Daddy's Girl

Survival? Little to None.

Author's Note: This chapter will be written in third person.

The Sun came blazing through the open window; sheets of white light illuminating the fairytale grotto of sweet, little Terri Matthews.
She stretched, rubbed her tired, blue eyes with her tiny hands. The sheets, pillows and toys of all shapes and sizes surrounded her; she pushed them all away.

Usually, Daddy would come and wake her up. But not today.

Last night, she had fallen asleep to the cacophony of her parents downstairs: her evil- drunken- Mother screaming; her Father shouting.
Daddy never shouted- not even in the hardest times- but last night... Last night he finally had.

Terri rubbed her eyes again and slipped her ice cold feet into her warm slippers; pulling herself down the hallway to her Father's room. The door was ajar, so she pushed it only a little.
Slowly, quietly, almost silently. She slid around the door and towards the bed. She climbed on; only to find it empty.
"Daddy?" She called out, hoping he was somewhere in the room.
Maybe he was hiding; sometimes he hid from her. But never in the morning.

She searched around the room; the bathroom, even. He was no where to be seen.

Terri decided to check the rest of the house, so slid back around the door and back into the hallway.

Soon after, she had checked every upstairs room. Even her Mother's, in which no one ever entered. Once, twice, three times.

He wasn't upstairs.

She gave up; trudging down the (what seemed) never ending staircase.
Down the hall, into the living room; expecting her Father to be downstairs, maybe.

She reached up to the knob and twisted, pushing the door open. She peered around it.

"GET AWAY!" Her Mother shrieked, more agressive than usual.
Terri jumped, her heart almost in her mouth. She scurried away quickly, not even leaving time to close the- now ajar- door. Her heart raced; just as her Father's had the night before when he finally stood up to The Witch known as her Mother.

Footsteps: loud, heavy footsteps. Footsteps coming towards the door...

No time to run, no time to move.
So she froze; dead in the hallway.

Soon and sure enough, the doorway was filled by a figure. A downright ugly one, at that. Fake hair; fake face; fake everything. Her Mother.

"What... Are you doing?" She scowled, bending down slightly with her hands firmly on her hips.
"I... W-where's Daddy?" Terri choked, on her tears of both fear and sadness.

Her Mother paused for a moment, then stood straight. She took a deep breath, then exhaled...

"He's dead." She announced.

Terri's whole life flashed before her; Daddy was gone.
Tears welled up in her eyes; rivers- Goddam, even oceans- forming. Her heart stopped completely.

"NO!" She screamed, tears firing out of her eyes as if they were bullets from a gun.
"Face it." Her Mother scowled, her teeth gritted.
"He was nothing to this family. He hated you, he hated everyone. He's better dead."

That was enough. Terri sprinted up the stairs; streaming with tears and emotion. She ran to her room and threw her tiny self on the bed. She sobbed.

"I love you, Daddy..." She sobbed.

What would she do now? She had nothing. No one.
Mommy was nothing to her; she was always drunk, high at times.

How would a defenseless, five-year old girl with a Witch for a Mother survive? Without Daddy, her chances of survival were little to none.