Don't Play With Fire [Revised]

Prologue

In my thirteen years of life, I've never been stung by a bee but I imagine it felt a lot like this. A red hot burning sensation that was sure to leave a mark.

Her hand pulled back as I stared at the spot between her eyes. I didn't let the tears pooling at the brim of my eyelids fall because it's what she liked. She enjoyed when I cried because it meant she wasn't alone in feeling pain. I couldn't let her know she hurt me.

"You think you're something special huh?!" I didn't respond as she snatched the cards from my hands and threw them at my face, adding a paper cut to the hand print on my cheek. "Why did you spill the last of my tequila, huh?"

"I'm sorry." I whispered and she groaned in frustration, grabbing the empty bottle and chucking it at me but I fell to the floor quick enough for it to slam against the wall. She wouldn't like that. "It was an accident." I tried to save but she was already walking forward, my eyes staying down and on the crow tattoo on her ankle.

"Yeah? Well accidents got consequences don't they? Come here." She grabbed my arm and yanked me up, dragging me down the hall. As we passed the bedroom, I caught sight of his tired, old eyes but he simply smiled sadly, knowing he couldn't help. I never blamed him.

The grip on my wrist acted as a catapult as I was throw into the small closet, the door slammed in my face. There wasn't a light in this closet and it was one that hadn't been cleaned in years. So, I was left with my imagination to conjure up the amount of spiderwebs and mildew clothes piled behind me.

"I'm going out! I need more goddamn tequila and that goddamn girlie boy is making me spend my last dollars!" I heard her yell. Girlie boy. Her favorite line to use.

"Well maybe you should save some for the rent?" He said.

I closed my eyes with a wince at the sudden thud when I heard him groan.

"Don't fuckin' talk back to me! Now you sit there and wait 'til I get back, too."

The next door to slam was the front door, leaving me in the dark with the few cards I managed to catch when she threw them at me.

I didn't mean to spill the grown ups drink. It just slipped when I was trying to do a trick with Stef. I always got in trouble when we did things together and he never did. But I didn't blame him.

As I shuffled through the cards for a while to keep myself from going insane, I started to hear noises. Weird noises. I raised up and moved closer to the door, pressing my ear against it.

"Yes, harder!"

My eyes widened and I quickly shuffled back with a grimace. That's disgusting— I might be young but I definitely knew what that meant. But she wasn't back yet. I would've heard the roar of the truck and the instinctive yelling if she was. Did that mean..

I shook my head and sat back down, trying to eliminate the noise and focus on learning to shuffle the cards faster. I was getting better and better with my card handling skills. I didn't have anyone to teach me so I mainly learned with books I found in the library at school. And that was if I went to school. She didn't like taking me very much because it wasted gas money and that was money she likes to use for alcohol.

About halfway through my thirtieth shuffle, the door pulled open and I quickly stood up, not wanting her to catch me sitting down. But it wasn't her.

It was another lady, younger but smeared with red lipstick and the smell of a grown ups drink. "Hey, he said you could use some fresh air?" She was pretty.. but I wasn't about to get another beating if I could help it.

I swallowed thickly and shook my head but he rounded the corner in his wheelchair, the sad smile now warm. "Don't worry, she won't be back until tomorrow." I still stayed put.

That's when they looked at one another and suddenly Stef rounded the corner with an ice cream cone.

"Ice cream?" I whispered and the lady smirked. Her smile reminded me of the ones from tv. Those movie stars who can give you one look and suddenly you want to do whatever they say but in a good way.

She leaned down to get to my level, her eyes lighting up as the smell of cigarettes hit my nostrils. Cigarettes and a nice perfume. "Oh, you like ice cream huh?" I nodded softly and she rested her hand on my shoulder gently. "I can get you ice cream, Y/n. Just step out with us."

Was it worth it? He said she wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning.. and the ice cream did look good. "Okay." I mumbled and stepped out, letting her wrap her arm around my shoulder and lead me out of the closet.

"Oh and Y/n?" I looked up at her with a soft nod as I sat at the table, happily eating my ice cream. "I'm Donna, but you can call me Don, okay?"

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Don."