Serenity

Serenity's Past

He stormed towards her, and I instinctively wrapped myself around her. His fists collided with my back and I tightened my hold on her. His hands kept barreling down, and I felt blood trickling from my back, but then he started on my head.

I heard ringing, but I didn't give in. I turned my head to protect her better and he took it as an advantage to hit my face. Blood blocked my vision a bit, but I just wiped it on my shoulder. I knew he wasn't going to stop soon, he'd been at it for almost an hour. So, I I turned and pushed my sister into the corner behind me and swung at his head.

He was distracted for a moment, so I ran Demi to the door and shoved her out. I told her to run as far as she could, and she tried to come back, but I locked the door. My father gripped my hair and pulled me back, effectively pulling out hair and making me scream. He grabbed his hunting knife and started carving into my arm. It hurt, but I felt better knowing that Demi wasn't here.

He kept asking where she was and every time I told him I wouldn't say, he either hit, burnt, or cut me. It was a repeating pattern and he wouldn't back down. The worst of it wasn't even the physical things he did, it was the words. The only time he stopped was to grab beer. I could tell he was getting tired, and he would have to stop soon to sleep, but not as soon as I would hope. Until then, things would only get worse.

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He finally relented and went back to his room to sleep. I tried to get up, but I couldn't so I just laid in a pool of my blood. I knew I was bleeding out, but I couldn't do anything to help it. I heard knocking on the door and I let out a whimper.

I hoped no one would come in, because my father might hear and think I called the police. I did my best to try to sit up at least, but I couldn't. I twisted my head to see the door, and saw the door knob turning slowly. The door glided open, and I saw people clad in uniforms and carrying guns. They looked around, holding they're guns out first and once they saw me they gave the clear. Some people walked towards me, they looked like paramedics, and examined me. They tried to ask me questions and tried to get me to communicate, but I couldn't.

I only said one thing. "Don't let my sister see me." After that, they rushed some people away, probably to take her someplace else.

I saw people walk in with my dad thrashing in their arms. He gave me the hardest glare and it felt as if he took every ounce of energy I had left in me, and stole it. My head collapsed and my body felt back onto the floor, making the pool of blood splatter. The paramedics rushed me onto a gurney and to the hospital what felt like hours later.

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I was lying in the hospital bed in the ICU, waiting for all my injuries results to come back. I heard people sobbing and monitors flat lining, like a morbid orchestra taking its last bow. Well at least for today, tomorrow will be a repeat and forever on, but this place does have some good things to offer. It's has lessons in its existence itself. It means that even when we try to act so tough and indestructible, we're all just as vulnerable as the people in here. I knew I would come here at some point, but I just couldn't have ever imagined it being so terrible. It's like people came here to loose their hope and for some, their lives. Plus, the jello cups at pretty good too.

The one thing I needed to be happy about is that I'm not the one flat lining, or my sister. I needed to get out of there to raise her and make sure she grew beyond these memories. Hopefully I'd be the only one haunted by this, or him, but the chances are slim and were getting fewer everyday she knows I'm in here and can't see me. At least if I was in there than no one could see what he did yet, and I could keep the pity away.

I pushed myself up a reached over for the mirror that the nurse left me. I lifted it up and looked myself in the face, or whatever this thing was. I saw a girl with a broken nose, busted lip, black bruises all over her face, dried blood on her forehead, a patch were hair had been ripped out, and burn marks on her neck and chest. Claw marks littered cheeks and throat, imprints of angry hands around her neck, and large slashes in both her shoulders where he got bored and tried to "connect the dots".