Life Over Safety

2:30 -

             CRAP. I. HATE. THEM. I just don't get it! She is a complete monster!

Ok. Ok. I need to take a breath. . .

            Okay. You'll never believe what mom -- no -- Melissa (that woman is not our mother) did to Marci. I snuck out of the washing machine and went upstairs to check on her. When I opened her door, her room was empty.

            "Marci?" I whispered.

It took a second, but eventually she mumbled, "A-Atlas?"

            "Yeah, where are you?"

            I heard a soft tap on metal coming from the corner of her room. Once I focused on that corner. . . Oh man. I saw her green eyes through the cracks of a vent. The screws were only half done, so she would've been able to squirm out if not for the huge bookcase blocking the other half of it.

            "I really wanna get out now. . ."

            I rushed for her and tried to push the case down, but half of it was nailed into the wall to stop it from falling. Luckily, the nails were a bit loose. Melissa probably pulled them off to shove Marci into the wall. Who would put that kind of effort into punishing a kid?

            I turned to the unsecured side and began kicking at it, ignoring the fact that everyone downstairs could hear me pretty well. It took a at least twenty hits to get it down. I quickly ripped the grate from the vent and pulled a terrified toddler out. Melissa and dad (should I be calling him that? I know he's our foster father, but I still feel that I shouldn't recognize him as such) stormed through the doorway. Melissa was obviously enraged, lips twitching with fury, fists curling. I stared at dad, pleading for a way out of this utter catastrophe. It was no use. His eyes, grim and downcast, told me that he wasn't going to hold her back.

Melissa hissed a long string of curse words and ripped Marci from my arms.

"Leave her out of this!" I growled, still glaring at dad.

"You have no right to scream at me, Atlas! This is none of your business! I will punish you and your sister however I feel is necessary!"

            I was almost too angry to speak properly at that point. My vision blurred as I screeched, "Oh SURE! What'd she do this time? Breath the wrong way?!"

I continued before she could reply, boiling inside.

            "There's something wrong with you! You're insane! You shouldn't be allowed to own children -"

            "SHUT UP!" She interrupted, "Go to your room!"

            "No!"

Melissa blinked in surprize. Had either of us ever refused to obey her? Not that I can remember.

            Marci began sobbing, desperately trying to pull away from her. Dad slid her into his arms instead. He leaned towards Melissa, "Maybe you should just leave him. He's probably just uncomfortable from staying in the washer. . ."

            "Shove it, Adam," she barked. "Atlas, go."

I felt defenceless. Frozen. Of course I would fail miserably if I even had the guts to fight her.

            Tyler. . . please don't be upset that I did this, but. . . I actually left for my room. I did it so that she wouldn't be quite as angry as she would've been if I had rebelled. I still feel like a coward.