the dirt from the concrete, and I accidentally squirted myself," I lie and realize I've just made the biggest mistake of my life.
"Are you sure about that?" he takes a step closer to me. His muscular arms are folded across his chest. "Are you? Because, I saw you with someone."
I'm dead.
"Who the hell was that guy?!" I feel the sting traveling all over my cheek after he hits it. I can feel it turning red and getting warmer.
"Answer me!" he grabs my arms and starts shaking me. I can feel every single organ in my body shake, like they're going to stop functioning.
"It…" I start, "It was a…"
"A what?!" he shakes me even more that I feel like my eyes are going to spin back to my head.
"It was a guy!" I finally get a grip and manage to push him off, knowing that now I have made the biggest mistake of my entire life. "It was a guy. I don't know who it was; I guess he's a teenager. I don't know. He said he was doing a survey for his school but when I was about to take it, he squirted me with a water gun. I'm sorry."
"Survey? Please, that's the biggest lie I've ever heard!" he shakes his head and I can feel his hands pushing me back and I land on my bottom, but luckily, I don't hit my head or anything else.
"If I catch you with another guy again," he points at me but then looks the other way and stares at the ceiling for a slight second before he finishes saying, "God knows what I'll do with you."
I don't say anything after that but nod and watch him leave for our room. Well, his room, I guess. Sometimes, I have to sleep in the living room—mostly all the time. I bite my lip and check the time. It says 7:12. It's time for dinner. I'm actually surprised that he didn't bring that up—that I can't cook for him or something like that. Thank God for that.
I don't hesitate but move forward and begin making supper—a simple one though. When I'm finished, I go to the room and tell Gloss that it's ready. I also go to Creek's room and say the same thing. They rush to the kitchen, where I've already served their plates. I read the time and it says 8:34. It's not too late.
"This tastes good," says Creek, "Did you make candy?"
"I didn't, sweetie," I tell him and his smile turns into a little frown. I know he doesn't hate me for it but it still pains me.
"Son," Gloss says, "I don't know what you're talking about. This crap isn't even worth putting in your body."
He keeps eating it though. I don't say anything or respond either; because he usually tells me that if I have a comment for something of him, to keep it to myself—or to just not think it at all.
"Do you want something to drink, honey?" I politely ask Creek.
"Can I have juice?" he asks.
"Yeah," I smile and touch his cheek for a slight second before I get up to pour some juice on his small cup. I don't want to look at Gloss, because he'll say something. I don't care what he says but I just don't want to hear it. I'm getting really tired of his shit and I just can't put up with it any longer. I walk back over to the table and when I sit back down, Gloss gives me a scowl.
"Are you going to get me something?" he asks in an angry tone.
I look down at my almost empty dish and stare at the small pieces of broccoli. I want to cry but I can't do it in front of Creek. I can't do it in front of my little boy, my little handsome boy. I blink the tears away but keep looking down. That's when Gloss gets up and pulls my chair back, letting me fall on the ground.
"What did I tell you?" he says, "Answer me when I'm talking to you! Get up!"
He pulls my left arm and I can suddenly feel my muscles stretch as he pulls me up and slaps me across the face—but this time, on my other cheek. I feel it stinging and feel like it won't stop. It's like tiny spikes and needles digging through every part of my cheek, only this feels worse.
I exchange quick glances with Creek and I notice that he has a tear flowing down his eye. That's when I start producing more tears.
"Daddy!" he screams, "Don't grab mommy like that!"
"Shut up!" Gloss yells and it hurts my ears.
I feel like he busted my eardrum and all I can hear is him cussing me out and Creek's sobs. I want to get Creek and just get the hell out of here but I obviously and literally can't right now as Gloss holds both of my wrists hard. I feel like my wrist bones are going to crush and shatter all over. It feels like my skin is being ripped and squished hard by Gloss's hands. I can't get out of this.
"Get over here!" he yells one more time before he pulls me into our room—his room—and slaps me another time. I begin losing my balance but I land safely on the bed; it feels cold. I look at Gloss one last time and notice that his shirt is off—he's removing his pants as well. He's removing everything and I don't even know how he's removing my clothes. I try to fight back but he's too strong for me. I can't overpower him—he always and always will overpower me. I close my eyes so I can't remember this in the future and my whole body stiffens. As soon as I open them again, I touch both of my cheeks and feel them wet. They're my tears. I look over my naked body but can't see anything as the lights are off. I turn next to me and Gloss is asleep naked as well. I know he's asleep, because he's snoring. Whenever he doesn't snore, it means he's either falling asleep, or pretending.
I check the time on the furniture next to the bed and it says 2:17. I have time. I have plenty of time. I have the whole night to do this.
Creek.
Is he still awake? Is he asleep? Did he fall asleep in the kitchen, or did he go to his room?
I bite my lip hard and that's when I slowly and quietly get out of the bed. Luckily, I wasn't covered up, so it makes it easier to not make noise. I tippy-toe to the closet and get every single blouse and shirts I have—not all of them but most of them. After all, I don't even have a lot, which makes it an advantage. I grab two suitcases—one for me, and one for Creek. The bigger one is for Creek, so I can put a few of his toys there. It only takes me about fifteen to twenty minutes to pack and get dressed by the time I wake Creek up.
"What?" he yawns. He did sleep in his room.
"Sweetie, come on," I whisper as quietly as possible that I don't think he heard me.
"Where are we going?" he asks.
"We're going to Candy Land, sweetie," I feel awful for lying to him. But I have to in order for him to come with me.
"Really? You mean it?" he smiles and raises his voice a little. I quickly shush him.
"Yes, honey, but you have to be really quiet. Promise me you'll be quiet?" I ask.
"Promise."
I grab his little hand and we get out his room quietly. I grab both of our suitcases and we make our way for the door. As we're about to walk out, I notice that I'm forgetting something, something valuable.
"Stay right here," I whisper and head straight to Gloss's room. He's still asleep and snoring. Thank, God. I open the closet and grab my pink baby blanket. I'm not going to forget and I wasn't just going to take off without it. It's part of my childhood, a part that wasn't bad. That blanket kept me warm whenever I didn't have one or anything to cover myself with. I take a look at Gloss one more time—his naked body is still in the same position as it was when I left the room—and I head to the front door again. Creek is still there in his race car pajamas. I wasn't even thinking if somebody could take him while I was getting my blanket. I'm such a terrible mother.
"What about daddy?" he points at the hallway.
"Daddy didn't want to come," I lie.
"Why?" he questions.
"He's tired and is sleeping, sweetie," I say, "We have to go now."
"Okay."
I take one last look at the house—I'm leaving this place for good. There's no turning back now. I have to leave without a doubt. If I don't leave, and Gloss sees us, he'll probably kill me and hurt Creek. This place is hell, and I have to find my heaven.
I take in a deep breath, finally turn around and walk out of the doorway, and inaudibly shut the door.
NOTES: This chapter is intense! I know some parts are a little too much but it just shows how much of a... jerk (I don't like to cuss) Gloss is. This chapter didn't take me long to write - it probably took me a little longer than the first one. But I noticed that I write better at night for some reason. I guess I easily get into the mood to write during the night? Well, in this chapter, Annie has finally decided to leave Gloss. Of course, she wasn't going to leave Creek behind. So yeah... And oh (this is for my Convergent fans; if any of them are reading this) I still haven't updated that story but I promise I will soon. I feel like I'm abandoning that story but I promise I'm not. i'm almost finished with the chapter; I still have Writer's block with that story and it irritates me. But anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please review and thank you:)
MeaganOneDirection: Thank you for being my first reviewer! I literally smiled for like three hours when my mail thingy alert went off and I saw that it was a review for this. Thank you! And I hope you liked this chapter even more!:)