Beginning of the End

Ch. 5

Sadly, my freedom didn't last for long. I had just enough time to apply a light concealer to my red cheek before being called downstairs to eat dinner as a family.

Family. Odd word for random people I had just met. And since when did Father and I ever eat together at the same table.

Oh, joy, endless amounts of uncomfortable silence. Yay.

I made a mental note to stop by a paint store and pick up a more, well, me, color.

I made my way down two flights of stairs to the massive dining room that could probably house half of the city.

Ok, so maybe I might be exaggerating a bit, but it was still huge. Father and Maybella were already sitting at a mahogany table with a girl with brown ringlets. The boy was nowhere to be found and I envied him.

All though I wasn't thrilled to dinner "as a family", the food smelled amazing. There was steak, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, fruit salad, homemade buns, and gravy. The set of dishes were extremely intricate.

So in other words, I felt lag a rag doll in a case of porcelain dolls.

Maybella called upstairs to the boy, "Liam, come downstairs please."

I heard steps coming down the stairs and Liam appeared in the jeans and gaming shirt he had been wearing earlier.

Maybella obviously lived for this stuff because she had everything arranged in a specific order. After everyone had loaded up their plates but before everyone had sat down, Liam looked at me as if initiating a challenge and said, "we've never had dinner together before so I see no reason to start now."

Taking him up on the battle, I responded with a snide mark of my own. "Thanks for the food but seeing as we are indeed, a family, I'll enjoy my time with you at a different point in time."

I turned on my heels and followed Liam up the stairs. After we had passed the first flight, he grunted 'come', and led me up the third flight of stairs into a room behind a bookcase that held another set of stairs into an attic.

"Wow, someplace you've got."

He looked at me for the first time, like studying kind of look, and said, "you'll need more than just that to conceal the other marks you're probably going to get."

I didn't pretend to not know what he was talking about. I sat down and started to eat.

He looked at me again before sitting down as well. "When did it happen?"

"In the car after he accused me of hurtling through space to get some guy's attention."

I took another bite of food. Even though I didn't like Maybella, I could at least enjoy her cooking.

Liam was still looking at me so, me being me, I acted like a baboon and asked, 'what', with my mouth still full.

"You do know that he's going to make you pay for that later on, right?"

I kept my gaze fixed on my plate. "Yes, I do. Or at least I think so. This was the first time he's been physically violent."

"The first time that you know of."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I huffed when he didn't answer.

Liam rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a bunch of medical supplies. "Once he's through with you, come back up here so I can treat you."

I walked over and looked at all of the stuff he had laid out. "Wow, why do you have all of this stuff?"

His gaze darkened and I thought he wouldn't answer. I was about to apologize for prying when he said, "My girlfriend. She was abused by her brother. I had this stuff for her before she went and offed herself."

My mouth formed into an 'oh'. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

Liam gave me a sad smile. "How were you to know?" He turned away. "I have nothing else to say to you."

Recognizing my dismissal, I exited the attic and went back to my room to find my dear old dad standing there, waiting for me.

"I'm rather disappointed in you, Aspen. I thought I had made it clear to you that you were to play nicely. You know I'll have to punish you, right?"

I clenched my jaws and lifted my chin high. I would not show weakness.

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I barely made it to the room in the attic. I had just passed through the door when I felt an arm go around my side, I gasped in pain as Liam caught me.

"Hell," he grumbled, "hell, didn't think he would go out on you like this."

I could only nod.

"Hell, I need to call someone. I can't take care of you by myself."

I gasped again as he laid me down on a table. I couldn't r pay attention to what he was doing.

I was barely aware of another voice. I felt a piece of cloth being pressed against my mouth. I felt a poke on my side and opened my mouth to scream but the cloth was pushed into my mouth.

I screamed into the rag as someone poked me in multiple spots where my Father had kicked and beaten me with the belt.

"Drink this," someone said, "come on, Asp, I need you to drink this."

I felt a hand on my back and the rag was being removed from my mouth. I cup was lifted to my mouth and tilted the liquid into my mouth.

I gagged and spluttered as the cold liquid was forced down my throat.

I slipped into unconsciousness.