Romeo, Oh, Romeo

*Prolougue*

The night was cold and the scenes from only seconds ago still flashed in her mind. Her breath came out in white billows, and her lungs burned. She ran and ran, away from the neighborhood, from that house. She still heard him. Still heard him calling her name, "Violet! Violet!" The anger in his voice seemed to shake her to the bone. Tears streamed down her face onto her shirt. She kept running, faster, faster. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't, even if she tried to. The girl ran for seemed like forever, but it was only a few hours. The girl stopped at the park, and laid under a tree. She was tired. Stars glittered above her, reminding that her mother was weaved among them, her soul free. The girl wished she was a bird, so she could fly away. Her eyelids seemed to be heavy, and they drifted shut.

Quiet footsteps awoke her. Some bushes rustled nearby. Panic struck the girl like a wave. She thought as fast as she could. It was still dark outside, but she could see fine. The person was her father. How did he find me? She asked herself. He didn't actually see her yet, so she darted in some bushes. Thorns plucked at her bare skin, ripping it and letting crimson drops fall onto the ground. She choked back tears and bit her lip, keeping herself from screaming in agony. After all, she was only nine. The bushes moved and revealed a muscled man in ripped jeans and a sweaty white tee. His face was squinched up in anger. "Violet, get your a*s out here now!" Violet didn't move. He disappeared. The girl let out a slow breath. Sudden large hands gripped around her neck, choking her. She tried to struggle out of his grip, but it was too tight and energy and life slipped from her with the second. A bright light flashed in her face, and she thought she was going to Heaven. "Mom?" She called.

A loud boom noise startled Violet. The grip around her throat loosened, and was gone. A sickening thud behind the small, frail child, took the breath away from her. She slowly turned to see her father's motionless body in his own pool of blood. "Daddy?" She cried. Someone dragged her away, but she struggled, failing at her attempt. Her father was dead. He's with Mom now.