The Shadow's Game

Chapter 18~ Memory Lane

A/N- Marley's birth father is portrayed by Brad Pitt (In case you were wondering)

***

The pain in the side of my face has subsided, but the ache of knowing my own father hit me is still here. In my opinion that one hurts more. I've been sitting on this floor for 10 minutes just wallowing in self pity. I finally take control of my body and crawl on all fours to my room and slam the door shut. I don't want to see my dad. Not now.

The man I have known for years is gone. Vanished. Disappeared. I don't know which is the real him.

In these past few days I've learned things I didn't want to know and seen him in new lights. He taught me to be an honest person and all the while he was hiding the biggest secret of all. But when his hand hit my face I knew that this man wasn't the same man that would push me on the swing when I was 7 years old. He wasn't the same man who would tuck me in at night and check for monsters. He is completely different.

He is the monster that children are scared of and the reason they seek refuge under the covers. He is like a monster. He hid for so long like a monster hiding under a child's bed just waiting in silence. I am like the child who is oblivious to what lurks beyond and is content without knowing. And when I was least expecting it the monster attacked leaving me broken.

When I was 6 years old I was dumped in an adoption center because my family didn't love me before. I was a glass doll and they broke me. All the negativity and haunting memories I had with my birth family were terrifying and I tried my best to push it all out and block it out. My adoptive family sheltered me and protected me and gave me hope that love still existed. That facade broke when my dad hit me. He is no different from the people who saved me from all those years ago.

So sitting here, in a fortress of blankets with no one to tell me to love me and an ache that cannot be cured, all the memories I have fought for so long come flooding back. And I'm helpless to stop them. 

***Flashback 10 years ago (A/N- 3rd person POV instead of first person)***

"Papa," giggles a blonde girl with wavy hair. She crosses a wide and vast field kicking up dirt as she runs to the tree where her dad is. She stretches out her arms and is scooped up by a tall man with dirty blonde hair. He tosses her in the air and catches her with ease placing her gently back down on the ground. She continues to giggle and chants "again" repeatedly. He shakes his head causing his hair to dance wildly in the breeze.

"Sorry pumpkin, no can do. I'm sore and tired," he complains. She pouts and crosses her arms. He smiles at his daughter, but it doesn't reach his eyes like it used to. Marley, of course only being a child, didn't notice her dad slowly losing his spark. It was only a matter of time before the ember died. He places a hand on her back to guide her back to the house.

She waddles towards the house when they are intercepted by Marley's sister. They were twins and you would know immediately because they were identical in appearance. They aren't similar  in personality though. They were polar opposites. Marley was giggly and bubbly. She would start a conversation with anyone. However her sister, Eliza, was quiet and kept to herself. She preferred the company of her imaginary friends, who she insisted were real, more than her own sister. There was the odd time, like now, when she would want to play with Marley.

"Can we play hide and seek?" asks Eliza while tugging on Marley's arm towards the house. Marley eagerly nods , her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight, and they run into the house leaving their poor father alone. They slide open the door and head to the living room.

"Before you play give me a kiss. I'm going to the corner store down the street for some milk, so you can play while daddy takes a quick nap," their mother calls from the den. Both girls walk side by side to kiss their mother goodbye. Marley kisses one cheek while Eliza kisses the other. Eliza grabs Marley's hand and drags her to the window to wave off their mother as she pulls out of the driveway. Once she is out of view Eliza demands that Marley is 'it'.