I heard a man chuckle darkly that made me cringe. The smell of blood, alcohol, and death was filling up my nostrils. Something cold was on my leg and as it glided up I felt a stinging ache. When I managed to lift my head up to see what it was I gasped. It was a sharp knife cutting deep into my flesh making blood pour out.
My voice was already hoarse from the previous beatings I've suffered so I wasn't able to voice out how I feeling as he continued to make markings in my skin like I was just an art project.
This man's face I can't remember well, but I knew that this wicked person who should be protecting me was my father.
I woke up in the middle of the night panting heavily. The sweat on my pajamas made the fabric stick to my skin. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to my bed. It was only 1:30 AM, the sounds of night I could hear from my bedroom window.
I sighed, even in a new area I still had those same nightmares that haunted me since I first discovered that my parents were abusers. The bed creaked as I stepped out of it to get a glass of water.
So far I've been staying in this house for a week, the longest any family kept me. I didn't attend school yet because Lucy wanted to make sure I had enough time to get used to home life first. I also didn't talk to anyone yet except Sam. To occupy my free time while my family was out I explored the house or took long walks around the neighborhood.
I never took naps though so I would be able to get a proper night's rest, but it never works since the nightmares keep me up all the time. I went downstairs knowing all the members of the Williams should be sleeping peacefully.
When I was in the kitchen sipping on my water I noticed a tiny sliver of light coming from the living room. Questioning this I forgot about my thirst setting my water down to figure out who was up. Aden being a doctor needed all the sleep he could get.
Lucy was always one to go to sleep promptly at 12:00 and Lily would be surfing the web or playing her guitar until she just passed out from exhaustion. That only left Mia, whose sleep pattern I didn't get a chance to memorize.
I paused in step looking at her watch TV. Her orange nightgown, which was quite revealing, glowed from the screen light as she felt my presence. Here big eyes flickered to me with no emotion in them at all. That was unusual. She always showed her emotions no matter what. So why was she seeming like a different person tonight? Suddenly she smiled and patted a seat on the couch for me to sit down.
That was more like the Mia I knew yet something still seemed different. It bothered me greatly. Involuntarily my legs moved on their own to place my body beside her. She turned her attention to me before looking back at the TV. I studied her for awhile, her eyes were dull and not having the shine to them I frequently saw when she was around others.
Deciding not to look suspicious I tried to focus on whatever she was watching at this hour. It was some dumb chick flick. I could feel my mouth frown deeply as I already could tell how this would end. Movies like these were somewhat predictable. That's like half of the chick flick's nowadays right?
Soon my eyes drifted back to her. She was actually interested in this garbage. Hmm, I thought Mia would be the tomboy type. Her eyes were in total concentration and her mouth was in a solid straight line. In her lap were her hands that tightened into fists. I guess the movie was reaching an intense scene, but I wouldn't know Mia was more intense to watch. I looked back at the movie again and felt my heartbeat quicken. The two young lovers were kissing each other with passion. How immoral, touching someone like that.
I felt the throw up climbing up my throat remembering the worst first kiss in history. I was six at the time and desperately tried to fight off burly hands that held me. A woman, my mother, was snickering leaning up close to my face and pressed her chapped lips on mine. Their bad tasting breath entered my mouth and I blacked out.
