Lost, Fierce, and Broken

Prologue

I wake up in a pile of sweat, my heart is racing, I am breathing heavily, and all I can do to control some of this is look around and see that I am in my familiar room. Feeling the familiar sheets of my bed gave me a little more comfort that I needed. Breathe, Cora, breathe. In and out, in and out. After a good ten minutes of getting my breathing under control, I looked over to my bed side clock. 5:27 AM it read, perfect time for a run.

I quickly wipe the sweat off my forehead and hop out of bed, thankful that I didn't need to change out of my clothes; since I slept in running shorts and a tank top. I run out of my room and down the stairs to the front door. I slip on my tennis shoes and grab the door handle. That's when I remember, I need to leave Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Jared a note saying I went for a run. I quickly, but quietly run to the kitchen scribble down a note saying I went for a run and then I was off.

The pounding of my heart beat against my chest as soon as I started to run. I kept replaying that horrible nightmare I just had. Blood. Lots and lots of blood. The car crashing into another car, me screaming and crying in the backseat, the horrified looks both my parents had on their faces, my parents screams and cries. But then I always wake up right when the crash happens.

Just thinking of the car crash made me go faster. 1,2,3. 1,2,3. I kept repeating in my head as my feet hit the ground. Your fault Cora, your fault. The sound of my uncle's words rang in my head. If only I didn't want to go see my grandparents. If only I didn't whine and cry to have my parents drive me those ten minutes up to my grandparents that same day. This made my breathing get heavier and heavier, this isn't aloud for me when I am running. Breathing heavy is only for nightmares, nerves, and crying. That's it. Period.

I push myself even harder, concentrating on my breathing. "In through your nose, out through your mouth" my dad used to say to me. My dad was a big runner too. He was the one who got me started. No, I don't compete or anything. Well, except in gym class, but gym class was so easy. I was the fastest person in my class because I made myself be the fastest and I run pretty much everyday. I turn my last corner to finish my run this morning to make it back to my house so I can get ready for school.

As I make my way up the driveway, I notice my aunt's car is gone. She must have already left. She is a lawyer at a big law firm. So, she works long hours and is barely ever home. One of my favorite things about her though, is that she still makes time for me. I look into the house and dread starts to fill every fiber in my body as I see the lights turn on. I guess my uncle is up. I was hoping he would stay asleep. I was praying that I could have just slipped back into my room without him noticing.

As I walk into the house I make eye contact with Uncle Jared. Oh no. Did I forget to leave the door open on my run? Was I too loud when I walked down the stairs? I quickly go through a list of stuff through my head that could make him mad.

"Where were you just now?" Uncle Jared states like I did some unknown activity that is illegal. Gosh, I wonder how he would act if he caught me drunk or high.

"Running." I manage to say out of fear something would happen to me. My heart started pounding fast, my limbs felt like jelly, and all I wanted to do was curl into a ball in my room so he couldn't hurt me. I knew that was impossible though. Who knows what he is capable of when he is angry?

"Who gave you permission to do that?" He states back with so much venom in his mouth you would think I killed his cat.

"Myself? I do not need your permission" I say back, which I hope was a powerful response, but in all honesty it was probably more of a quiet, shy voice. I quickly look up at the ceiling, the wall, the floor, and keep my eyes on my tennis shoes. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. I try to focus on not having a panic attack.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you" Uncle Jared spite out as he takes the minimal steps to reach me. He quickly raises his hand and grabs my chin roughly. I look directly into his eyes so he knows I'm not scared. When in reality, I'm shitting myself.

Then like a lightening bolt, he punches me in the face so hard I'm seeing stars. I try to balance myself, but it is no use. He pushes me to the ground and roughly kicks my stomach. I cry out in pain and suck in a as much air through my mouth as I can. He does not give me any time to recover as he punches my face so hard, that I start to get sleepy.

"What is that the best you can do?" I say as strongly as I can. The last thing I see before I succumb to the darkness is his pearly white smile like he won a prize.