Elle Jones

Chapter 14: Escaping Joseph

As the lights dimmed brightly in my bedroom, I tried moving away from Joseph's haunting gaze.

Brushing the hair out of my eyes, I shift my back up against the indigo blue walls. The disgusting smell of beer and foul rum rushed into my nose as Joseph leaned his face closer to mine.

Soles of my boots smeared dark footprints on the dark blue fabric as I tried pulling away from my hateful father.

My hands were trembling, but my knees were itching to hit Joseph in the crotch. But since Austin was two apartment doors away from mine, I was afraid of alerting the neighbors.

Don't get me wrong; I did want to scream for help, but the last thing I need is cops placing me in an unstable foster home. And besides, they are ten times worse as Joseph.

Taking a long look at my face, Joseph grabs a fist of my hair, pulls me close, then asked in a scary voice: "Where were you, Jacqueline?"

Letting the tears slide down my face, I gave him a hard stare then said absolutely nothing.

I just thought if I didn't say anything, Joseph would stop being a dick and finally leave me alone.

However, as minutes passed by, Joseph pulled my hair even tighter, causing me to shriek and yelp in pain.

Now, this is an interrogation tactic Joseph always do whenever Jacob or I have done something wrong.

Most days it was cigarette burns, but other times, Joseph would let his hands grab a belt from his bedroom closet, and torture us with it.

Noting my stubbornness, Joseph takes a deep breath then finally lets go of my dark brown curls.

"Where were you, Jacqueline?" he repeated sternly.

Slowly, I ran my fingers through my hair when I felt a searing pain somewhere on the back of my skull.

Throbbing like a red pimple, I tried poking its source with my left index finger, but since Joseph is watching me, I rest my hand down on my lap, then fought back my tears.

His eyes were concerned than angry, and a nice smile smeared on his ghastly face.

"I have been looking for you," Joseph admitted. "I called Austin's moms, I searched every street, and I even thought about contacting your older brother."

"Oh, were you?" I sneered. "Because the last time I checked, you are a homophobic dick."

Joseph pretended that he didn't hear me.

In fact, he was more focused on getting me to reveal my darkest secrets than seeing if I was okay.

Giving my back a gentle rub, Joseph asked sweetly: "Instead of talking to Austin, why don't you use your cell phone and call me?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Because I don't have a phone," I answer. "I keep asking you if I can buy a phone, but you think they are a waste of time and money."

Remembering his own words, Joseph stopped rubbing my backside.

"Look, I just worry about you. Okay?"

"Fuck you," I replied stiffly.

He gazed at me in surprise.

"What?" cried Joseph. "Isn't that what fathers do? Getting worried about their daughters?"

"You have a very fucked up way of showing it, Joseph." I retorted.

Unfazed by my attitude, Joseph cleared his throat then decided to interrogate me with a series of questions.