playdead

Chapter Eleven

Belle walked out of the school later than any kid.

She usually doesn't do that, but today she stayed later because she needed to redo a test she'd gotten a B on.

Oh wow Belle. A B, hmm? That's horrible!

You're forgetting the worst part, Ms. Belle.

Belle's mother had died two years ago. Two years.
She lived with her father, in his stinky and dirty apartment. He was unemployed, and had a grudge against Belle. A big one.

Every day Belle dreaded the end of a school day. The eight hours she was away from HIM were the best every day.

On weekends, she was forced to stay home.

The verbal abuse wasn't bad. She didn't mind it. The sexual and physical abuse were of course the things that she didn't want to have.

Belle's eyes snapped to a payphone near the school. She frowned.

She slowly walked up to the phone and grabbed a mini wallet she had. She only had a dollar and some quarters.

She put a dollar into the machine and typed in the number to her home. And she listened to the hums of the ringing.

"Hello?" The other side picked up, a gravely voice talked into the phone.

Belle struggled to find her voice. She started shaking.

"...Daddy?" Belle whispered. "...Can you pick me up?"

Silence. The cold and empty silence from her father was horrible. She shook. Her knees wobbled. Her heart pounded unnaturally hard.

"Sure, pumpkin. I'll be there soon." Daddy said.

He hung up.

Belle dropped the phone. She cried. She wanted to run and run. Run far away. She could do it.

Belle sat on the curb. And waited.

•••

Thirty minutes passed. An old Toyota drove up to her. The driver opened the door.
Belle got up and grabbed her backpack, got into the car, and put the backpack in between her legs.

She shut the door, and he locked it. He picked her up.

"Why didn't you go on the bus today, pumpkin?" He said.

"...Study session, daddy. I had to do...I had to do it." Belle replied.

More silence. Belle gripped the seat she sat on.

"It's alright pumpkin. I want you to get smarter." He said.

He put his grubby hand on Belle's thigh and went up and down, slowly.

Belle flinched. She wanted to jump out of that car and run as fast as she could.

"Why don't you stop by the shop today and grab me some more Coronas?" He said.

"Yes daddy." Belle replied.

Tears flickered behind her eyes. She held it down.

If she told anyone, he'd kill her. He would. He would rip her apart. If not, he would do something else.