A Rose With Teeth and Claws

Is this the beginning?

Three Weeks Ago

Rose was walking down her driveway. She had just gotten off the bus and was making her way to her house to make herself a mug of hot tea. Even though she was seventeen years old, her family was not wealthy enough to afford a car for her to drive herself to and from school. She was an only child and was raised by her father since her mother had left when Rose was three. She had tried, she really did, but her mother had not wanted to be a mother. She had tried for Rose's father, but in the end, she had left them.

Her father used to be a loving person, but when his wife had left him and he started raising a daughter by himself, it got to be too much for him. On the days that he drank, which was everyday almost, he drank too much, and when this happened, Rose usually got punished in some form or fashion. The good days weren't much different, they just usually didn't end in violence.

Today was a bad day. As she walked in the door and sat her book bag down, she realized that very thing. Her father was standing there with a bottle of Jack Daniel's in his hand and it was already three-quarters empty.

He's been thinking about mom again. Poor Papa.

Confirming her suspicions, she saw a picture of her mother and her father's wedding day on his desk where it was obvious that he had just been sitting. She dropped her eyes to the floor and shielded her face with her hair. Those were the two things that looked the most like her mother: her eyes and her face.

She walked to the living room and started making her way toward the door to her bedroom. Suddenly her father was standing in the way.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Just to my room, Papa. I wanted to get some studying done."

He looked at her for a long moment. She was still facing the floor.

He grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him. "Do you know what today is?" He asked her, spitting in her face a bit.

Startled, she replied with a simple "no". He was swaying a bit and his breath smelled putrid.

"It's June 22. Our anniversary." He said shortly.

So that's why he's so bad today. It's his and mom's wedding anniversary. Shit! I should have know that was today and to stay out extra late or stay at Dan's house. I totally forgot. I wish I hadn't come home today.

"Oh yeah. I had forgotten. I'm sorry Papa, I won't forget again." She swore. She knew he wanted to be alone on their anniversary.

He just stared at her; at her eyes, and her face. He burst into tears and let go of her. Rose backed away as far as she could before her back hit the wall. She could bolt for the door but he would catch her, so she stayed as still as possible. She knew he wasn't crying for one reason. He was crying out of anger and sadness. He looked up at her and balled his hand into a fist. He started walking slowly towards her and his eyes screamed murder.

"You are the reason she left me." He said lowly as he approached slowly. "YOU are the reason she LEFT me!" He screamed as he pulled back his hand.

Rose had only enough time to brace herself against the wall as his hand came down. A resounding smack sounded through the house and Rose went to her knees. He had slapped her hard enough to bust her lip, which was now bleeding, and bruise her cheek.

She had tears rolling down her face, yet she didn't make a sound. This was also not the first time she had been hit by her father on these bad days. She always ended up forgiving him for it though.

She had to get away but she didn't know how. She was trapped between the wall and her father. He was distracted at the moment, caught up in his emotions, so she slowly crawled toward the door as to not alert him to what she was doing.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh. So now you want to leave too?" He asked with quiet fury. Rose only let out a squeak of surprise as she was lifted to her feet by her father. He walked toward the front door and opened it. Rose was terrified of what he was about to do.

"No. No, dad please. Don't do this. I'm begging you." She sobbed. He was about to put her out and if he did that, she would have nowhere to go. She could stay at Dan's house for a while, but he had a small house and less money than she. Plus he had a sibling and a mother, she would just be a burden on him. But she knew that if her father put her out today, she would not be allowed back. On the good days, he tolerated her because she wasn't eighteen and able to be on her own, but today, it seemed, he had changed his mind.

"This is something I should have done a very long time ago." He threw her to the ground and she hit it hard. He slammed the door and slid home the lock, and she had no key.

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A/N: here you go, an update. This is the first part of a 3 part chapter, so I hope you like it. This is a backstory on one of the characters you haven't met yet, but trust me, she's important XD. I will update all three parts tonight so, stay updated. ~K