The young girl made her way home on a hot afternoon, the sun beating down on her. This is one of those times where she missed taking the bus, but she couldn't bear to be bullied again, or to be embarrassed by her own existence. She kept her head down as she walked, so as to not bring unnecessary attention to herself, little did she know that she was already being followed.
She just kept to herself, watching the other kids chat amongst each other and goofing off, making it to her front doorstep. She opened the door and walked in, calling out.
"I'm home!"
She was met with silence, somebody was home, but they were either asleep, or blatantly ignoring her. She was fine with that. It was one less problem she had to deal with. She went to the empty void she called a room, throwing her bag down and sat on her twin bed. She sat silently, staring at a wall and pondering life. What was this all for? She goes to school, and for what, to suffer?
As she sat there, she heard noise stirring in the other room. Oh great, mom's awake, just what I needed. She sighed and braced herself for the uncomfortable conversation that was about to brew.
"How long have you been home?" The question was a cold, unfeeling statement more than anything.
"Just got here." An equally cold answer to mirror it.
"Really? Why didn't you tell me you were fucking home?" The sentence was meant to feel like a dart, causing the girl to flinch.
"I did. I called out that I was home." She refused to make eye contact, hugging her knees to her chest. Just let this end already.
"Bullshit, Louann. I know better than that. I didn't hear you. I bet you were out with some boy, huh? Trying to end up pregnant and worthless." The words stung, as yes, Louann had interest in boys, but she knew better. She was smarter than that. She hung her head, and rocked herself a bit to try to keep calm.
"Stop that rocking, or else people are going to think I'm raising a disabled kid." Her mother finally left the room, and Lou could finally relax. Her eyes watered as she just hung her head in shame, fidgeting and uncomfortable. It wasn't always like this with her mother, but ever since her dad left and her grandmother moved in, things haven't been the same.
Her mother let her know she resented her daughter in her own way. She looked, spoke and acted just like her father, a sore reminder of the "mistake she made" all those years ago. In the midst of fights and anger, she would often voice that she wished she had believed in abortion just so she wouldn't have to deal with a "whiny brat".
Louann decided not to stick around, and got up, leaving the house. She often walked around town alone, it cleared her head and kept her out of trouble. Contrary to what her mother thought.
She found herself in an alleyway, pulling her hood up and keeping low, watching other people from the shadows. She had become good at hiding and sneaking around, you had to with a mother like hers, one wrong step and she was being screamed at or told what a disgrace she was.
Lou then caught the shine of something slightly behind her through a barred, dirty window. A Knife. Immediately she bolted, realizing that someone had been following her. How had she been so stupid? She was usually really good at avoiding unnecessary attention to herself, and not only that, but she can usually tell when she was being followed. She heard the boots behind her, their steps mixing together, and she quickened her pace.
It was no use, this boy was faster than her. It was a boy, as she caught glimpses of him in windows of the buildings she passed, and she got creative. She started hopping fences and running through yards, but she was clumsy with obstacles and he was agile and fast. He quickly closed the space between them, and caught her in a dead end. She was glancing around the small enclosed space, looking for a way out, but the only one she could fathom was behind her assailant.
He slowly made his way to her, shuffling the knife in his hand, the hooded boy being careful not to reveal any weaknesses. Lou panicked, and with each step her anxiety grew bigger.
She was going to die.
As he closed in the space, a man walked to the entrance with a flashlight.
"Hey! What are you two doing back there, this is private property!"
Her opportunity open, she blew past the hooded boy and knocked the man over, sprinting for her life. The street lights came on, and she knew her ass was in trouble, she almost would rather deal with death than going home, but going home was her best option at the moment. As she ran she heard the man's screams of pain, and knowing the boy would quickly be in pursuit, she continued to run.
She made her way into her neighborhood from a couple of yards and snuck into her house, thinking she was quiet enough and her mother should be in the shower.
"Where have you been?"
Shit.
"Uh, just out, hanging with friends." She quickly conjured up the excuse, there was no way she could tell her mother the truth, either way she knew she would be called a liar.
"Yeah. Right. You were out with some boy, weren't you? Didn't know I raised some streetwalking whore." Her mother didn't really care, Lou thought, she just wanted a verbal punching bag.
"I was not, for your information. I'm sorry you expect me to end up like you!" Lou had just gone through a traumatic experience, and instead of being asked why she was out of breath or covered in sweat, she was accused of being sexually active and sleeping around.
"Excuse me? Don't fucking talk to me that way. I ought to call your father, he'd have some things to say to you."
"Fucking call him, tell him how you are a failure, how you can't control your only daughter." Lou had enough of the verbal abuse, fighting back.
"You deserve to get beat. I have half a mind to do it myself." Her mother quipped.
"Do it, I fucking dare you! Empty threats, that's all it is!"
Smack.
Lou's cheek stung, she had been hit, and something in her snapped. She just walked away for a minute, but instead of calming down, she grabbed a dirty knife from the sink. The normally docile part of her would usually speak logically to her, but there was no logic left, just a burning gasoline fire.
She walked back into the other room, tired of the verbal abuse, tired of the torment. With one swift movement, it all could end. She gritted her teeth, and walked quietly, coming up behind the cold, unfeeling woman she called her mother.
It was effortless, almost like instinct, a scream ripping through the air. But instead of stopping at one, she couldn't. She kept plunging the knife into soft flesh, over and over, laughing maniacally and hysterically crying at the same time. Her brain had lit up like a fireworks show, and she continued until the body was so mangled it was almost unrecognizable.
When she had finally calmed down, regaining control, she looked down at the corpse and choked up.
What had she just done?
She felt like throwing up, but nothing came up, dropping the knife, and backing away. She just did this. This.... What was this? Was this a dream? Surely not. She did this. There was no turning back.
She curled up in the corner, tears streaming down her face, and just shut her eyes, wishing this would all go away. That's when she heard the front door open, and there was the hooded boy, but before he could even think, he was confronted with a body. He looked around to find the culprit, and saw his victim, curled up and covered in blood and tears.
He knew what he had to do.
He quickly made one call, and then hung up, turning to the girl.
"Come with me."
YOU ARE READING
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