Forbidden Red

Chapter 1

19 years ago

"Your nothing but a piece of shit." He snarls at me his large, calloused hand tightly gripping my small chin.

I stay still like a stick in the mud not wanting to make any sudden movement that would want him want to hurt me more.

"Please don't hurt her, she hasn't done anything wrong. It was me!" My mother, Elizabeth, cries while frantically attempting to remove his grip from my chin with her frail hands covered in faint bruises.

"I don't care who it was. Get out of MY house with YOUR daughter." He yells his thunderous voice causing my body to shake in crippling fear.

His hands curl tightly around the bottle of alcohol in his other hand as my mom pulls me away from him and pushing me behind her, attempting to create distance between us.

"Where...where will we go? I don't have enough money to feed her rather than to find a place to live!" Elizabeth sobs.

"GET OUT!" He yells throwing the bottle of alcohol right at my mom's face.

As she hunches over in pain, I see blood oozing down from her cheek and landing on her clean white maxi skirt, staining it red. Despite desperately wanting to help her, I remain frozen in my spot in fear of not striking more reasons for him to want to hurt her.

Slowly getting back up, she wipes away her tears and the blood from her cheek with the back of her hand. Without wasting another second, she takes my small hand in hers and we both walk out of the house leaving our belongings and painful memories behind.

I didn't care that we were leaving my father, Marc Garwood, behind. He always beat and threatened my mom. He would force her to work while he lounged around drinking and bringing other women home. If we didn't listen to what he said he would punish us in unimaginable ways.

The Denver spring sunshine casts a warm light on us as we exit the doors of our apartment building. Spring is supposed to be a time of new growth and rebirth and I wonder if we'll ever experience that ourselves.

"It's okay hun, mommy will get us to a safe place." Elizabeth says bending down to hug me and I wrap my arms tightly around her as if she might be taken away from me any second.

"You're bleeding mommy." I whimper pulling back from her unable to take my eyes away from her deep cut.

Cars zoom by and people walk by as they continue on with their business. Of the people who actually take notice of us, they only shoot questioning glances and continue on with their journey not once stopping to ask if everything is okay. Don't they see that she needs help?

"It's okay we'll go to the hospital and then mommy will be all better." She smiles her soft hands wiping the tears that stream down my face.

"Mommy, will daddy hurt us again?" I ask curling a strand of her dark mocha brown hair that fell out of her messy bun.

The warm wind blows her hair onto her face, and I continue to move her hair out of the way not liking how it wraps around her face. It reminds me of his beastly like hands and how they would clench my mom's jaw tightly when he would be mad.

"No, my darling, he won't. I promise." She says kissing my forehead.

"I promise he won't hurt you either." I sniff laying my head into her shoulder.

I was seven years old when I wholeheartedly made that promise to myself and to her, but little did I know that I wasn't able to keep that promise as an adult.

Today

"Aaliyah could you please contact Mr. and Mrs. Black and let them know that their divorce papers are ready." I say hitting save on my completed case brief for another case.