One Last Hope

Six

✽Jasmine's POV✽

I pulled my hood over my face and rode the bus, not speaking a single word. I had snuck out of the house while Kaylee covered up for me. There was no way I was going to school when I have so much better things to do.

I rode the bus down to the Los Angeles cemetery. It was a really big cemetery.. probably the biggest I've ever seen. I opened the gate and walked in. I immediately started looking for my mothers name. I really needed some closure. When she died, Cody ran out the door and never came back. Dad didn't even let us go to her funeral, not even to let us see her tombstone. I finally found her tombstone, it said in golden letters "Beloved Mother and Daughter, Eva Bennett." I'm glad that my grandparents decided to put her as "Bennett" and not "Robbinson." I wonder if they knew what my father has been doing to us.. No, they don't.. if they did, I wouldn't be in this mess. 

I kneeled down next to my moms grave and set down her favorite yellow roses. She would always say "Red is too overrated.. I like the yellow ones." I remember her beautiful smile when dad would dance and twirl her around. Dad used to be the coach on the baseball team that Cody played on. Those two would spend most of their free time playing catch and laughing. Dad used to be so happy and handsome.. he used to love us. But things change. I don't know what happened. One day he was pushing us on the swings and the next, he was forcing us to steal from the nice old lady next door. He used to tell us that it was a game. 

"Collect as much jewelry and money as you can from the neighbors. Remember the rules are that we don't tell mom and if you come back empty handed, you're getting a beating. Now, go." He would drink his beer and watch us run down the street, scared out of our minds that we would get smacked again. 

"I'm sorry that failed to be the daughter you wanted me to be, mom." I spoke to no one. I got up, refusing to cry. 

I heard footsteps and immediately turned around. 

"You little sh*t. What are you doing here?" He sinked his nails into my arm. 

"Dad, stop.. stop!!" I gasped in pain. 

"I asked you. A. QUESTION." He twisted my arm. I screamed and fell to the floor in tears. I couldn't move, my arm it hurt way too much. He kneeled down next to me.

"I told you to act normal.. how dare you disobey me!" He grabbed me by my hurt arm and pulled me up. 

I couldn't control myself, I started screaming so loud that my father had to cover my mouth with his sweater in order to get me to stop screaming. I started to get a panic attack. I haven't had one of those since I was seven years old. It wasn't such a new thing to me. I felt like there was no air and I couldn't breathe at all. I started gasping for air like crazy. 

"Would you shut up?" He said dragging me from my arm to his car. I started to lose my vision.. and got really dizzy. I eventually fell and hit my head against the hard concrete where I felt blood rushing out. 

"Shit!" Was the last thing I heard before everything went blank.