DESTINY

Chapter Two

"Toby are you done washing up your supper's gonna get cold",

"I'll be there in five, almost done"Toby answered back from the bathroom.
It was dinner time and I was setting up the table.The lamp we were using as a light source was almost out of oil so I figured we had to have our supper quickly and go to bed before it went out completely.Toby came from the bathroom humming to kirk Franklin's 'smile'.God I loved this kid he was already over what happened earlier.
   "Tory tory tell you what,I've used very little water to wash up so that I save on the water bill and you wouldn't have to stress."Toby said with a look as innocent as he was.
"That's my good boy,for that I promise to buy you a jawbreaker tomorrow".The joy in his eyes gladdened my heart and I just wished it would stay there forever.
I served up our usual meal of boiled potatoes onto mine and Toby's plate then we sayed the grace and started eating.In real sense I had grown tired and bored of these meal we've been having for ages since it was the only one we could afford but I pretended to enjoy it infront of Toby though I knew deepdown he was bored of it too.I just wished we had money so that I could provide Toby with whatever he wanted like those kids he kept trying to befriend.They had wealth written all over them and could not pass at every little chance they got to floss and show off to Toby.        
Those little spoilt brats.
  Bang!Bang!Bang!
I heard the door interrupt my thoughts and was kinda happy since thinking about those kids any longer would turn me into a serial killer within no time.I twisted the rusty doorknob and the door flew open catching me unawares almost knocking me down.                           It was him.
The man who played a part in bringing me to existence but didn't deserve to be called a father.Ever since my mother went away or rather as I saw it,ran away from us he just became a miserable and sad alcoholic who would always lash out his emotions and tempers on me and Toby after getting drunk.He had a workshop in town where he made furniture for people and at the end of the day used whatever money he had earned to get drunk.I always think he loved mom so much that when she left, it broke him massively but deepdown inside him I knew that man who cared about us was still there only I didn't dare to try and bring him out.He staggered through the door knocking me out of his way and headed to the table.He threw everything which was on it everywhere spilling all the food.The one I struggled to get no thanks to him.I could see the look on Toby's face.confusion and fear.This happened almost every day but I knew he would never get used to it.Daddy then lied on top of the table with his muddy boots and started calling out my name.I really didn't wanna answer him but I knew he would not stop calling even if it took him the whole night.I walked up to the table trying as much as I could to put my stern face on but deep inside I was falling apart.I always did whenever I saw him like this.
   "Yes,you called"
"Where's my food??I am hungry and I want my food NOW",he growled at me making me shiver and as a result goosebumps appeared on my rough skin.
"But you just poured it all down now we are all going to go to bed hungry even Toby"....I gasped and a tear fell from my eyes as he sat up straight and grabbed me by the collar then brought my face few inches from him that I almost threw up from the nauseating smell of the cheap beer he drunk."Are you saying that I am the cause of you two little bastards sleeping hungry?Is that it, you're blaming it on me?.
  "That's not it daddy I didn't say that".
"So now you are calling me a liar huh?By now he had stood up, still catching me by the collar so that I was dangling from his grasp like a puppet.By now all the walls I had built to prevent me from breaking down had tumbled down and I was crying uncontrollably while trying to apologise to him for what I didn't do.Without warning he gave me a really hot slap on my cheek making my head tilt to one side.I felt like my cheek was breathing as the pain surged through my whole body making me numb for a second.
  "Daddy why are you doing this to me?Why do you hate us this much?"I managed to say between sobs.I should have kept quiet.He gave me one look and what I saw in his eyes was mixed emotions that I couldn't really place then he gave me another slap and before I could recover from it I was tossed across the room like a rugged doll to where the sink was.My stomach twisted agonizingly into knots as unbelievable pain throbbed in every part of my body.Things suddenly started getting blurry.I could hear my father say that we just like our mother and not worth wasting his strength on then left and banged the door behind him.Great he just had to realise that now.I saw Toby curled up under the table crying...I had to get to him,why was he crying had he beat him too?.That was the last thought I had before everything became black.I fainted