The Line Between You And I

Elizabeth

Warning: Violence , Sickness, Eating Disorder

"Elizabeth... In my office now. " My father stated. Without a minute of thought, he turned his upright body and walked back into the doorway of his office.

"Matthew. Please darl-" My mother pleaded. Before she could finish her sentence, a quick painful noise could be heard as my father turned his body around and hit her. He hit my mother...

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU CRUEL MAN!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as my mother just stood there in shock and my father walked into his office and slammed the door. The vibrations could be heard from around the house as an eerie silence fell upon the both of us.

As soon as I had gathered what I had just witnessed I said, "Mum?" My voice was hoarse and raspy as if I hadn't spoken a word in years. My mother turned to face me and slowly walked towards me. She placed her hand on my shoulder and bent down so her lips grazed the top of my ear.

"Remember my darling, have courage and be kind. Never let a man treat you like that and if he does you put up with him the right way my darling. Okay?" She whispered, in the type of voice you could hear the pain as she choked back sobs. She placed one final kiss on my ear and brought herself back to an upright position. She gently grasped my jaw and let out a sigh and a blink but with that blink, a single tear followed. Rolling down her cheek as she stared at me, almost as if she didn't want me to see what my father could be like. I didn't feel the water droplets but my mum saw them because she moved her hand to wipe my tear-stained cheek. I knew I wasn't crying because of my father but because of how my mother's right cheek was starting to tinge shades of violet, lemon, and pistachio. She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the forehead before smiling and walking away up to her room to clean herself up. Only it wasn't a normal smile no, not when the scarlet red liquid was making its way down from her gums onto her pearly white teeth...

A few hours later...

I decided to take my anger out by not saying anything, just simply going upstairs to my room to read Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in which I did find very therapeutic. Only now I couldn't hide my feelings as I was called down to dinner by my mother. As I made my way downstairs, I suddenly felt a sickening feeling in my stomach but soon pushed it away as I figured it was the "something" I had seen my father do later today. I made my way to our old-fashioned dining room I sat down on the second seat on the right. We had a seating plan because my father believed that we needed one so; my father and mother sit at the opposite ends of the table, Victoria sits on the left second seat and I sit on the right second seat. Only because we have three grand chairs on either side so the second one is directly in between the two. My father made his way in after me and sat down silently not making a single noise. Then, Victoria and my mother joined us. There was silence. Almost as if we didn't have the strings to control our puppets. We all knew what to say but just couldn't bring ourselves to actually say it. Being tired of the awkwardness, I picked my head up from constantly staring at the same plate full of all kinds of seafood and lobster. Once I let my eyes adjust, I stared at my mother, and on her right cheek was a paler colour than her natural skin tone. It seemed to be thickly caked onto her face like she was trying to cover it up. My eyes then darted over to Victoria, who looked the same. Her face was caked in something too. That's when I couldn't keep it in anymore, I left my chair and darted towards the nearest bathroom...

I felt a burning feeling in my throat as I finished off the small bits I had for dinner. I decided to not go back to dinner, even if I hadn't eaten much and what I did eat I just threw up. Before I went back upstairs I took a long hard look in the bathroom mirror. My veins popped out of the skin on my neck and forearms. I was pale and knew that my body needed food and water but I couldn't bring myself to go back in and face him and so I ran upstairs to my room.

Once I was in my room I sat on the end of the bed and let out a heavy sigh. I ran my hands through my hair but my head was jerked up when I heard the door open. It was my father, I gulped and ran through my glass doors and out onto my balcony. My father grasped me by my neck and pushed me up against the stone railing. He picked me up so my toes were grazing the snow below.

"Dad... P-please.." I squeaked

The things I'd do to live and see tomorrow...