The Life of Julia Waters

Chapter 1

I walk up the rickety old wooden stairs to my house. When I get inside, I immediately smell the familiar whiskey and vodka mix. I brush it off and go upstairs before my dad can see me.

“Julia come here for a moment.” He says. Rats he saw me.

“Yea dad.” I call to him as I enter the living room. The stench of the alcohol is burning my nose but I enter anyway.

“Go get your mother.” He asks of me.

I do as he tells me but when I get to her room, her and my father don’t sleep in the same room, she is knocked out. I walk down to tell my dad and he is no where to be seen. I shrug it off and think that he just went out for a smoke. That’s my one rule, if I have to live here, then no smoking in the house. Sorry my asthma, blame that. I walk up to my room and quietly shut my door.

My parents annoy me, all they do is sit around. It’s like I’m the only adult here. I change into my sweats and hop onto my lounge chair. My room is huge compared to the rest of the house. I have enough room for two or more beds and two dressers, with a walk-in closet included with that. My parents gave me the room when we first moved here. I insisted that they take the room and I’ll sleep on the pull out in the living room. They just ignored me and gave it to me anyway.

See, this is why they annoy me. They brush me off like I’m the ash to my dad’s cigarettes. It annoys me. I hear the front door slam and some muttering afterwards. My dad is obviously pissed, I can by the way he is slamming the alcohol into the table. I can hear his footsteps approach my door and he knocks.  

“Come in.” I tell him. When he enters he begins to ramble off on how I should stop talking to Shawn.

“Well dad, he’s my friend.” I reply

“No. He’s not. Not anymore. You’re going to leave him alone and act like he’s just another drunk on the street. Got it.” He commands me.

         “What just like you.” I mumble under my breath.

        “What?” He asks me. He is giving me the chance to change what I said but I don’t.

“You heard me.” I snap back. I immediately regret what I said. and I brace myself for impact. Even when it comes, I don’t expect it.

        The pain is terrible, I know that it is going to leave a bruise. Wow. Lets walk into school with another bruise tomorrow. He strides out of my room confident with the mark he had left on my face. I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to school with bruises on my body. So many people in school ask me if I have gotten into fights, or, if someone is hitting me. I slowly walk to my door and shut it. I lock it and slide down my wall. I cannot help but burst into tears, I have been living with this my whole life and I still cannot tell anyone about it.

All I know that if I do tell someone social services will take me away. I can’t do that to my mother. I cannot just leave her with my dad.I have to stay strong for my mother. I have to brace what ever my dad has to throw at me.