One Lie at a Time

CLEAN THE KITCHEN

I got home at around midnight. I stayed late to chat with Stacy because I enjoyed her company a lot more than I normally do with anyone else. I'm not a conversationalist, but my mother once told me, "Treat every conversation as an opportunity to learn something." I never really understood that, but I've tried several times. 

Dad was sitting in the living room, staring blankly into space. "Where have you been?" He asked in a raspy voice. 

"I've been at work."

"You've been at work since yesterday night? You didn't go anywhere else besides work?"

I gulped, "I stayed at a friend's house and they dropped me off at Espresso Cafe." 

My dad stood up abruptly, making me take one small, baby step backward. "Lie three more times," He growled, lurching forward to smack me upside the head. I fell back into the floor, my head thwacking painfully against the wooden tile. I slowly sat upright, touching my hand to the side of my skull. When I drew my hand away, it was stained red with my blood. 

"It's true, I'm not lying!" I pleaded, pressing myself against the wall for support. I technically wasn't lying, I was just leaving out some...key details. 

"I don't believe a single word that is coming out of your filthy mouth."

He grabbed three of the many beer bottles from off the coffee table and turned back to me. He narrowed his eyes and with lightning speed, he threw the beer bottle into the kitchen, glass exploding from the point of impact. A glass shard cut my hand as it flew past. I instinctively drew my hand to my chest.

"Clean. The. Kitchen." With each individual word, he threw one of the three beer bottles into the kitchen. By the time his rant was over, I had small, deep, long, and short cuts riddled across my arms and face. The living room was right next to the kitchen, so there wasn't much space between me and the blast zone. To my surprise, Dad grabbed his car keys and stormed out of the house. I haven't seen him leave since...I don't even know when. 

Right when he slammed the door shut, I broke out into a fit of hysterical sobs. There were glass shards sticking out of my arms and it hurt. It's not like Dad had never thrown anything, but he never really did any damage like this before. This pain was new for me. I stood up and began sweeping up the glass shards with a broom, putting off my own wounds till after my task was complete. I didn't want him to come home to find the kitchen still a mess and me babying my injuries. Thirty minutes later, the kitchen was clean. There weren't any dishes lying around and I made sure to get every single glass shard off the floor and counters.

Luna came sulking in, her tail between her legs and her ears pressed against her head. She looked extremely guilty. It's not that she had any reason to be. 

I picked her up and planted a dozen kisses on her head, "It's okay, baby, I'm fine. You're fine. Trust me, if he lay a finger on you, I'd make sure to get you out of here in no time. I'm sure Anthony and Mother miss you very much."

I carried her around with me while I grabbed some things to take care of my cuts. I came into my room and set her down on the bed. A steady stream of blood trickled down my arms and face from the many wounds I had. I went to my bathroom and started gingerly plucking any glass shards out of my skin, flinching at every move I made. I glanced up in my mirror. I could already see a bruise starting to form where Dad hit me. Right under my left eye. It wouldn't be too bad, but it would be noticeable. Too bad I refused to buy makeup when Mother offered. Makeup would come in real handy right about now. 

I managed to clean and bandage all of the cuts in under an hour. Dad still wasn't home. I bet he was out at a bar stirring up more trouble. By the time I had gotten ready for bed, it was two in the morning. I climbed under my covers and pulled Luna closer to my chest. At least she could be my at-home emotional support animal. Even though she couldn't talk, Luna was the closest thing to a therapist I had. I snuggled up deeper into my sheets and drifted off into a light sleep.