Screaming Whispers

Chapter 3

Dawna
"Honey... someone wants to buy you" Mother soothes. My heart skips a beat. This can't be true. Not so soon! I can't leave now.
"No" I whisper. The tears sting at my eyes. Dad looks at me and the tears come to his eyes as well. He quickly wipes them away.
"He's a kind man, Dawna. They're rich, he has two brothers and a little sister. He's only a year older than you. His Dad is in the Head of The Council. He has offered to buy you at a high price" says Dad. I didn't care about what he was saying. I didn't care if this man was great and wonderful, I wasn't leaving.
"I don't care.. I'm not leaving"
"Yes you are, Dawna. Whether you like it or not" hisses Mother.
"Eleanor! You do not need to snap like that. You felt horrible when I bought you, how do you think Dawna feels right now?" asked Father.
"Oh Adam, I don't give a damn about how she feels. All I know is that she will make us some fine money" she says as she stomps out of the room. Dad curses under his breath. I start to sob quietly.
"Please honey, don't cry. Everything will be okay, really it will. The man seems nice and kind. Don't be afraid"
"But I can't leave you. I love you Daddy" i whisper.
"And I love you too, Dawna girl, but you'll have a better life with him. He's rich and can give you anything he wants.. you'll start a family of your own"
  "You're my family, Daddy" I muffle. And with that, Dad pulls me into his arms, and we sob in unison
•••
  A knock at my bedroom door wakes me up from my mid day nap. My cheeks are dry from tears strolling down. My eyes, practically shut together with crust from lingering tears. Mother walks through the door. "Come out for dinner" she says coldly.
I wait for her to leave, but she doesn't. She must be studying me. Studying me before I leave. "You'll be happy when I'm gone" I say out of the blue.
Mother shuts the door and walks to the side of my bed. "Yes, yes I will be"
"Why? What have I ever done to you?"
She laughs wickedly. "I always tell you that I hate you because you were born. And that's partly why, but you are not my daughter, Dawna"
"What do you mean? Yes I am"
That wicked laugh erupts from her lungs for the second time. "You are adopted, sweets. You showed up on our doorstep one night and Adam insisted we bring you in and keep you as our own. So that night, when you were crying on our doorstep and Adam held you in his arms, stroked your cheek, you ruined my life"
I stare straight ahead at the wall. How can this be true? Adopting is illegal. Who are my parents? Why does Mother hate me? "How does Daddy holding me ruin your life, Mother?"
"From that moment on, Adam stopped loving me. He never cared one bit about how I felt anymore. All of his attention was drawn to you. I loved Adam so much, but he didn't give a damn about me because of you! You took everything away from me!" She spits. Mother grabs me by my collar and throws me onto the floor. She raises her hand and slaps me across the mouth. I try to stand up, but she sits on my stomach and pushes my shoulders to the ground.
I struggle to push her off, but after many minutes of fighting back, my arms tire, and I become out of breath. Mother grins as I stop fighting. She leans down and brings her lips to my ear. "I'm going to ruin your life, just like you did to mine" she whispers. As her words leave my ear, her face is now in my sight. She shines her pearly whites one last time before her fists come crashing down on my chest. I cry out with every strike. Each hit, boulders upon boulders, crushing my lungs.
Soon, I feel lightheaded. My eyes start to flutter shut, and that's when Mother stops. She stands up off my stomach, out of breath. "Let's clean you up for dinner"
  Mother lifted me up, and I practically collapsed back onto the ground. My ribs felt like knives trying to stab out of my skin. The pain brought tears to my eyes. Mother noticed.
  "Stop crying like that!" She yelled as her hand slapped against my face. "You look like an ugly whore when you cry. You look ugly enough as is. Now come Dawna, we must make you look good for Daddy"
  She guided me towards the bathroom. "Now sit on the toilet, let me do my magic" she soothed. Mother took a bag out of the cupboard. She unzipped it, and kits of makeup. She took out a tube, color the same as my skin. "Let's cover up these bruises" she said while putting the liquid on my skin. After layers of liquid, Mother took out an egg shaped tool, and blended the liquids together. "That looks alright, a little mascara can't hurt, right? You'll still look ugly, but Daddy will enjoy it" she laughed to herself while putting the mascara on my lashes in heavy layers. "Ahh. All done. Come on now, stand up. Look for yourself"
  I stood up and walked towards the mirror. My skin had been smoothed out, my lashes were thick, black. Now I really looked like a whore. I wasn't beautiful, no man would ever love me.
  No one.
  Mother walks up behind me and puts her hands on my shoulders. No wonder she isn't my mom. She looks the exact opposite. Her skin, pale white. Hair, jet black. Her eyes, a tender hazel.
  A hazel filled with hatred.
  "See Dawna? Now Daddy won't notice a thing. He never does" she grins. An  evil laugh escapes her lips. A door opens, and I hear Gale shrieking for Daddy. "I guess we should welcome Daddy home"
"Hello Adam" Mother says quietly. "I've made tortellini for dinner. I also fixed up Dawna" she moves out of the way, exposing me.
Daddy's eyes widen as he sees me. "Dawna, you look beautiful"
I want to cry. I'm not beautiful. I'm so ugly. The only reason why I'm wearing all of this is so Daddy doesn't see my bruises.
So he doesn't see what Mother did to me. "Thank you" I whisper and look down.
"Are you alright, Dawna? Is something wrong?" Daddy copes.
As I'm about to speak, Mother flicks my shoulder. "Nothing is wrong Adam, I think she's still upset about the marriage thing. Don't worry dearest, it'll all be good in the end" Mother says while smiling. I want to throw myself at her and do what she did to me. "Come now, lets all eat"
As we walk to the dinner table, Gale taps on my leg. "It will be okay, Dawna" she squeaks. I give her a shy smile and sit at the table. Mother walks over and sets a plate of tortellini in front of me. I look down and plop each piece into my mouth. It's dry, but I eat it anyways.
"Dawna, I know there's something wrong. You have to be open with us. Tell us what's going on" Daddy says.
I want to explode into a million pieces. I can't take it any longer. "Do you really want to know what's wrong, Father? Everything you told me was a lie. I was never your daughter! You lied to me! She isn't my mother, and she's been hitting me for years. The only reason why I'm wearing makeup is because Mother needed to cover the damn bruises!"
I'm sobbing now. Black tears race down my cheeks. "Is this true, Eleanor? Have you been hitting our daughter?"
"OUR DAUGHTER? I'M NOTHING TO YOU!" I scream.
I jump out of my seat, knocking my plate of tortellini to the floor. I run out the front door, my Father yelling my name.