KBGM

Page Eight.

It was spring. Owen and Young were just getting home from elementary school. Young held her brother's hand as they entered the apartment complex, walking up the concrete stairs. Owen opened the door where their father was on the couch, watching the TV.

"Dad!" Young shouted with joy.

"Hey, you two, how was school?" Their father looked over with a smile.

"It was good." Owen answered, before walking to his room.

"I made you this." Young presented him with a drawing of a heart on a rose.

"That's beautiful, just like you." He looked at her for a moment, slipping his hand up her shoulder.

"Dad, what are you doing?" she jerked away.

"You are daddy's little girl, right?" he asked.

"Y-yes. But you touched me like you touch mom." her voice softened.

"Well, that's because I love your mom and you, too." His smile only made Young back away. She turned around to being grabbed and forced down on the couch.

"Dad, stop!" she yelled.

"Be quiet before your brother hears you." He reached for her throat.

"Owen!" her scream alerted Owen, who rushed back into the room, pushing their father off of her and hugging her.

"Don't touch my sister!" Owen shouted while holding Young.

"She is going to turn out to be a slut, just like her mother. Your sister is nothing but your mother in a child's form. She will never change from that." He walked out of the apartment, slamming the door shut as Young began crying and screaming.

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Fall arrived as they were in junior high. Owen and Young were aware of what they expected when they left their school, heading to their house.

"Stay behind me." he whispered, grabbing his sister's hand. They both entered, seeing their father was more on the couch, looking at them as usual.

"Welcome home." He grinned.

"Yeah, whatever, Young, let's go." Owen said, pulling his sister upstairs as their father's face turned to an awful stare. The two went to Owen's room since Young can no longer sleep alone knowing what happened in the apartment complex.

"This book is going to take the entire marking period to read." Young slammed the book down.

"We read that book already. Here." Owen threw over an answer sheet. Young copied down the answers.

"Thanks." She said

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Later that night, Young woke from the sound of thunder outside. She looked up at the bed, seeing Owen fast asleep. She got up quietly, heading out of the room and downstairs. The thunder got louder as she made her way to the kitchen. Once she got there, she opened the fridge.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" The voice made her slam the fridge, and turn around fast. Her father was at the dining table, noticing her holding a water bottle. "You know, I could've brought that up to your room for you." He drank from the liquor bottle at the table.

"I don't need help." Young said, tightening her grip on the bottle.

"Why are you so tense?" He leaned forward in the chair.

"Leave me alone." After she argued, Young ran for the stairs only to be grabbed back by her father, covering her mouth up, and muffling her screams.

"Shut up or I'll hurt you badly." He said straight into her ear. She cried, squirming as her dad slid his hands down her body. "You are going to be nothing but a slut." He tightened his grip around her mouth.

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Freshmen year of high school, Young stared into space walking remembering the night her father raped her, her brother wasn't aware of what happened as he was sleeping upstairs. While walking, she and Owen noticed their father at the door.

"Hey, you two!" He grinned at them. Owen got in front of Young, only to be pushed out of the way by her. She walked in, sitting on the couch along with her father.

"Young, let's go, we got homework." Owen signaled her to go upstairs with him.

"I want to have a talk with dad." Young stared at Owen. he walked up the stairs slowly. She looked at her father when she heard his door shut.

"Let's talk." His voice provoked her to elbow him in the private. As he collapsed, she got up and sprinted to the kitchen, snatching a knife from the holder. He soon came in after, staring at her. "You got some nerve." he said, staggering.

"I should've killed your ass a long time ago, old man." He ran towards her. She stuck the knife through his arm, dodging out of the way. She turned, grabbing the broom from the corner before striking him with the stick part. His screams echoed through the house. It was almost a minute before she stopped. He crawled to the wall.

"Please, stop." Blood spilled out of his mouth. Young stared at him before revealing in her left hand a gun. "Young, d-don't do this." he coughed.

"After all you did, you have beaten Owen when he was only a year old, and raped me, your own daughter, your own fucking blood." Her eyes watered.

"It was a mistake. I will change for you and your brother," he pleaded.

"Remember what you said to me about my mom." She stared into space.

"W-what?" he asked.

"I'll always be a slut, just like my mother, right? Did I ask you to say that shit to me? Did you think I enjoyed it? She clenched her teeth while he coughed up blood. ''My mother always told me to keep a rose to have something to remember her by. Do you know what I liked more about my mom that day? She asked while he looked at her, losing blood. "She said I should always protect myself from niggas like you when I get older and she was right." Young smiled. Her father started getting up. She aimed the gun up, shooting him in the head, watching his body go limp before crouching down in front of him. "You were never my dad. Rest in hell where you belong." She dropped the gun, walking out of the kitchen, and upstairs.

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"Young, come here!" her mother called out.

"Yes, mommy?" Young ran into her mother's arms.

"I want you to have this rose." Her mother twirled it in her hands.

"Why, mommy?" Young tilted her head, looking at the flower.

"Because that's what you are. Deep inside you, there's a lovely heart. While also a tempered little girl." Her mother tickled her. Young laughed, hugging her mom.

"I love you mommy!" She shouted, holding the rose.

"I love you too." Her mother held her as they watched the city from the balcony.