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PROLOGUE. By what right did God earn his thrown?
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Drip.Drip.Drip.
Drip.Drip.Drip.
Drip.Drip.Drip.
The sound is coming from a leak in the roof. The roof is made of wood and it's so old that it's caving in. She only knows that because when the light is shining out side, it peaks through the wood, but it's never bright enough for her to tell where she is. She can't see when it rains, she can only hear the sound. She can't see when it snows, she only hears it and feels the cold air. The dripping sound continues for hours, the single sound vibrating your ears until you feel numb to the sound.
It smells awful in the room where she's in. It resembles rotting meat. It's putrid, hot and lingering — she wonders if an animal wondered in and died. But it couldn't be. The doors were always locked. Nothing could get in without a key which he had. It was just them trapped inside. Perhaps they were the dogs. Four sad kicked puppies forced away into isolation, whining and trying to claw their way out. Or perhaps they were like birds crying to get out. Her nails are broken and bloody from scratching, her wrists raw and red from struggling, her skin smudged with filth. She doesn't look or feel like a person.
Drip.Drip.Drip.
The sound continues and the horrid smell gets worse. Lacy's lost track of time, track of light and dark. It all blends together into one big blur but she remembers that day like it happened yesterday. It keeps her up at night when she desperately wants to sleep. She sees it when her eyes are open and closed. She thinks about randomly when she doesn't want to. It's always there. He's always there.
Mommy's out on a business dinner tonight, girlies. We have the whole house to get ready, she remembers Daphne telling them while holding up her car keys, jingling them with excitement. Ooh, Lacy, you should wear that red top. Y'know, just in case Danny's at the party.
She remembers hearing Kayla's laugh. Daphne, Danny's gay.
Daphne's smile falls. He is? How did I not know that? She asks as her friends laugh at her.
