Pure Terror

Lydia's

He was in his room, touching me grabbing my hair, forcing him onto me. I could smell his odour from and could feel his rough hands grabbing me. As he touched me, I could see beads of sweats on his forehead, dripping down onto my face. I grimaced, my arms flailed out to try to stop him but to no avail. He covered my mouth with his hands. I began to gag, but he ignored, intent on pleasuring himself. His other hand moved to my neck and I could hardly breathe .i struggled and he gave me his sickly grin. "Relax little girl, continue moving and it'll hurt more." He never managed to penetrate me with his penis before. Panic engulfed me, I started to scream and kicked him off the bed.

Suddenly, I sensed warmth and there it was, Michelle holding onto my hands, telling me that everything is alright, it was just a nightmare. Just then, the bell rang. Michelle went to open the door and to her surprise, it was Betty, my cousin. She was terribly thin , her face had erupted in sores, and she was deathly pale. Her appetite was non-existent and she would often sit there and stare into space, not speaking a word. When Michelle tried to talk to her , the words just wouldn't come out. Neither of us could talk about the past as we were both too fragile about their childhood.

It was very early and we knew we could not get back to sleep. I took a bath first , hoping that the warm water could cleanse my body and mind of all thoughts of my father. Throughout their lives, we had suffered enough in their father's life, they didn't want it to continue. His cruelty, beating, humiliation had been part of their daily lives.

We were terrified of Dad and had no one to confront to. How about Mum? We'd long ago learned that she was always at his side, turning a blind eye to what was happening to her children. They always had a question in their mind, why is Mum often helping Dad than us? We often think that we were in wrong and try to change for the better. But no matter how much we try, nothing even changes. I really wish they could understand.

Michelle's

Years past, months past and weeks past. We had tolerated enough. There was a court case which had come only a few months later. Dad had been arrested for sexually abusing our cousin, Betty, who was just ten at that time. Lydia was the one who had caught him and reported him, and both she and I were both due to testify him. We had waited for years to tell the world what kind of monster he was. But unfortunately, the case fell apart and he won the case, he walked out of the court with a smug grin plastered on his face, so he will be able to continue torturing, abusing and battering his family members. As I looked around, I caught sight of Lydia. Her little tearful face as she walked out of the court, disbelieved of what had happened. We walked out of the court together, neither of us able to fathom what had happened. An acquittal was the last thing we expected and it had hit Lydia harder than the rest of us. In the months when Dad remanded in custody, things had changed at home. Lydia had scrubbed away the filth of years and for the first time, there seemed to be chance of happiness. Even Mum had cheered up and found herself a new boyfriend. But Dad's release had put paid to all that. After a few months, I had wanted to move on to something more challenging and after spells in a couple of other jobs, I had landed on my feet as an assistant consultant in a well-known employment agency. I was determined to show the boss that she had chosen the right person to work in his company. I had a long journey to work everyday, but I didn't mind. I had been lucky to find a three-room flat with my two lovely family members, Lydia and Betty. Betty was the quiet one while Lydia was outgoing and bubbly. Lydia loved Colby and had a great relationship with him.