Unequally Yoked

Chapter 5

"Mama please! I swear to you I'm not lying! Please you have to believe me!"

"Shut your mouth! You foul child! How dare you say something like that? How dare you lie against your father?!"

"Mama I'm not lying! Why would I lie about something like that? Please mama"

"I've always known you were a whore. You little slut. Your mates are making good grades and making their parents proud...making their fathers proud!"

"Mama-"

"SHUT UP! Whatever he did to you, YOU DESERVE IT!"

"Josefine? Hey, wake up"

Abby stood over her with a look of worry on her face.

"Hi. Seemed like you were having a bad dream" she said, helping her up into a partial sitting position.

"Bad dream? No, I'm okay" said Josefine.

A nurse entered the room, did some routine checks and left. They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, stealing glances at each other. Josefine looked a little closer and saw the Bible in Abby's hand.

"I haven't read that in a long time" she mumbled.

That's an opening.

"How long?" Abby asked.

"Since I turned 15. I'm not very...religious" Josefine replied.

"Oh, okay. Is...there a reason for that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, because Jesus loves everyone except me. He's been very clear about that these past years"

The anger and bitterness in her voice did not go unnoticed.

Tread softly. Don't breathe down her neck. Let her talk at her pace. Just listen.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She dragged in a breath and proceeded to tell Abby a chilling story.

"My...uh...parents have never really liked the fact that they had me. They wanted a boy. After they had me they tried so hard to get another baby but it didn't work. My mother believed I was bad luck...and she made sure I knew it"

"What?..."

"Yeahhh. They were hard on me, always yelling, always cursing and arguing. You might not believe this but they were quite the church goers. I didn't even like church that much as a kid. I thought it was too loud. Eventually I started to like it, made a few friends, even joined the choir. That's when things started to get really...dark"

She paused for a second to clear the tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry...I don't mean to be a crybaby" she said.

"Oh no no. Please take your time. I've got tissues" said Abby. That made her laugh a little.

"When I'd go for rehearsals, my dad would accuse me of going to meet boys. I didn't even understand where the accusations came from. I didn't have a lot of friends and honestly, the boys would rather pick on me than hang with me. Every time I'd return from rehearsal, he'd hit me and send me to my room without dinner. When I turned fifteen..."

She trailed off, turning to look out the huge glass window. Abby was beginning to get an idea of where the story was headed and it made her head pound.

"He...uh...came into my room one night. Said he was...g-going to show me w-what boys do because I didn't listen...and...well"

Abby enveloped her in a hug, taking care to be gentle because of her wound.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry" she whispered.

She was filled with rage, a blinding rage and disgust for Josefine's parents. They were monsters. They deserved the hottest parts of hell, they deserved to be tortured by satan personally.

"Abby?"
"Mm?"
"Your grip is getting a little too firm"

She let go with a bitter laugh. "I'm sorry. I'm...really pissed"

"I can see that"

A few moments passed...

"This is the first time I've ever talked about this you know. I almost feel...relieved." said Josefine.

"Thank you for trusting me with this. I don't take it for granted" said Abby.

"You're a good person Abby. I feel like I can talk to you. You're the kind of person I want to be, if I knew how to go about it. God apparently likes you, you have a great family, you have cool hobbies. I'm the girl no body likes" said Josefine.

"I don't believe in negative talk. I believe you are what you proclaim yourself to be. You're hurting, I wish I had known. I wouldn't have been so quick to make assumptions about you. I'm so sorry for all you've been through" said Abby.

"Thank you. Could you get the doctor please? I feel a little dizzy"

"Sure. Right away"

"And Abby, please don't tell anyone what I've told you. I'm not ready to talk about it just yet"

"I promise. I won't"