The Real Life of Me

Chapter 3

Mike continued to grab the handle on my Barbie backpack and whip me back as hard as he could. The next couple of day he continued to make me walk down that ally and the backpack yanking continued.  Soon I started to knowtise big brushes on my legs from everytime I failed to catch myself when he pulled me.  However I said nothing to my mom or anyone else not even sky. Everyday she didn't show up to school my heart would just drop knowing I would have to walk home with Mike. One day when we were walking down the ally there was a broken piece of fencing and he quickly had an idea "Come here Juliann.". I tried to change his mind hoping it would work "Please...come On I just wanna go home.".  I turned to glance at him and he had this look on his face, a look that absolutely terrified me. In that second something inside me told me to run and I did. As usual my tiny, short seven year old legs were no match for his long legs. Mike caught me almost immediately and threw me on the ground. "No please...I'm Sorry!" I tried frantically to get away. He smirked then walked over to me and picked me up. I was so scared of what he was going to do. Mike Carried me over to the broken part of the fence and hung me by the handle on my backpack. He had started to walk away snickering to himself.  "Get me down please get me down!" I said trying not to sound panicked. Mike turned to look at me then looked down at the garbage at his feet. He slowly bent down and picked up a little plastic bottle that almost looked like the kind liquid glue came in only smaller.  I was struggling trying to get myself down as he slowly sauntered over to me still holding the bottle in his hand. Mike got in my face and said in a heartless voice "You want down?" then he shook the clear bottle in my face. The liquid in the container was brown and had bits of black floating in it.  He repeated the question "You want down?". I was afraid the sound of my voice would anger him so I quickly shook my head. The next thing to happen shocked me. Mike shoved the tip of the bottle into my tiny mouth and held my mouth closed. Then he squished the bottle and said "Drink it! Now" in a thunderous voice. As the tears poured down my cheeks, I knew it was the only way he would let me down. With one last breath I close my eyes and swallowed. It burned my throat and the inside of my mouth went numb. I didn't speak the rest of the way home and when I closed the door to our apartment I slid on the floor and cried until my mother came into view. "Juliann what's wrong?" she asked in a low voice. Before I could even open my mouth Kevin appeared "Stop being a sook, your not a baby!" he boomed. I stood up and ran to the room I shared with my brother. I closed the door and flopped on my bed I didn't understand what I had done wrong. As I lifted my head from my pillow I could hear the yelling start. My father always yelled at my mom and always talked down to her.  Sometimes she would try to pick up for her self but that was hard for her. She had to cover for me and Marcus as much as she could because Kevin terrified us all. I always felt like I wasn't good enough and that I deserved everything that happened to me. That night I woke up just after my parents had fell asleep with wicked pain in my guts and my head was pounding. I sat in the bathroom for hours crying, because I was in so much pain. I couldn't tell my mother because I knew it would wake Kevin up. I cried to the point were I threw up. I was so afraid I was going to die because I didn't understand what was happening to me. I spend most of that night lying on the bathroom floor. The next morning I had no chose but to go to school even though I still felt horrible. Sky left at lunch that day. This made me feel even worse.  When the last bell of the day rang I slowly walked out of the class and put on my coat. Then I began to walk down to the back doors of the school were we always had to meet. Smiling, laughing children flew past me running and playing.  I wished so badly I could be one of them. When I got to the big steel doors I had to put everything I had into opening the door. He wasn't there when I finally made it outside. So I stood with my back up against the concrete school wall and closed my eyes trying to prepare my self for the next twenty minutes. When I opened my eyes again I saw him.  He was talking to one of his friends over in the corner by the fence. I cautously walked over to him and waited for him to be done. The walk started out as it usually did, we past the Christian school and the road to the pit but when we got to the ally he was being unusually nice. Like he was in the beginning of our friendship. I thought maybe Mike had went through something bad now it was over. I was wrong. When we rounded the corner he tried to pull my backpack handle but he missed and I tried to run. Mike caught me and before I knew what was happening he was pounding on my head and back with his fist. He did not hit me in the face, probably because it would be visible. I was hit countless times until I collapsed.