Moonlight || h.s

1.3

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Jane West
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My eyes struggle to open, as sleep continues to bring me back under and forces my body still to the bed. This keeps happening for the next hour, until I prance my feet up and demand to be taken upon the sunlight.

My crust- filled eyes finally open wide, allowing me a vivid path across the room and into the bathroom. I quiver in fear, as the wooden door makes a loud creaking noise and scares me of waking my horrid father.

I allow minutes to pass by, before I undress myself and jump into the steaming- hot shower.

...

I nearly scream as the water runs miserably cold, leaving me with barely washed hair and an unwashed body.

I repeatedly curse to myself in frustration, as I throw on a long- sleeved shirt and a high- waisted skirt. Being the day that I leave, I can wear whatever I want without worrying about my father's wrath....

I decide to put on a fleece scarf and a baggy tan- colored jacket, reminding myself of the cool breeze in which I'll have to face tonight. Before walking out of my bedroom door, I make a turn to my bathroom.

A few weeks ago I had hidden a velvet box of makeup inside one of the cabinets in my bathroom. I've known for a long time that this day would come....

But.. I've never expected it to come this soon.

I shakily lock the door behind me and begin applying thick lines of eye- liner across my eyelids. I continue with eyeshadow, mascara, and even a little lip liner to complete the look.

I take a brave look into the mirror, leaving me satisfied and confident as I head down the staircase. I quietly walk into the kitchen and look around for a bite to eat, but stop in my tracks as footsteps approach me.

I swallow hard and remain motionless like a statue, as firm hands painfully grab my shoulders.

"What gives you a right to wake me up! It's eight in the fucking morning!" He yells into my ear.

"I-I couldn't go.... I couldn't go back to sleep..." I explain with a stutter.

"Turn around!" He screams, while shaking my body.

"W-what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! You've done plenty wrong this morning! You're such a little whore! Now go up to your room and change clothes, you have thirty seconds!"

"No, I will not!" I take a step back after making my stand.

"What did you just say to me young lady?!"

"I....said.....no!" As I reach for the door knob, he pulls my hair back and throws my back against the floor.

"Let me go!" I protest.

He stares at me for about two minutes, before making a twisted smile and putting his hands on my cheeks.

"Beverly, my dear, I've missed you..." He says to me, crazily mistaking me for my mother.

"You're sick! I'm not mother! She left you a long time ago!" I say in a muffled voice, as I squirm around under his grip.

"Beverly, I know it's you..." He whispers, while running his fingers through my hair.

Still stuck under his control, he slides his arms under my shirt and cups his hands on my breasts.

Then, I completely lose it.

"This is the last time that you abuse me!" I use all my strength to shove him against the wall, making the shelf above him wobble, and causing a glass vase to fall right over his head.

He collapses to the floor, weak for the first time in his life and loses consciousness.

I sprint out the door, making it to work a few minutes early and pleasing my boss once again.

"Good morning, Jane." She says with a scratchy voice, hugging me tightly.

"Hello, Maurice." I grin.

"Dear, you mustn't work without your uniformed top." She sweetly advises me, then walks away.

As I begin my shift, Maurice unexpectedly taps on my shoulder and turns me around to face her.

"Put this on. Aren't you lucky I had an extra?" She laughs genuinely, as I let out a few awkward chuckles.

I hurriedly grab the shirt from her grip and head towards the bathroom to put it on.

suddenly, the lights turn off without the press of a switch and the water begins to run rapidly.

I reach for the doorknob, but when I try to open it, it falls off.

I pound on the door for what feels like hours, until Maurice opens it and scolds me.

"Why were you in the bathroom all this time?!" She angrily hollers into my face, before slapping my arm.

"I couldn't open the door-" She cuts me off and roughly slaps me across the face, causing it to sting badly.

I quickly check the time on my watch, surprising me completely as it reads: ten 'O' clock p.m.

"Get back to work! You have night shift!" She tells me, speaking in a low tone of voice.

"No! This city is messed up! I-I have to go!"

Without a care, I remove my work shirt in front of everyone in the busy store and make a run out the door.

Twenty minutes later I take a glance behind me and gasp as not only Maurice, but my father, are chasing me relentlessly.

I push away the heavy fog blanketing the air, giving me a clearer path ahead of me.

With nowhere else to run, I make entrance into what seems to be a forest. Running non-stop for two and a half hours, I find balance against an oak tree.

...

The day was dragging on and I was getting tired. My feet were dragging on the forest ground, and the only sounds were owls and the faint sound of twigs and leaves being crushed underneath my feet. They stopped running after me hours ago. The only thought running through my head was, "Is this where I was going to die?"

I pushed myself to keep walking no matter how much my lungs were begging me to stop. I walked a few more miles until I saw a sign, "Welcome To Rosewood"

I smiled and forced my legs to keep moving.
Today was the beginning of a new life.
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-Melissa And Darby