Academy Everlasting

Chapter 3: Mommy Dearest

Chapter 3: Mommy dearest

As I sneak through the back door of our new house, I silently pray to anyone whose listening that she's still passed out. Keeping my eyes and ears wide open, I try to locate everyone.

I don't have to listen hard to know Marie is in her room with her music blaring and the door closed. I quietly make my way through the kitchen stopping by the sink to rinse out and put away my water bottle and then carefully unwrap and hide Nathan's shirt. Once it is safely hidden, I creep to the entryway listening hard. I can't hear my father and step mother arguing, so I assume he stayed late at work again. No noise is coming from my step mother's room, so I can only hope she is sleeping.

Those hopes are crushed when I make it to the stairwell and see her standing at the top, looking down at me. She has an evil smirk on her face that sends chills down my spine.

I don't say a word, I just stare at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to make a move. She doesn't disappoint.

"What were you doing all day?" She asks, in a deceptively low voice.

I shake my head, trying to get the words I want to say out, but they don't seem to want to form on my tongue. Not that it matters what I tell her anyway, she always finds something I have done wrong, if she is in the mood to punish me.

She stomps down the stairs and gets about an inch from my face before shouting "ANSWER ME!"

I cower away and whisper, "Walking in the woods." I wish I had stayed there now. Dark woods with the potential of animals that may hurt me is better than being here with my step mom who is definitely going to hurt me.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" She asks, with so much venom and hatred in her voice, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for her. Even knowing that she's going to hurt me, I can't help but wonder what could have possibly happened in her life time to fill her with so much hate?

"No ma'am," I say, looking down at my shoes. "But, I really was in the woods all day." I add on quickly, sometimes if I distract her, I'll get sent to my room and she'll forget why that she was punishing me.

She doesn't bother with a reply, just grabs me roughly by my bicep and drags me to the downstairs bathroom. I don't fight her, it's always worse if I resist. I know my arm is going to have a handprint shaped bruise on it by tomorrow.

That's not what I am worried about though, I'm routinely covered in bruises so I figure one more isn't going to matter. What catches my attention and has me on edge is the tall glass of slightly yellow looking liquid sitting on the counter. Please don't be what I think that is, I pray as she drags me across the room.

My step mom is dragging me right toward the cup, so I don't have much time to try and figure out what crazy concoction she has stirred up this time. She roughly releases my arm, but before I can even think of fleeing, a foot kicks the back of my knee causing me to fall to the floor.

She grabs my hair and pulls my head back. I gasp in surprise and she uses that against me, it gives her the chance to poor the burning liquid down my throat. As the first drops hit my tongue. I have a fleeting thought that it is what I was praying it wasn't, lemon juice and vinegar, again.

"This will teach you to lie to me!" She screams, gleefully pouring the last bit down and watching as I choke and sputter around the glass. Once it is empty she throws it on the floor, causing the glass to shatter and scatter every which way around the tiny bathroom.

"You will pick up every tiny shard of glass with only your bare hands." She tells me darkly, releasing my hair and carefully stepping away from the sharp glass shards. "If you miss any, we will start this process all over again and if I ever catch you lying to me again, it will be a hundred times worse for you, you worthless girl."