Southern steel- Mack

6. Eden

                    Trigger warning sexual assault

I can't believe I let him get to me again. What do I care if he thinks of me just as Titan's little sister? I haven't even spoke to him in 6 years. Of course I hoped for his safety and helped Cora put together almost every care package that was sent over, but I didn't pine for him. I was 12. The older I got the more I understood slightly that I had a crush, and he didn't see me that way because I was a kid. The friendship part of it still bothers me. He dropped me like a bad habit when it came to his new friends and girls.

I'm not that girl. Honestly I have had enough to deal with while he has been gone and didn't have time to worry about what Mack did.

Dad's drinking and drug use got worse. I started trying to stay away from home more and more. Titan took on more responsibility so he wasn't able to protect me as much. Dad started also doing drugs and having friends over. Not good friends but creepy shady motherfuckers.

One day I went home when I was 13. Dad was drunk and high on something. He had a friend over. His friend was an average size guy. Looked strung out greasy hair, dirty clothes, smelled of alcohol. I remember that day like it was yesterday.

I walk in the trailer it's late enough that I'm hoping dad is already passed out or at the bar. The club had a charity run today so I stayed at the library until it closed. I am shocked to see dad is sitting on the couch but there is another man with him. There is a bunch of stuff on the coffee table in front of them.

"Who's this pretty thing?" The creepy man drawls.

"That's my whore daughter. She's probably just getting back from that biker club she hangs out with." My dad slurs as he lays his head back on the couch and closes his eyes.

I make my way to my room. If I can just get in there and lock the door they'll leave me alone. Whatever Pops said to dad years ago has kept him from getting physical.

As I go to close my bedroom door and a hand stops it. No no no! I just need to get it closed. The guy makes his way in to my room. "You hang out with a bunch of bikers huh? That's no place for a nice girl like you, or do you like being with all those men?"

I try to back up slowly. I glance around the room looking for something to protect myself with and find nothing. The man is stumbling as he comes towards me. He's clearly high and drunk. I have nowhere to run.

Suddenly he lunges for me and grabs me. I can't get out of the way fast enough. Even though he's not a big guy he is still way bigger than me. He throws me down on the bed. I scramble backward trying to get out of his reach. He grabs my leg and pulls me down the bed as I kick at him. He pins my legs with his lower body and tries to rip my shirt off. It rips part of the way, and I start to thrash against him.

He reaches down and rips my shorts open and tries to get them down my thighs. I freeze for a moment. This is it I'm about to be raped. I feel tears start rolling out of the corner of my eyes. When he goes to put his hand down my shorts something in me snaps, and I become unfrozen. I think of the training Pops taught me.

I rear back my arm then slam it into his nose as hard as I can. It hurts him enough he stumbles and gives me room to move my legs so I throw my entire leg up and kick him in the balls as hard as I can. It's enough to knock him to his knees and because he's already wasted and stumbling he falls completely over. I don't give him time to get up. I run for the door and then keep going until I'm outside and running to old lady Liza's trailer.

I knock on the door but all her lights are off. I knock again, but she doesn't answer. She's probably asleep. I go around to the back porch so no one can see me and knock on that door. Nothing. I scoot my back down the door and wrap my arms around my knees. I lay my head on my knees and wait until morning.