step brother, I hate you

8

“Ashley!” I heard the yell of my father and my body jolted awake, I stared up at my father with fear in my eyes. The room we were in was dark a small light bulb hanging from the ceiling, flickering as it was either the bad electricity connection or something had broken in the light.

Panic set in and my chest started heaving as I tried moving my hands only to find that my hands had been cuffed behind me and the metal was cuffed around my wrists so tight that I could feel the moisture from my skin. I shut my eyes tightly trying to fight the fact that the metal had dug into my skin and drawn blood. My mouth was taped and I was sat on a wooden chair.

“Ashley, listen to me” I looked over at my father, he wasn’t the man I knew, his face that always wore a smile was stripped from his friendly features, bruises and cuts covered his body, his clothes soiled in blood, it made me feel sick knowing that it could be no other then his own blood. His eyes were swollen and bruised as it looked like he was fighting his body to stay awake. Blood was all over the floor and I had push down the vomit I could feel rising in my throat. My eyes flickered over to the walls that I could faintly make out were also stained with blood.

“Ashley I can get you out of here but you have to listen to me,” I stopped observing my surroundings and listened to my father,” there’s is a pin in my back pocket, come here and pull it out of my pocket, there will only be time to free one of us, once you are free,” he nodded his head in the direction of a small window that I failed to see when I looked around the room,” you need to open it and crawl out, get help as fast as you can ok?” I nodded my head, I hated the fact that I would have to leave my father but if I was fast enough then I could get help fast and save him.

Not bothering to ask my father what was going on or why I was here I quickly walked over to him and took the pin from his pocket. He picked the cuffs and in seconds they were falling to the floor. I rubbed my wrists and pulled the tape from my mouth.

“everything will be ok, go Ashley,” quickly I sprinted over to the window but came to a halt as I heard someone else enter the room, I panicked and threw myself into the dark corner out of the room watching with wide eyes as there the scene unfolded before me.

” I’m sorry Ashley, I love you,” I heard my father yell as a man advanced towards my father menacingly and held up a knife and swung his arm down at my father’s chest. I turned my face, burying it into my hands as I fought back the tears.

“DAD!” I yelled as my body shot up. I was covered in sweat as sobs were uncontrollably ripping from my throat.

I heard multiple footsteps approaching the room in a hurry and I was in and I started to panic, fear raised within me that the same thing was happening all over again and I was going to be taken away again.

I screamed and ran over to the corner of the room but it wasn’t dark enough, it wasn’t dark enough!  I let my body fall to the floor as I cried even harder, bringing my legs to my chest.

“Ashley!” Evan was the first one in the room and without hesitation he ran over to me and pulled me into his chest, holding me tight. The same feeling from the other night overwhelmed me and I found myself leaning even further into his hold letting my tears soak his shirt.

Gently he picked me up and walked back over to the couch as I desperately held onto him like the worthless person I was. He sat down not letting me go but instead tightening his hold, pulling me even closer making my head rest on his chest.

“Everything is going to be ok, I’m here now,” he whispered rubbing the small of my back as if to comfort me. Completely forgetting about the fact I was upset with him I buried my face further into his chest as I tried to calm down.