TW ! Mention of abuse !
I gasp for breath as I climb through my room window. I lost track of time! I'm definitely getting beat for this.
I barely make it back through the window when I hear footsteps stomping up stairs towards my room. I scramble to hide anything that screams: ‘I WAS OUTSIDE ALL NIGHT FIGHTING!!!!’
Just as I finish hiding any remains and injuries I received the night prior, a man bursts through the door.
"Where have you been!?" Shouts my dad. I cower a bit back against the window.
"I've been here the whole time." I lie, my voice shaking. He knows I'm lying. He hates it when I lie, I don't know why I do. It doesn't end well either way.
He growls low in his throat. "Don't lie to me!" He spats. I bow by head. "You better be cleaned up and downstairs in three minutes! We are having guests over." He storms out of my room. I sigh and cover my face with my hands.
It has been absolute hell here ever since my mom died. My dad started drinking. He suddenly got abusive and I'm too scared to do anything about it. I tried to get help once; I was hurt for hours after that. Never again. People say she died from suffocation; hyperventilating to be exact. But I think that's bullshit. It doesn't make sense! Mom never had any health issues and had no reason to hyperventilate!
I shake the thought away and change into something better for the day.
I grab the doorknob but then I stop moving. I do this a lot, it's kind of a habit by now. I take a deep breath; then I twist the knob.
It feels like an eternity passes before I reach the bottom of the staircase. When I reach the bottom, voices fill my ears. They are laughing. I sigh.
They come over every Saturday. My dads friends. Sometimes one of them brings his daughter. She's nice. I prefer it when she comes over, I just hangout with her and I don't have to worry about my dad. My dad is nice when there are others who aren't aware of the shit he's putting me though. But the times (which is most of the time) she isn't over, well that's a whole other story about hell.
I round the corner and I'm met with an all too familiar sight of four grown men embracing each other in hugs and laughing. This time, Hayden is here. Our eyes lock, she smiles at me and I return it. She bounces over to me and gives me a small hug. I hug her back.
"How are you Danny! I haven't seen you in a few weeks!" She says, pulling back to look me in the eyes.
"I've been good." I reply with a soft smile. It's easy to lie to Hayden. She's not the brightest. I'm kind of glad, I don't want to explain why I'm trying to lie to my only friend.
Behind Hayden, my dad glances at me, his eyes narrow into a glare. A shiver runs up my spine and through my wings that ruffle quietly. I do that a lot so no one questions it.
Hayden turns away from me and towards my dad who changes his glaring into a soft smile.
"Is it okay if me and Danny go for a walk in the woods?" She asks. That's what we usually do, we go and walk through the woods together behind my house. We usually go and sit by the river and talk.
"Of course!" My dad says, way too cheery then what I'm used to. "Just don't go into the river this time." His eyes avert from Hayden to me. Hayden giggles, turning around grabbing my arm. She drags me to the back door and outside, towards the woods.
The last time we went to the river, I accidentally lost my footing on the rough terrain and fell into Hayden. I knocked her down into the river. She wasn't hurt, thank goodness, if anything she just burst into a fit of laughter as I helped pull her out of the river. The adults thought I was funny, they are good at playing cool, but as soon as they all left, I was on the floor trying to scream and cry as my dad yelled at me for being a clumsy mistake and beat me till I couldn't move for the next three days.
"How have you been, Hayden?" I ask her as we walk around trees and duck under low-hanging branches.
"Pretty good!" She replies, jumping up onto a fallen log. "Did you hear about that huge fight a few days ago?" She asks.
I nod, "that one between Vosk and Lucky?"
She nods. "That was insane! They are both so strong!" Hayden jumps down off the log and waits for me to catch up.
"I know right." I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Lucky isn't that strong. I'm definitely stronger, I could have ended him so many times. But I don't. I want a real challenge; I can see the potential in this kid and by not killing him, it makes him stronger and a harder opponent for when I actually do kill him.
We walk in silence until we get to the river. Hayden sits down first and sighs as I sit beside her.
"I do wish they wouldn't fight though." She sighs.
I shrug. "I'm sure they have a reason." And we do. What that reason is... I'm not sure, but I'll find one!
Maybe..13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7ntlZjO6K
