Top picture is Shay. I hope you lover her as Shay as much as I do!
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"SHAY!"
"SHAY, GET UP NOW! Screamed my mother.
"I'm up!" I yelled back.
Sitting up in bed I rubbed my eyes, rubbing the sleep and hopefully the bad dream away. Moving myself to the side of my bed, I placed my feet on the cold hard floor, standing and stretching. Walking to my bedroom door I start to open it so I can get to the bathroom to clean up for school. I opened the door and am greeted by a not so happy mom.
"Shay, I said it was time to get up!" She screeched. Then forcefully grabbing a huge chunk of my hair and pulling me down the hallway towards the kitchen.
"I'm sorry!" I whined back. Trying to pry her hands from my hair. But her hold just tightened and her fingernails started to dig into my scalp.
"Im sorry Mom! I tried again, feeling blood run down my face from the scratches my mother caused. Once into the kitchen she flings me across the kitchen floor, my back hitting a corner cabinet. Wincing, I slowly stood up and started my morning chores. First up, breakfast. Making breakfast for my family, which consisted of my mother, father, two younger brothers and older sister.
My father sat at the kitchen table already, reading the daily news paper. His was dressed in a light gray suit, with a dark blue button up and tie. He held the news paper in one hand in the other he held a spoon and was lightly tapping the side of a coffee cup. This was his routine, he was waiting for me to bring him his coffee. Sighing to myself, I grabbed the freshly brewed coffee that I had set on a timer last night over to him. Filling his cup 3/4 of the way, I then filled it the rest of the way with milk and two cubes of sugar.
"Here's your coffee dad." I said softly, hoping for some kind of approval or interaction.
He looked up from his news paper to only scowl at my appearance.
I looked down at myself, I was still dressed in my nightgown. It was originally light tan but now it had streaks of blood running down from the collar. I turned away from him and rushed to the kitchen sink. Grabbing a clean rag and running warm water over it, I started to rub at the blood on my shirt. Hoping to rid of some of the horrible stain, but only making it worse and spreading it. Giving up, I started on breakfast. Breakfast here was a luxury, it always had to be amazing. Cereal would never do. So I made it fast, pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, and hash browns. By the time I had finished everything, everyone was at the table. I started dishing everyone a plate up. Leaving bacon off my sister Sarah's plate because this week she was swearing off meat. Giving extra bacon to my brothers Scott and Steven. Mom and Dad just wanted eggs and toast and even the dog twigs, who also sat at the table was having a bowl of dog food with exactly two slices of bacon on top, then that left me. A big bowl of cereal, or should I say small. I wasn't aloud to eat what they had, I wasn't even aloud to sit at the family table. I took my food to my bedroom, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I couldn't eat too much, my mother thought I was fat so she had me weigh or measure everything before I ate it. I looked at my family one last time before I left for my room. I couldn't help but feel jealous as I watched them interact. My dad was holding my moms hand while he ate his eggs, my mom smiling at him as she took a sip of her own coffee. Scott had stuffed all his bacon and Stevens in his mouth and was laughing. Steven was angry and was punching Scott in the arm. Sarah was laughing at the boys but was also glued to her cell phone texting one of her many suitors for this month. My heart aches painfully and I turn back away and started back to my room. As I walked into my room I noticed from my cell phone that I literally had ten minutes to eat, shower, and dress before I had to leave for school. I sat my bowl of untouched cereal on my nightstand and decided a shower was more important than food at the moment, especially with the blood that was now covering me.
Five minutes later I was running out of the shower, drying off wasn't happening. I wrapped a towel around myself and ran down the hall back to my room. Four minutes, throwing a bra and underwear on, three minutes white v neck T-shirt and my worn out light blue skinny jeans, two minutes I ran a brush through my hair and slipped on my black lacy flats, one minute threw on a little mascara and grabbed my backpack, and ran out the door.
