Alessia's Letters

November 14, 2006

Dear Matthew,

Today is my eleventh birthday. I wish you were here with me, just like I do every birthday. Who am I kidding? I tell you I miss you in every letter. But it's always true. I really do miss you. I'm always thinking about you and one day, I want you to see all of these letters. I want you to know how much I missed having you to calm me down when I wanted to run away. You were my only leverage, my only reason to stay. To deal with my mean father. Oh, I've decided to stop call him daddy, he's not worthy of such a title. My father doesn't let me go to school so when he's sleeping, I always sneak out and go to the library, the librarian is super nice and teaches me. Anyway, it's not the same. I met a girl named Amy at the library, she keeps asking to come over. She also keeps asking about the scar on my cheek. She's super nice and pretty and I hate lying to her. I forgot you don't know how I got the scar on my right cheek. Let me tell you the story.

           My dad came home drunk again and grabbed a beer bottle out of the fridge, chugging it down. He yelled for me to come down the stairs, I obey him and run down the stairs and into the kitchen. He breaks the bottle over my stomach, then takes a big piece of the broken glass and digs it into my cheek, making a huge gash to form.

That was about a month ago. It was that moment, where I learned one thing...

The bottle hurts more than the fist.

Anyway, my father is going to be home soon, I better go make dinner for him and put an aspirin on the table by his food so he doesn't hurt me AS bad tonight. I miss you!

Love,
Alessia