The Box for Me

Chapter 9

"July!" Echos, they are all around me. "July!" I hear someone calling my name, I don't know who it is though. 

        I want to respond but I cant feel my mouth. I cant feel anything. I try to open my eyes but its dark. Too dark, where am I?

        I feel my body being tugged around, I am awake!  I want to scream but i cant talk.Why do they need me so bad? I almost feel like replying with "5 more minutes mom!" 

        Finally, icy cold rushes around my body and i jolt awake. Heavy breaths shudder me around, I see my skeleton like sister next to me with a smile on her face. She gives me a hug, which i didn't return because i was still trying to recover. "I thought you were dead" She cries into my shoulder.

        It takes me a minute but I finally get my speech back. "I couldn't wake up, I wanted to talk but I couldn't. I am sorry for scaring you, Lilly." I say sincerely.

        We sit there on the concrete floor for another ten minutes with my sister just hugging me. I was scared though, I don't know her, she abandoned me. I needed the story, I need to know. She owes me it, she left me alone for so long. I always felt like a mess-up. I pull away from her. "Why did you leave me?"

        "I didn't want to... It's a really long story" she replies.

        I look up at the clock "I have the time" 

        "I guess I do owe you an explanation." She grimly smiles, I almost feel sorry for. "The day i left you the day my life changed. I got here by your father taking me, I finally arrived here. I got claimed by Joey, the man you saw me with. After so many years, I tried to kill myself. I left you to protect you. You know the scars you have?" I did I have one long one that goes from my right ear down to the bottom of my chin crossing my nose. Its almost invisible now, I cover it up with makeup too. I also have at least ten on my stomach. They almost look like a flower with a whole bunch of punctures on it. I always asked my aunt about them. She told me I fell into barbed wire as a child.

        "Yes, they are from a fence I fell into when i was little..." She shakes her head.

        "They are from a bitch named Shirley. When I went to work she took you to her house and stabbed you. I wasn't there to protect you so i promise i would never fail to protect you again. Our mother was a drunk, she was killed by my father. Your father threatened to put you here first, I volunteered to go instead. The only way to not have our aunt worry about me was saying i went to college." She started to tear up. This time it was my turn to hug her. I had no idea, I was sincerely sorry for her.

        "Why did you give your life up for mine?" I asked. 

        "I loved you, that's why..." She mumbles through the crying. "And I am not failing you again..." 

        "What do you mean?"

        "I am getting you out of here. My friend, Dan is coming with the police any minute." She says happily.

        "What?!" We both snap our heads. Joey looking astonished stands in the door way. He marches towards us, Lilly pulls me behind her. She almost snarls at him. He grabs her by the face, squishing it in a pain matter. "What did you say! What did you do!"

        "N-nothi" He smacks her and she flails to the groud holding her cheek. I run to her holding her up.

        "Are you okay, Lilly?" I cry.

        "Get away! Run! Hide" She commands.

        "No! I'm not leaving you." I stand my ground. 

        "NOW JULY!" I feel a sense of deja-vu as if I have been through this before. 

-Flashback- 

Lilly just got slapped by this stranger. She was lying on the floor, holding her cheek. I remember running and hugging her. Trying to protect her.

"Are you okay?!" I whispered. 

"Yes, now go back to the living room" She said under her breath

"No, Lilly i don't want him to hurt yo-" I try.

"I WASN'T ASKING, NOW!" I got up and ran away crying.     

-Flashback Over-

       I wasn't running ever again... "I'm not leaving you." I stand my ground "Not again." I say with tears welling up.

        Joey stalks towards me. He grabs my arm and throws me aside. He stands above my sister like a lion about to eat a gazelle. He stares with hatred and hunger. I push him away, screaming at him to get away from us.

        "Oh, you did it now girly." He pulls out a Swiss army knife. 

        "I like how you think you are in control" I calmly state. He looks confused staring at me. 

        "What did you say?"

        "You need a knife to take me down? Are you a pathetic coward or something?" I mock. "I mean I'm only a 14 year old girl... Do you really need that? Do you really need to pick on me? Does hurting girls make you feel big and tuff? I mean to me you are low life scum and that's all you'll ever be. You were to scared to be normal. You were good enough and now you cant be." 

        "You little brat!" He screeches. "I have your head for that!" He charges at me pointing the knife at me. I know whats going to happen I'm going to get stabbed again. I will probably slowly die in this hell hole. My sister will fall into depression. She will kill herself. For some reason though, I am happy. I finally told him off, the man who has never been disrespected. The man who thought he was the kind of everything and everyone. He finally got told off. 

        I was the one to do it. 

        Things seemed to go in slow motion, he kept taking each step slowly it seemed. When in reality, he was sprinting at me. I didn't flinch, i wasn't scared. 

        I braced myself for impact...

        "No!" Lilly jumps up, blocking me it all happened so fast. I see the knife plunge into her stomach and her falling to the ground. A blood curdling scream escapes my lips and Joey falls to the ground in panic. He starts to cry, pulling the knife out of her slowly fading away body.