Ink (On Hold)

Chapter 1

I sat in a sea of soft, white carpeting in the living room when Papa came home from work. I dressed Blonde Barbie in a long purple dress, her baby blue eyes stared into my own. A sudden shout made me jump and I twisted my head to see the stairs leading up to Momma and Papa's bedroom. I couldn't see them but I heard them. The argument muffled by their closed bedroom door. I turned back to Barbie and began fitting on some red shoes. Suddenly the shouting grew louder and two sets of feet ran swiftly down the wooden steps and into the kitchen.

"Get back here!" he yelled. A knot in my stomach formed when I heard him and I looked behind me to see two shadows painted on the walls. Without thinking, I set Barbie down, walked towards the kitchen and peeked around the corner.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please! It won't happen again!" Momma yelled, tears running down her face, papa's hand gripping mommy's forearm. She struggled to get out of his grip but he kept her in place. He then took hold of her shoulders, forcing her face him directly.

"Damn right it won't happen again!" He swung his left hand back into a fist and came down on momma's cheek. Her body smacked the ground. Both Papa and I looked down at her and then our eyes met. I saw nothing. He was expressionless. Frightening.

He turned and stalked back upstairs.

Momma laid motionless on the floor. Her eyes wide open looking at the wall, palms facing down, her nose bleeding. I got down on my knees next to her and shook her shoulder lightly.

"Momma?" I whispered. Her eyes were puffy, her tears mixed with blood. At first her eyes and body expressed sadness and defeat. She looked up at me and after a few moments, she changed. She lifted herself up from the floor, back straight, chin up. She had finally found the will to stop this from ever happening again. She picked me up, grabbed Barbie from the living room floor and her purse from the table next to the door.

Outside, it had just rained and the warm weather made it terribly humid. But the stars shined above, smiling at me. Momma opened the passenger door of the car, and buckled me in. Seconds later, she came in on the other side. She inserted the keys, twisted and the car came to life. I look out the window towards our home. Papa was standing in the frame of the front door, with the light shining behind him, I couldn't see his face. He sprinted towards the car.

"Janet! Stop! Alice!" Momma slammed on the gas pedal and we rushed down the street, passing all the houses of the neighborhood. Momma didn't look back, but I did. I saw his dark figure grow smaller and smaller in the side view mirror.

Alice Brunelli touched me today. Just a brush on my finger when she handed me a pen. She was the head cheerleader, but not quite the stereotypical one from the movies. She was a sweet girl, no boyfriend, hung with a lot of nice and diverse people. There were a few who disliked her but she was loved by the majority of the student body. Guys went after her left and right, but she once let me know that she wasn't interested in a relationship. Not with a guy, anyway. She had trusted me not to tell and this was just over year ago. I never did and never will. I switched my attention to my other arm, to the pitch black writing on my hand.

I found papa. He's in federal prison. I'm going to meet him on Saturday. Momma doesn't know.

Out of so many people that i've had contact with, she was the one I was most excited to learn about. I wanted to know what made her the way she is, what her secrets were. To others, I knew they would think this is wrong, but its not like I could help it. I was born with this power and in some ways, a curse. After 17 and a half years, I've learned to control it.

I've been able to make the decorative, black writing disappear for a few hours, but I still have to devote much of my concentration on it to keep it that way. There is no answer to how I received this power. There is no answer to why it only comes at 6 pm and disappears at 6 am every single day. There is no answer to why whoever touches my skin, their secrets, their thoughts and most important memories write themselves in black ink on my arms. No answer to any of it.

At first, the words were unreadable. People's stories would overlap each other. Layers upon layers of their personal information written on me. I have now been able to remove those layers and be able to see one at a time. Some people interest me, others have secrets i've heard before. But the memories, they are the ones worth reading. Always different.

We traveled in the car for a couple days. We had our meals in all types of restaurants, diners, and fast food places. Momma told me we were headed to Grandma's house up in Wisconsin. I woke up from my nap when I felt the car stop. I looked up at a red brick house with a wrap around porch. A minute later, grandma walked out in her little blue slippers. I rushed out of the car and she embraced me tightly-

"Skylar, you want Ramen noodles?"

"Uh, yea! Thanks Jamal! I'll meet you out there in a minute." Footsteps retreated back down the hall and I looked back down at the writing.

She embraced me tightly in her arms and kissed my forehead. Her and momma went to talk in the hallway while I sat on the couch, watching Bugs Bunny cartoons, and eating Lucky Charms. Grandma and momma returned to the living room, both staring at me. Grandma had relief in her eyes and momma with hope. I felt safe with them. After a second, I grabbed Barbie who wore a green dress now. I looked into her baby blue eyes. But I saw nothing, just like papa. I only saw plastic.

Later that night I threw Barbie in the trash. I didn't feel safe with her anymore.