Author's Note: This chapter contains frequent mentions of abuse.
A cool breeze blew through the bars of the jail cell. Rats scurried to-and-fro through small holes in the cold, musty walls. Uneaten food lay rotting at the feet of the cell's inhabitant, scratches and bruises covering her body. She had all but surrendered the idea of ever escaping, and now all she craved was the gentle embrace of death, with the clarion call of angels on high ringing through her ears. Despite her dismal situation, however, the horrible cacophony of noises she'd heard down the hall had roused her to her feet.
She weakly staggered her way to the doors of her cell, craning her neck in an effort to see what had created the tumult in the darkened prison. Her heavy eyes caught a glimpse of the source shambling its way down the decrepit hall. Her breath became labored as the horror came more clearly into view. The thing had the vague form of a man, but bore misshapen limbs and pus-filled sores all throughout its body. Its mouth hung open with chipped, crooked teeth on full display and it dragged a gnarled, moss covered club behind it. Suddenly, a powerful survival instinct awakened within her and, like magic, the cell doors flung open.
The girl stumbled her way into the prison hall, the jagged stone floor scaping against her bare feet.
"Come here, sweet darling. Please don't run away." The grotesque figure mumbled the words in the girl's direction. She let out a weak groan, finding herself unable to scream. She desperately tried to run, hobbling along at a glacial pace. Any time she would try to speed up, a sharp pain would surge through her leg, nearly toppling her over in agony. Her stomach also ached severely, though she couldn't tell if it was from hunger or injury. "Please, stop running. Please." The creature continued to mumble "please" from its ghastly jaws over and over again.
"STOP RUNNING YOU STUPID BITCH!" The creature roared, suddenly becoming much faster on its feet. Its accelerated speed allowed it to easily overtake the hobbling girl, slamming her brutally on the ground. "You never appreciate anything I do for you. I give you everything and you show me nothing but disrespect in return. Its…Its… ITS YOUR FAULT THAT SHE LEFT ME!"
"Please…" The girl whispered weakly, tears filling her bruised eyes, "I'm sorry I wasn't what you wanted. I wish there was something I could do to change things!" The beast cared nothing for the girl's weak pleading, raising the jagged club over its head.
"If you won't learn respect on your own, I'LL BEAT IT INTO YOU!" The girl's throat cleared for a brief moment and she let out a terrible scream, rocketing her awake.
Unlike Cartman, who often felt a great sense of relief to be freed from his nightmares, the girl continued to sob uncontrollably into her sweat-stained pillow. She laid there in tears for several minutes before finally lifting her head. "G-Get your shit together, Heidi." She mumbled to herself.
Heidi weakly rose to her feet, the sharp pain in her leg causing her to stagger slightly. She walked across her impeccably clean room and slid open her closet door. Today was picture day. She had to look her best, fully aware of the consequences if she happened to fail. Heidi showered cautiously, making certain to not pelt her bruises too heavily with the harsh stream of water. She then methodically applied her makeup, careful to conceal the numerous small cuts on her chin. Lastly, she donned a beautiful yellow sundress and placed a flower-adorned straw hat delicately on her head. The bright yellow of her dress provided an appealing contrast to her silvery grey hair, which she had pulled into a ponytail.
"Everything must be perfect," She repeated this mantra in her head continuously. "I-If anything goes w-wrong…" Tears welled in her eyes, but she stopped herself to prevent from ruining her makeup. Heidi then rose to her feet and tip-toed down the stairway. She checked nervously outside the window in her living room. "He's not back yet, thank God," She whispered to herself. She neglected breakfast, slipped on her jacket, and made the frigid journey to the bus stop.
Heidi was greeted by a warm embrace from Red, one of her few true friends. She did her best not to flinch when her battered stomach pressed against Red's during the hug.
"Oh my God, Heidi!" Red shrieked, "You look gorgeous!" Red was quite beautiful in her own right, living up to her name with flowing, fiery, crimson hair. She was also dressed entirely in red, which made Heidi giggle.
"You look like Satan's secretary," Heidi joked. Red responded with an exaggerated pout that accentuated her bright scarlet lipstick. The bus pulled up a few moments later and the two girls quickly climbed aboard. Heidi was grateful to be friends with someone like Red. She was extroverted, bubbly, and talked enough for both of them. Best of all, she didn't ask too many questions about Heidi's home life.
No one had visited Heidi's house for many years, not since the day her parents had divorced. Even Eric Cartman, a boy she'd dated several times, had not stepped foot inside her house since that fateful day. Heidi was certainly not in rush to change that, either. She'd be much happier pushing everyone in her life away before she'd let them know anything of what she experienced.
"Heidi? Anyone home in there?" Red questioned, knocking on the side of her head.
"Sorry Red, just got lost in my thoughts for a minute."
Red patted her on the shoulder and resumed chatting with the girls sitting in the seat across the aisle from them. The bus eventually pulled into the school parking lot and the girls quickly exited, Heidi repeating her mantra from the morning continuously in her head. She noticed something strange as she walked through the doors of the school, though. Two figures were watching her intently from a fair distance away, one much taller than the other. Heidi knew precisely who they were, too, and fully understood why they bore such hatred on their faces.
However, Heidi was quite surprised to discover that the two figures seemed to be following her, even stopping when she reached her locker. "Hmm, I really should just apologize to those two," She thought to herself as she entered the final number in her locker combination. Her mantra ran through her head at lightning speed as she slowly opened the locker door.
A loud burst rang out as her locker door swung open, stunning Heidi in place. Her mind could barely even process what had just happened, and for a moment she found herself totally disoriented. Suddenly, a chorus of laughter rang into her ears, and the grim realization of what occurred began to set in. She glanced down at her dress. It was coated in blue dye, as were her arms and presumably her face, too. The two figures laughed heartily as well, barely visible in her blurry peripheral vision.
Heidi erupted into a blood-curdling shriek, collapsing to the ground. "Y-y-you, you can't do this too me!" She wailed, "EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT!" Heidi began screaming her mantra over and over again, her tears diluting the coating of blue dye on her face. The laughter surrounding her quickly faded into a stunned, uncomfortable silence. Eventually, a person that she believed to be Mr. Garrison picked her up and walked her down to the school clinic as she continued to shriek, quickly passing out from the stress.
Heidi awoke in the clinic some time later, a damp cloth resting on her forehead. A light knock sounded on the door as Principal Victoria opened it and walked inside. Heidi looked down to discover that her clothes had been changed, and the blue dye had largely been scrubbed off her skin.
"Of all the stupid pranks…" The Principal began, "This is one of the strangest I've ever seen."
"Mrs. Principal," Heidi asked, "What happened to my sundress?"
"Sorry dear, the stains aren't coming out of that dress anytime soon. I placed it in a bag on the counter. We've called your father."
Heidi's heart began to beat loudly in her chest. "This can't be happening, it just can't be," She muttered to herself. "I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" She screamed, bolting up from the clinic's cot and attempting to escape the room. Principal Victoria managed to just barely grab ahold of her leg as she desperately tried to flee. The firm grip around her leg caused Heidi to scream out in pain, tumbling to the ground. "Please let me go!" Heidi pleaded. Suddenly, Heidi noticed the Principal's expression turn deathly serious.
"Ms. Turner, I'm begging you," The Principal replied. "Tell me the truth about those bruises on your stomach and leg. We know that someone must be hitting you. We've suspected your father was involved for quite some time, but we don't have much we can do without your cooperation." Principal Victoria's eyes were filled with a deep sadness as she spoke.
She'd been correct in her assumption, too. Heidi's father had been very meticulous in his abuse, making sure to strike her only in areas that were not immediately visible, as well as expertly coaching his daughter to lie about every wound she received. CPS had failed to turn up anything during their multiple visits, thanks to her father's efforts. Heidi had been mortified at the very concept of saying anything negative about him, fearful of the possible repercussions.
But now she found herself backed into a corner. Heidi's father had threatened her multiple times: "I spent hundreds of dollars on that fucking dress, ruin it and I'll make you regret the day you were born!" He'd screamed. She knew she'd be in for the beating of her life if she didn't say something, it was now or never. Sweat poured from her brow as she began to speak.
"… It was him," Heidi stated sullenly, "He's been beating me ever since my mom left us; he blames me for it, and every other shitty thing in his life, too." Tears began to stream down her cheeks. "T-Thanks to him, my f-friends all hate me now, too. They think I'm some kind of monster."
Principal Victoria reached down and gave Heidi a hug, cradling the girl in her arms as she continued to cry. "Don't worry, dear," The Principal reassured her, "That man won't lay a finger on you ever again." Thankfully, the Principal had the forethought to call the police ahead of time, Heidi's father failing to even make it past the doorway of the school before his arrest. The loud ruckus he'd created drew quite the crowd of students, including Cartman and Wendy, both of whom were entirely stunned by the revelation. For the first time in many years, Heidi now felt some semblance of safety.
When Heidi finally emerged from the clinic, two familiar figures stood there to greet her.
"Heidi…" Wendy spoke, deep regret resonating in her voice, "I, I had no idea that-"
"Thanks, you guys," Heidi Interrupted.
"What?" Cartman responded, eyes wide.
"If it weren't for that shitty prank you guys pulled, I'd probably never have worked up the courage to tell the truth. I just wish you hadn't ruined a $500 dress in the process." Heidi had something on her face that approached a genuine smile, an expression she hadn't made for what seemed like ages.
"Wait," Cartman paused, "How the hell did you know it was us that pranked you?"
"Come on, you two," Heidi began to giggle slightly, "Who else would come up a ridiculous plan like that?"
After chatting for a bit longer, Heidi departed, leaving Cartman and Wendy behind. The two looked at each other in confusion.
"On one hand, we helped someone in need. On the other hand, our revenge plot failed completely. So, was this a success or a failure?" Wendy questioned, raising her eyebrow at Cartman.
"I dated Heidi all those times and never had a clue any of that shit was going on. But finally seeing her happy again after all that time is, well…" Cartman almost seemed to have a tear coming to his eye. "Well, I think we have a success."