Quilts

Annalise

I could not take it one more second, one more day. Nineteen years of it had taken a toll on me, and I could not imagine having to spend the rest of my life like this.

The beatings, the rough hands meeting my pale skin. The nights where I curled in my closet, the door to my bedroom locked. I would sit in there for hours, my hands over my ears and eyes squeezed shut as the pounding on my door rattled my soul. The nights where she would get me, and sell me for a profit. The nights where grubby hands ran over my skin and ruined my innocence once more. I could not take one more second of cleaning up my scars, my burn marks, my new bruises.

I winced as I was pulled from my thoughts by a shout. "Annalise, you bastard girl, bring me my beer."

I shivered, pulling my blanket closer around my frail body. "Coming, ma'am."

I dropped the blanket and went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I noticed it wasn't cold. My eyes widened and my skin turned pale. She did not like it when her beer was not cold. We must have been overdue on the electricity bill, which was not so hard with our main source of income being child support from whoever my father was. She also made money on the side by selling me to men for single nights.

I brought the warm beer to her, hoping and praying that maybe this once she would not notice. "H-here is your beer, ma'am."

She snatched the bottle from me. "It's about damn time, you good for nothing twerp." She opened the bottle and took a sip, only to spit out the foul smelling liquid onto me. "This is warm, bitch. Did I ask you for a warm beer?"

She threw the bottle at me, which broke against my skin. The pieces flew around me, raining down and scratching my skin. Blood bubbled at my wounds, but I could not do anything about it.

She grabbed me by the ear and started dragging me. "I don't know why I kept you slob. I could have aborted you. But no, I kept you. And I give you food, I give you a place to live, and this is how you repay me? With warm beer? You disgusting child, I could ruin you."

She reached my bedroom and threw me down onto the bed. She tied my arms and legs to the posts and smirked. "Look at you, now you can't fight back. I think I'll call over some of my friends, maybe you can be useful tonight."

Tears escaped my eyes, and I shook my head rapidly. "Please, ma'am, I'll do anything. Anything but that. I'll even leave, I can leave you and not come back. I promise."

She smirked at me. "No, darling, you're going to make me some money tonight. And that's that. But first, let me have some fun."

She walked to my side and hit my hard, right in my ribs. I felt them crack, and I knew that she had rebroken them. I winced and tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I refused to scream. That was what she wanted.

She frowned and slapped me across the face. I knew for sure that would leave a mark.

She punched me repeatedly, but I refused to scream. "Make a noise, dammit!" She yelled. "Say anything. Beg for me to stop, you whore!"

But I refused to make a noise.

If I screamed, she would have taken my voice away, and that was the only thing I had control over.

I had to keep my voice, otherwise I would have had nothing.