Chapter 3

23 May, 2012

Janice slipped in through the front door, trying her best to dare not make a sound. She had come home late after a night out by herself at the arcade, knowing that her Dad would be mad but she didn't really care. It would blow over and the worst that would come out of it was a bruise or two. a A flurry of insults welcomed her as she entered but she took no mind to it, she was used to it at this point even though she loathed hearing all of it. However, what had surprised her was a remote that whizzed past her, barely missing her head. It ricocheted into her and she could feel her heartbeat quicken. Not long after a telephone flew at her leg which caused her to stumble, luckily the phone hadn't done any damage. At this point she knew that this was no ordinary altercation between her and Dad. When she turned around she could see the malicious intent in his eyes. It was as if he was radiating an evil aura, it sent shivers down her spine.

"YOU LIVE IN MY HOUSE LIKE A FREELOADER AND YOU DON'T HAVE THE DAMN DECENCY TO COME HOME ON TIME! YOU AIN'T BEEN NOTHING BUT A BURDEN. YOU'RE A LEECH! A GODDAMN LEECH!"

Janice shut her eyes and sighed. It would soon be over, just a couple more.

"GOD WHY WAS I SO STUPID TO BIRTH SUCH A WORTHLESS DAUGHTER? SOME LOWLIFE SCUM WHO WON'T EVEN AMOUNT TO NOTHING!

That cut deep into her, he usually wasn't this crafty in his insults. Why was he being so dramatic today? Unfortunately, the event that had transpired on the current day had slipped her mind. Today was when her mother had died. Unforeseen to her the unholy coupling of the traumatic event and alcohol had pushed her Dad to the tip of his mental limit.

"JANICE COULD YOU DO ONE GOOD THING IN YOUR WORTHLESS LIFE? JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS HOUSE AND NEVER COME BACK. GOD, I'D APPRECIATE THE PEACE OF MIND WITHOUT YOU UP MY EAR!"

Janice could feel the anger in her boiling like magma, her muscles tensed up and she could feel her teeth involuntarily grind against each other.

"The funny thing is-", his tone had become suspiciously calm, "-that you and I both know that despite whatever little lies you tell yourself about achieving your dreams, we know that a junkie is the most you'll ever be"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!", her fury laced deep in her voice. "Why can't you leave me alone just this once? Do you not have anything better to do than pull me down with you as you sink deeper into your miserable life? Years it has been, years I have had to bear the abuse you have put me through. Are you really that much of a husk of a man, a failure of a father to see no problem in subjecting your only child to such vile treatment?"

She had said it, finally. She had said what had been bursting to escape from her thoughts. Though it was relieving to express her emotions, Janice noticed the muscles contorting on her Dad's face into the most malicious frown she had seen. She could sense every muscle fibre in him trembling with anger and knew that she had broken something within him. Noticing it was probably best to leave, she started turning herself to head for the door—-BANG!

Glass shards lay to her right, some even having been embedded into her skin. Shocked, she turned around to face her father with a beer bottle clenched in his hand. In just a second, another bottle came hurtling at her making a clean connection with the side of her head. Janice stumbled back just barely managing to catch herself on a chair. As she brought her hand to her head she could feel the cold touch of blood that started dripping onto her clothes. Thankfully the bottle had remained intact and not caused any serious damage to her physically but she was mentally shaken to the core.

"HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!", shrieked Janice.

"I PUT A ROOF OVER YA' HEAD, FOOD ON THE TABLE AND A BED TO SLEEP IN YET YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO DISRESPECT ME, YOU BITCH."

Janice for the first time in her life felt true fear cleave through her heart, it was overwhelming. She could sense the adrenaline rushing through her, making her whole body shake with an instinct to make a stand or book it. The night seemed too unpredictable, her Dad had gone off the rails and if she wasn't careful, it could very well result in her…death. It made her stomach turn violently just at the thought of this. She wasn't destined to die here at the hands of an alcoholic, piece of shit father. She would not become another statistic of DV, the result of her environment. Her dreams were far too important to be cast away. She hoped to settle into a comfortable job, paid enough to live alone in peace. Come home at the end of the day and not be berated, make a nice meal for herself and live through the years with some close friends. There was a time she craved the limelight and aspired to be an actress, but she soon realized such a position came with the wrong kind of people. Popularity could become a curse and she experienced it first hand with the love letter incident. As much as it hurt her, she was glad to have gone through that ordeal as it opened her eyes up to what she truly wanted in life. She had become humble in her aspirations and just wanted to feel happy without having to worry about her familial issues. No, this is not how it would end for her. She darted for her bedroom door catching her father by surprise who had already begun searching for another bottle. Crashing through the door she hurriedly spun around to lock it shut only to see…him. Her father stood behind the door with a murderous look on his face, arm swung back ready to connect with her head. BANG! Janice slammed the door shut, trying to catch herself though it was difficult with how vigorously her whole body was shaking. Noticing a bat hanging slightly out underneath her bed, she grabbed it and swiftly wedged herself into her undersized closet, staying still as if she was lifeless. God she wished to be anywhere else but here. She would have gladly accepted enduring the scorching heat of the Sahara if it meant escape from this ordeal. That would be infinitely better than the torment she was enduring right now. She knew that…he…was still outside her room, I mean how could she not, his shouting boomed throughout the house as if he were speaking through a loudspeaker.

"YOU GODDAMN, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING WHORE. YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL NAIL YOU TO THE WALL!"

She hated when he called her that, she absolutely despised hearing it. Years, it had been years of enduring a verbal torrent from her Dad that had worn her mental health to rubble. And now here she was, hiding in her closet with a wooden bat that he had bought her for her 10th birthday, clutched to her chest. She had been overjoyed with the gift and he used to teach her swings just like his Dad used to do with him. Oh how she cherished those golden memories of her life. How close they were before he spiralled down into depression. The passing of her mother had been devastating to both family members but it had sent her Dad into a deep addiction to alcohol. She knew how frightened she felt when he used to come home late at night, slurring his words in between telling her to "Get the hell to sleep". This eventually turned into slaps and whips across the body when he was met with the slightest bit of disobedience. Her neighbours would hear the whole ordeal but felt too concerned with their own lives and personal problems, to interfere with what they thought was a rotten child in need of discipline. They had heard of the stories of Janice Avery, the towering 8th grader who would terrorise Lark Creek Elementary and its students. So to them this was the least of their worries. However, today her Dad had seemingly gone insane with fury. The constant banging on the door sounded like gunshots to Janice, each ringing her ear.

"Please, please just go away and pass out. Just let this shit be over with", Janice shakily hushed. Unfortunately for her, her Dad seemed to have forgotten pain in his drunken madness and started punching the door repeatedly. Splinters of wood pierced his fists, splattering blood all over him yet he wasn't even phased. Janice could hear the cracks of her wooden door and knew it wouldn't be too long before it would give, she was forced into the only option. Fight.

She tightened her grip onto her bat and got into a forward position, facing the door to her closet. Her Dad hammered through her bedroom door and stumbled through the small hole he had made, hands covered in grim looking wounds. He surveyed the room, scanning for his daughter, eager to teach her a lesson that would ensure she would never get the chance to disrespect him again.

"Come out, come out little piggy. You can't keep hiding forever. Just wait till I get my hands on you."

Janice stiffened and prepared herself for the demon that she was about to face.

"God help me", she whispered.

"Hiding in the closet. You're dumber than I thought you skank", her father sneered.

Cracking his blooded fingers he swung open the closet door with force only to be met with–BAM!

The solid oak bat came crashing down on the middle aged man's temple instantly knocking him down with a groan. This was her chance, the exit to her room was only meters from her. Clambering awkwardly out of her closet she hastily stumbled as quickly as she could to the door. She desperately fiddled with her lock though it proved difficult with the damage it had sustained from the onslaught it had received from her father. Just as she had opened the door she felt a bony hand latch onto her foot. She screamed, turning around to see her father on his knees staring dead straight at her with blood dripping down the side of his head. He could have easily pulled off a slasher villain with the menacing aura he was radiating.

"Oh no no no, I'm not done with you yet.", her father muttered as his other fist swung to meet her ankle. Janice yelped in pain as she heard the sinister crunch of her ankle in reaction to the punch.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, LEAVE ME ALONE!". Janice screamed from the top of her lungs, bringing her bat around to launch a massive swing. With all her might she heaved the bat onto her fathers head, connecting with a nasty crack on the centre of his cranium. The years of abuse, the countless times she had been verbally insulted, all the torture she was put through was contained in this swing. Only just now she had got the chance to repay him back. Ignoring the moans of pain from her dazed father she rushed out of her room and out the front door, almost tripping on the steps leading down to their porch. Without hesitation she immediately sprinted down their road in an attempt to put as much distance between her house and her. It had been 10 minutes before she realised she was completely gassed and collapsed on the ground to catch her breath. Her legs felt like candy floss and ached beyond belief. The moment also allowed her to accrue her thoughts as she processed the fact that she had no destination in mind. Where was she even running off to? The police? She remembered how in 8th grade the whole school had known about the abuse she faced which even got the police involved. The cops had been of no help, only leaving her Dad with a warning and a course on DV. Family was out of the question as there was little to none in the whole county and the few that were, did not look upon Janice favourably, much to the credit of her fathers manipulation. There was only one person who she really trusted, he would surely help her. Picking herself up, Janice started the trek to reach the only one who she could call friend.

"My God the two front racers are tearing it across the track! It's the last lap and it seems the race is on between Jesse Aarons and Scott Hoager. Both boys seemingly gassed with all their exhaustive breathing yet still at full pace. The fact they still have the strength to stand after the gruelling 15 laps they just did is extraordinary!"

The loud commentary boomed into Jess's ears leaving an annoying ring though, that was the last thing on his mind. He stared straight ahead as the final 100 meters lay in front of him. His heart felt like it was about to explode any second but he didn't care, there was something much more important that he needed to attend to. Scott was right next to him pushing as hard as he could, Jess knew he would have to expend everything he had to win. As he crossed the 50 meters mark, he dug up the absolute miniscule amount of adrenaline he had left and pushed his legs even harder. He could sense that he was gaining a lead on Hoager, he was about to do it. Finally he could taste victory again and goad to his heart's content. The finish bore into his mind and enchanted him like if it were a siren, he had to beat Hoager. The finish line inched closer and closer to him as victorious euphoria enveloped him. BANG!
"What was that?Jess wondered. BANG!
"There it is again"
The banging was all around him, almost deafening to his ears. His vision began to blur as the landscape around him started to melt into a dark mist. "NO! NO! NO! WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO WIN!, screamed Jess as he shot awake. The icy chill of the black night instantly hit as he was brought back to reality of the fact that his triumph had been the deceit of his own mind. He slumped back down onto his bed until noticing that the banging from his dream hadn't gone away. "Am I still in the dream?", he thought. As his senses recovered from the effects of deep sleep he realised that the origin of the annoying sound seemed to be from his window.

"Someone's out there at this time? I swear to god if May has locked herself out again cause she wanted to go to the movies with her boyfriend, I'm gonna strangle her myself before Dad can."

Jess approached the window ready to see the apologetic face of her sister only to be met with the horrifying sight of an injured Janice on his porch. Dried blood covered almost half of her face and she also seemed to be limping, Jess could sense that her ankle had to be sprained. With no hesitation he sprinted down and out the front door to aid her. It ached his heart when he finally saw her clearer, the signs of deep trauma etched across her expression and the mark of tears all down her face.

"My god Janice, what the hell happened to you?", said Jess in an exasperated tone.

"It was my Dad, I…I….I don't know. Today he was just different, like he had gone crazy and was hell bent on hurting me. I thought he was gonna kill me!", cried Janice as her eyes began to well up again with tears.

"Where is he now? How did you manage to escape?"

"I fought him off with a bat and knocked him down which gave me enough time to run. He might be still back at the house…..OH MY GOD WHAT IF HE COMES AFTER ME!", shouted Janice in a panicked state. Jess quickly wrapped her in his arms, the tribulation had clearly had a deep effect on the girl.

"Yeah like hell he does anything else to you. He'll have to answer to me and my Dad before he even sniffs being near you. Janice why on earth did you not go to the police station straight away? They would have kept you safe and accompanied you in arresting your Dad."

"I don't know, I just haven't had the greatest experience with them. Last time I remember was in 8th grade and they just left me back with him. The most he got was a slap on the wrist and I had to endure whips for a week."
"Janice, what happened to you tonight is beyond the line, this is attempted murder if anything. The police don't take this stuff lightly, with the visible injuries you sustained plus all the evidence that is back at the house, is more than enough to give the authorities a clear idea of what the true events are."

"I don't know Jess….I just wasn't thinking straight"

"Well that does make sense after what you just went through. Alright let's not freeze ourselves even more by staying outside, come in and make yourself comfortable. I'll get my Dad to call 911 and they will take care of everything."

As both teenagers stepped inside, Jess fetched a blanket from his room and wrapped Janice who had situated herself on the family couch, clearly completely exhausted from the trek that she had made from her house to Jess's. The entire commotion had been enough to wake both Aarons adults who had just clambered down the staircase with grumpy faces.

"Alright May, that's no TV for a year and you can forget about going out with your friends let alone your boyfriend EVER", said both parents in unison.

Clearly they hadn't been informed of the tragic news and both had stunned faces when they were met with the sight of a wounded Janice sitting in their living room.

"By the heavens, what on earth happ—nevermind that I'm calling 911!", his father boomed.

"I'll get you water and something to eat dear, you look famished", his mother said worriedly. Both parents set in motion like the finely tuned gears of an automobile upon seeing their son's friend in need. Jess lay next to his best friend, easing her anxiety and ensuring her that everything would be fine. Both friends stared into each other's eyes, displaying a deep friendship between the two. Janice sighed and relaxed into the couch. She was glad to be with such caring people and for the first time in a long time she felt at peace.

The next hours of the night had all been a blur in Jess's memory as things had moved so fast when the police had arrived. Upon seeing the serious case they had on their hands they had immediately decided to move Janice to a secure location to ensure her safety which meant taking her away from the Aarons household. Much to the disappointment of Janice, she obliged as both she and Jess knew that it was best for her to start a report against her father. As for what happened after, Jess only had heard of the events from Janice through phone calls and emails. Her father had been found unresponsive at their house and was swiftly taken away to the hospital and arrested as soon as he gained consciousness. Janice had told him that this was fairly easy for the police to do as they had days to gather evidence at their house as well as the testimonies of their neighbours. Though, this had earned them a glaring warning from the cops due to their ignoring of the entire incident and negligence to report a potential murder. However, all Janice had cared about was just being free from the shackles of her father's abuse and this came swooping to her in the form of a restraining order filed onto her father as well as a 5 year prison sentence. Janice had finally received the salvation that she had been desperate to have for the past years. Unfortunately, even if she was physically free from him the mental toll from the years of torment had had a devastating effect on her. This had caused Janice to be placed in therapy indefinitely until her condition got better. There also was the pressing issue of where Janice would go now that she had no carer or guardian. Though technically an adult she neither had the skills or maturity to provide for herself just yet, and this had raised her anxiety levels, to which she had made clear to Jess over emails. Luckily, as if fate had changed face and now looked favourably upon Janice, a distant aunt had heard of the entire news and had swiftly made her way to Lark Creek to adopt Janice. This of course had shocked Janice completely and raised alarm bells with the authorities in charge of Janice. This had led to lengthy interviewing and background checks of the aunt before she was given guardianship of her niece. Janice was awfully cautious the first few months that she had been with her aunt, the first time that she had received such kindness from a family member. Jess remembered how Janice would give regular updates to him on her whereabouts and health, clearly still disturbed by the events of the night and not too trusting of family just yet. Though, her aunt was well aware of this and gave Janice all the time in the world to regain her trust and try to build a healthy relationship between them. It had been like a switch for Jess, one minute he would receive hourly emails on the status of Janice and then they had stopped. This of course startled him and he would have called protective services if not for the joy filled email he had received from Janice the day after, describing how her aunt had taken her to the carnival. It had warmed his heart to finally see her contempt and happiness for once in her life, she deserved it more than anyone. In the midst of all this process, her education seemed to have been out of the question and it was only in the summer of 2014 that Janice had made her decision to finish high school and get a diploma, her and Jess would actually be able to graduate together. The school, having been aware of the entire incident, were very willing to comply with Janice and provide her private lessons for the year so that she could graduate. As much as Janice would have loved to be in a classroom again, learning with friends and classmates like she knew that was out of the question. Though, she took no mind of it, for once in her life she had regained a sense of normalcy and wanted to savour it till the end.