Never The Same

Prologue

I hear the front door slam open and my eyes widen. I watch from the table as my mum drops the sugar she was holding. We both watch as it spills all over the bench neither one of us attempting to clean it up.

"Get out Lexi" my mum quietly turns toward me her blue eyes pleading, " don't let him see you."

I shake my head vigorously and stare into her eyes, "I'm not letting him hurt you again" I tell her faking more braveness then I feel.

Before she can reply we hear him stomping into the kitchen, at the same time our identical eyes collide with the disaster that is my father as he stomps over to the table completely drunk off his face mumbling about stupid people he had met at the pub tonight as he takes a seat across from me.

"Get me a damn drink Shelly" he screams at my mum.

I watch as she scrambles around the kitchen trying to appease him, hoping that tonight he wont beat her for doing something wrong. I can see the strain the years have taken on her. Her thin figure is so fragile from not eating due to my father telling her countless times how fat she was, or the fact that her eyes are sunken because she barely sleeps to afraid to close her eyes in case one day she doesn't wake up.

My fathers head slowly turns toward me his evil eyes raking my body. I try not to turn away in disgust even though I want to.

"Lexi" he mutters, like he can't understand why I was even in the house.

"I see you made it home" I say coolly.

My mother shoots me a warning glance as she places a plastic cup of whisky in front of my father, by now she was well aware the glass would break to easily once his temper would flare.

Without looking at either of us he swigs it back before slamming the cup down on the table again.

"Another "

"Don't you think you have had enough?" I ask, my voice coming out stronger then I feel.

My mother whimpers as he stands up knocking the chair loudly to the floor, I don't move as he comes and towers over me.

"Graig please" my mother tries to plead with him, " Graig come on lets go to bed" she begs him.

I know my mum is trying to calm him, I have heard her many nights crying because he had gotten to rough during sex, or he would hit her so hard she wouldn't leave her room the next day out of shame.

I was over the amount of times we had left only to have him track us down and drag us back, it had nothing to do with love and everything to do with the fact that he just didn't want to see her happy and I watched daily as he accomplished that.

"No Shelly, she obviously has something to say" he slurs his words as the full effect of the whisky hits him.

"You do not scare me" I say looking him dead in the eyes.

It was the furthest from the truth but right now I will not back down and watch my mum lose herself more. I knew the only reason she hadn't killed herself successfully yet was because of me.

I watch as he throws his head back and laughs this cruel evil laugh that grates on my nerves, but I stand my ground.

When he realises that I haven't moved from the chair in front of him he stops laughing and an all consuming nasty look crosses his face. A look I had seen many times right before he hit her.

He takes a swing at me but I duck and his fist sloppily hits my shoulder causing me to stumble a bit but not enough for me to hit the ground like the chair I hear hitting the ground behind me. I spin around to face him just in time to see him charging me, I don't wait for him to reach me, I turn and run round the opposite end of the table scrambling down the hall, I hear him curse as he hits the wall as he clumsily comes after me.

"You might as well take it Lexi or you know I will give it to your mother real good tonight" he screams after me.

I come to a halt my hand on the door handle the door wide open. I can feel the cool night breeze hit my face and i only then notice the coldness as the breeze collects the tears I wasn't aware i was shedding.

"Don't stop" my mother screams at me as I allow my father to catch up to me, he uses he's foot and kicks the door closed on any further escape.