Living in the Shadows

3) Help

Help!

I need somebody.

Help!

Not just anybody.

Help!

You know I need someone to
Help!

So maybe this wasn't the song Liza needing to be listening to. It had been three days since her last encounter with her dad, thus it had been three days since she received any new bruises. She was dancing in the kitchen, homework done and care-free for the last few moments of the day. Though subconsciously, she knew this feeling wouldn't last.

And just like that, the front door burst open. Liza immediately shut the stove off, not waiting to see if he was drunk or not. The answer reached her nostrils by the time he appeared in the kitchen doorway, the smell making Liza gag. She carefully hid her face, not wanting to give him ammo. Robert smiled at her, his eyes glazed over. This sent a shiver down her back.  He pulled out a chair and sat down, his face holding the same expressionless mask as always. She prepared him a plate and sat across from him. Tension hung in the air, thick enough to be sliced like butter.

"Where were you today?" Robert growled at his daughter, not even noticing the food in front of him.

"I started school this week," she replied weakly, not wanting to look up. How was it that she could be so strong outside this house, but too afraid to breathe inside. Robert growled at her again.

"But I need you here. Working. Leave your school. You belong here, in this house." He finally looked at his daughter and banged on the table when he saw that she wasn't looking at him. This made her jump, but she still did not meet his gaze.

"We have appearances to keep. I have to go to college. I have to get a degree. After that, I can get a real job." She set down her fork, looking at a spot on his forehead. He yelled and launched himself at her, arms pinning her against the wall. She knew that it was useless to cry out.

"You're just so eager to leave," he snarled at her. Goosebumps ran down her arms, the sound frightening her.

"Tomorrow you will find a permanent job. You will not go to college. You will not tell...Becca, is it?" He breathed into Liza's face, the sent of alcohol burning her lungs. A smile spread onto his face as he released her from his grasps and walked away. Liza silently breathed out, thanking the lord that the ordeal was over.

Or so she thought...

A sudden backhand sent her sprawling on the ground. Her father laughed at her pathetic stance and kicked her once in the back before stumbling upstairs.

She cried silently as she curled into a ball on the dining room floor. She waited for the house to grow silent before peeling herself off of the ground and hopping into a shower. The hot water stung her face as she sat, crying silently. Her tears were quickly washed away. Her body now growing numb from the continual fetal positions.

She didn't bother drying her hair after she slipped on her baggy, flannel pajamas. She lied in bed, he body still damp and was whisked away into the would of dreams.

______________________________
Liza's POV

I washed as my surroundings faded into nothingness. Soon I was flying thought the clouds, screaming with delight. I looked different in my dream. No more was the pale skin and sickly figure. My brown, wavy hair was becoming knotted, and for the first time years, it's natural glow had returned.

I suddenly realized why I was flying now as I looked to the arm holding my waist. We stopped, now atop of some mountain, the view exceedingly breathtaking.

I found myself turning back towards the man, who now stood a few feet away from me. I immediately recognize the white armor and gold cape that hugged the man who brought me here.

The White Raven

A smile tugged at his lips and I found myself melting from that one gesture.

"Do you like it?"

I spun around slowly, nodding as I turned. You could see everything from here.

"I've wanted to take you here for so long now Liza. I thought it would be the perfect place for you." I smiled to myself. Even when I was experiencing the worst of the world, my subconscious had found a way to make me feel happy. But my dream soon turned into a nightmare and shadows started to appear all around us and my hero was replaced with my father.

He cackled into the sky, forcefully pulling me towards him.

"My, my, my. Look how happy you are." His voiced burned in my ears and I prayed to wake up. "You'll never be happy," he whispered to me. "I'll make sure if it. I shall kill everyone who makes you experience any amount of happiness. You will only feel pain. My pain." He pushed me away and disappeared. I wondered around the mountain peak aimlessly, the shadows concealing everything from me.

I woke up with a start when the flash of lightning and roar of thunder pulled my away from my nightmare. A storm had just started, which wasn't uncommon in this part of the country. I felt my skin sticky with sweat. I couldn't go back to sleep. Not after that. I walked over to my desk and pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down the lyrics that had been dancing in my head all night. It was at least something to pass the time.
______________________________

What Liza didn't see in the flash of lightning was the man who caused the storm. His gold cape glowed in the sporadic light. He saw what Robert had done to his child that night. He mustered every ounce of will he had, forcing himself to not barge into the house and rip Robert into two.

He always debated on whether he should save Liza or not. It had been a while since a heroic act and been done by his hand. But in truth, he did not know what it meant to be a hero anymore. The loved the attention he got from media around the world. And the smirks girls gave him while in the outfit made him feel giddy. So why was this girl so different?

Why didn't he just go in and save her?

Because she was the only one in the world who could ruin everything. The only one who could ruin him. She was the girl that got his family killed.

And he dared not sacrifice his reputation to save her.

At least, not yet...