Chains

Chapter One - Gift Giver

-1-

Gift Giver - Katie

"Until you get your lazy ass up off that couch and do something worthwhile, don't expect me to make you dinner!"

"I wouldn't want dinner cooked by your filthy hands anyway!"

"Then why the hell are you still here? Leave!"

I flinched as I heard the door slam shut, the shudder left from the forceful push echoing through the empty hallways. It was nothing new; this happened almost every night and had been happening for as long as I could remember. I'd lost count the number of times my mother had used that line and as if the whole scene were scripted, I knew exactly what my father would say next.

Because I promised your mother I'd look after you -he'd say.

Oh, don't you bring my mother in to this - she'd say.

"We both know how well kept your promises are" she hissed as I mouthed her exact words.

I didn't understand - the door had already been hammered shut and pummelled to death numerous times in just one argument, was that not usually a sign the conversation had ended? Now I assumed they had resided to one room each to just scream at each other from opposite sides of the house. How that made any sense I'd never know.

I sighed heavily, slipping on the headphones sat on my beside table and turned the volume up as high as it would go, not caring what song it was that blasted through my ears. All I wanted was something to drown out my parents constant bickering.

Sometimes I thought that maybe all I wanted was, for once, complete silence. But see the problem was that a part of me feared that would be the worst thing imaginable. I didn't want to imagine what could cause a deafening silence to ring through the only house I could call a home, despite it being anything but that. I didn't want to imagine not hearing something, voices, doors slamming, glass shattering, anything! The fear that if they weren't arguing, there was something more serious that had happened - that scared me more than anything. So I continued to pretend as though everything was all right.

I think I'd almost become immune to it now, despite hearing it every single day and every single night, knowing their repeated conversations like most knew the lyrics to their favourite song. I'd learnt to just let it become background noise. I'd learnt to ignore it, or so I'd made myself believe that it didn't affect me.

Craning my neck towards a small blinking light, I squinted my eyes at the clock beside my bed.

6:30 AM

This must have been their earliest dispute yet.

I waited a few moments, letting myself have those few precious minutes tucked up in bed that everyone longed to have on a Monday morning. This was probably the only peace of mind I'd get all day. Except the funny thing was, this was Friday morning - it just happened to feel as bad a Monday.

Eventually pulling myself out of the covers, I slipped into the shower and took my time washing my hair and brushing my teeth, enjoying the feel of the steaming spew of water against my back. I shivered as I hastily got dressed and then caught myself staring at my reflection in the mirror. I'd been doing that a lot lately - spacing out. My hair was dripping wet, the sleep still visible in the vague dark circles under my eyes and the radiant glow in my skin was long gone. God, I looked awful. The number of sleepless nights I'd had were no longer countable on my fingers.