Shadow Roses

The laminate floor was cold and splattered with crimson. Rena stared out of unfocused eyes, her body refusing to move, at a pale slash where the wallpaper had peeled away behind the sink.

Distant muttering of her uncle made her fight the pain and struggle to her feet. Rena bit her lip hard to keep from making any noise. She took hold of the bathroom sink and pulled herself to her feet, knocking shards of mirror around as she swayed, her vision clouding over with black spots.

She felt sick and spat up, choking on the taste of bile. In an effort to clear her head Rena slumped into the bathtub, turning the water on full blast. There was no hot water in their little trailer and the icy shock made her gasp.

Rena stayed under the flow until her teeth began to chatter and most of her body was numb. Turning the water off, she watched the red swirl down the drain.

Frank shouted at the TV, glass shattering as he threw his empty bottle of whisky at the wall.

Her only living family Frank was a mean sonofabitch, taking great pleasure in the pain of others. Her mother’s only brother, Frank only agreed to take her after her parent’s death because Rena came with all of her father’s money, safely placed in a trust fund… that Frank squandered on drugs, women, and booze.

Yet now that the money was gone Rena served as nothing but a slave and personal punching bag for the bastard. The one thing she was thankful for was that Frank didn’t find her sexually appealing.

Rena wished with all her might and prayed night after night that something would kill him… or at the very least that she could die herself.

Stepping carefully around the shards of mirror, she left the bathroom and hurried back to her room. Frank cussing her out for blocking the TV for the moment it took to pass.

Shutting the rickety remains of her bedroom door she propped it closed with a chair and stripped off her clothes, tossing the ruined rags in the trash.

Pulling on an oversized tee shirt Rena fell onto her bed and curled her knees to her chest, staring at the wall where a faint blood stain could be seen.

She wondered, not for the first time, what would happen if she fled Frank. She was only sixteen but surely there was something she could do to survive on her own.

Rena crushed the idea before it had a full chance to form. She had run from Frank once, four years ago. He had caught her when she tried to catch a bus and drug her back home, throwing her in the trunk of his car and leaving her there for three days.

Rena shuddered violently as she remembered the warm, consuming darkness, the stifling air, lack of movement, and the knowledge that no one would ever hear her scream...

To shake the haunting memory Rena scrambled to her feet and pulled on a pair of old faded blue jeans. Slipping on a worn pair of flip-flops she slowly cracked open the door to her bedroom and peered out.

Carefully she walked past Frank who was snoring, asleep in his own vomit. Slowly pulling open the door she dashed outside and down the road towards the highway.

It was only a short walk into town. Some of the shops were still open and few people still wandered the sidewalks. Rena savored the cool air and made her way through the streets.

She came to the park and sat on a bench at the beginning of the bike trail. Tilting her head back she knew she would have to head back to the trailer soon, but for that moment she was happy to watch the stars.

A gentle breeze caressed her and Rena let her eyes close. Memories of her parents came to her mind, their smile and loving embrace. The all consuming pain she felt with their deaths. Her father, claimed by cancer when she was nine, and then her mother followed him soon after with a broken heart.