BLONDIE!

SEVENTEEN

HOME. OR...A HOUSE.
As Leah called it. Home was too sweet. Home was somewhere safe. And nothing about this place was safe.

Part of her was regretting going here. But maybe she needed too. Accept her shitty reality of a life. Emily Raven and her abusive stepdad.

That was her life.

Leah opened the door and the smell of dirty dishes, alcohol, and moldy clothes burned her nostrils as she eyed the state of the home, almost disgusted by it. Clothes covered the floor, beer cans everywhere and, dishes scattered all over the kitchen counter.

Leah looked around, looking to see any adult she should be afraid off when she heard footsteps. She quickly ran into the small closet in the hallway as her heart raced against her chest.

It was her mom. She could recognize her footsteps. A knock came from the door and Emily opened it. "Hey" She said. "Thanks for coming"

The closet was dark, and extremely hot as she broke out in a sweat in her dress.

"Yeah" She heard her stepdad. "I'm glad you chose to take me back. Your kids are ungrateful peices of shit" He snapped.

"Please don't talk about them like that" Emily begged. "I....tried. Leah didn't wanna see me. I only got clean for her. Now, I don't really have a reason anymore. Did you bring it?"

"Yeah, although it wasn't easy. My dealer keeps raising the prices and shit." Her stepdad said.

Emily was relapsing. "What the fuck?" Leah whispered. She knew she'd do it at sometime but she was really serious about seeing them? Maybe she was too harsh.

"This place is a shitshow, what happened?" She heard her stepdads voice ask in a judgmental tone.

"Just been stressed alot lately. Would you like a beer?" Emily asked.

"I'm never one to turn down a beer" He says as Leah heard Emily's footsteps going into the kitchen.

Leah didn't know what to do. She couldn't let her mom go back into the same habits. Suddenly, the same feeling she used to feel returned. She left the closet. "Mom, don't do this" She whispered in a hushed tone as Emily's eyes widened.

"How long have you been..?"

"What's happening in there, Emily?" He asked from the living room.

"Umm...here's your beer" She walked into the living room and handed him a beer. "Umm...I've changed my mind about the whole thing. I can't do it to my kids. I gotta give them another chance"

The man scoffed. "Really? Just like that?" Leah remembered that tone. That tone of annoyance and anger all piling up.

She was gonna reveal herself and help her mom when she heard glass breaking and grunts and sobs. He was hitting her. Suddenly the child her froze in her steps, her eyes wide.

Move. Help her. Her heart told her.

Don't. She didn't help you when you needed it. Her brain argued.

She froze as she heard her mom's sobs and pleads to tell him to stop. She opened one of the drawers, grabbing a kitchen knife. "Stop!" Leah shouted as she saw her mom with a bleeding forehead and bruises on the floor as sobs broke out of Emily's lips.

He turned to her. His jaw clenched. "You wanna beating too, little princess?" Richard asked, eyeing her dress.

"Go ahead. I dare you"

That wasn't a smart move as Richard wasn't afraid of a teen girl. He grabbed the girls wrist and threw the knife across the room faster than a second and used the back of his hand to slap her, bringing her to the floor. "Stay outta this" Richard warned.