Down The Deserted Alley

Down The Deserted Alley [1]

(Picture to the right is Melody)

 

          Her lungs were burning, legs were hurting, but there was only one coherent thought coursing through her mind.

          Keep on running.

          She was a good runner. A very good runner. But only due to one reason. She always ran away. Away from the pain. Running only hurt her though, but that was a thought she repetitively ignored. It was her moment of heaven, and she couldn't give that up. Or she would crumble.

          Love.

          It was a foreign concept to Melody. She had never witnessed an act of love or kindness. Living in the poor, welfare side of the town didn't really help either. Her whole life she felt like she had to live up to all the expectations presented, but she couldn’t. And because of that, she had to pay in love. None of her teachers liked her. She went to school completely free. Not a single cent of tax money went in towards her education. And because of that, the teachers felt like they shouldn't give her the proper education. Plus, she was dyslexic. Who would want to help a girl like that? She barely passed any of her classes and she was on a very tight leash. One more F and she would get kicked out, sent away, to some reform school.

          Her mom hated her guts. She was an accident. Never intended to be born. In fact, her mom had first thought she had cancer, and even the doctors had thought so, until they realized she was pregnant. Pregnant with Melody. Her mom threw away her life because of Melody. She didn't have enough money for adoption, and so was shunned from the family. Cassandra gave up everything she had, getting a job at a bar just to get enough money to eat. And clothes were a whole other matter.

          Rick was no different; he hated Melody, maybe even more than Cassandra. He’d always hated her, for her ability to be perfect (whatever he meant by that was beyond her), so he made sure to break her. And boy, did he do a good job doing it. All he had to do was use his power. After all, he had been the star quarterback of his football team in high school. The lift of his fist would almost send Melody into a heart attack. But he didn't care. She wasn't his real daughter. Only step-daughter. She had ruined his beloved wife's life. She was bound to this horrible place, all because of a mistake. And Melody caused more trouble than anything. She couldn’t get a job. No one wanted a stupid, retarded kid. She failed most of her classes, she was an outsider. She had only had a handful of friends, which Paul managed to scare away.

          Paul was different. Or, he had been different. Paul had always been the perfect brother. He was there when Melody got abused by Rick, even trying to prevent some of it. He was the closest thing to love for her. But that all changed. Because of one thing, her life began to crumble. It was the catalyst of her life. Everything came spiraling down. And now, he was the one who would physically abuse her when things didn’t go his way. He drove the few friends she had away from her. He made sure her life was hell, because she took that one thing away from him.

          Her heart was pounding. Whether from fright or the excessive push of her body to run, she couldn’t tell. She could hear Rick shouting in the distance, and her eyes began to water, the icy wind stinging them. Her hair fell into her eyes, and before she knew it, her body made an impact with another. Her head jerked up and her eyes met light emerald colored one, but before she had any time to process what was happening, she felt something leak onto her shirt. She put her hand to her shoulder, pulled it back, only to see her hand drenched in blood. The smell of fresh blood only caused her heart to beat even faster in fear.