Undaunted

Chapter 1- Mum

TW! This chapter contains aspects of abuse and explicit language!

Chapter 1- mum
June 28th, 2020
It was 7am when the door bell first rang. I'm an early morning person so had already been awake for an hour now. I glance at the alarm clock. 6:00am, it read . I tightened the black fluffy dressing gown my mum gave me for my 15th birthday around my waist and ran down the stairs stumbling slightly as I went. As I flung myself down the last few steps I got to the door hesitantly twisting the latch. peering through, I saw the bright flash of a yellow high vis jacket and the thick black boots of a what looked to be a policeman. He seemed to be in his late fifties, with a round beer belly and a receding greying hairline. He had a kind look in his eyes. He seemed almost thoughtful but sorrowful at the same time. His eyes met mine and he began to speak. I suddenly felt a flush of embarrassment overcome me as the police officer caught sight of our messy, putrid house.
"Hello? are you Hannah Shawe?" he flashed a warm smile.
My heart dropped.
"I'm Sergeant Brown, I work on the Bristol police force."
I took notice of the police car sitting in our driveway.
"Yes, do you need anything? is something wrong?" I attempted to sound happy and confused.
Although I knew deep down in the bottom of my soul what was to come.
"Is your mum in? Elizabeth Shawe?" he asked.
"My mum? yes, she's upstairs in bed, sleeping...is everything okay?" I stuttered. I began to bite my nails. Biting my nails is a horrible habit that I always do when I feel nervous and uneasy.
"May I talk to her for a minute?" he asked
, flashing that warm smile again.
"Sure! let me wake her up." I attempted to match the policeman's warm, kind energy he had composed to me.
With no time to think and Sergeant Brown waiting at the door I rapidly sprinted upstairs towards my mothers room. Truth is, my mother had been suffering greatly from anxiety and depression, since my dad had been put in prison for attempted robbery on the neighbours house (who have since moved out for obvious reasons.) Not long after my dad left, my mum started to drink which resulted in her having huge bursts of anger and rage. She became abusive and even hit me from time to time. The neighbours soon began to notice the bruises and marks on my body (despite my best efforts to hide them) and called the police. They now come round frequently, even after constant reminders that everything will blow over and she will be back to normal soon. I have been hoping and praying that this will come true for the past 10 months or so. We have had one more warning before I get taken away to a new home forever. Or at least until dad gets home.

As I entered the room, I instantly took notice of the piles of old clothes, food packets, empty bottles of alcohol, used cigarettes and random twenty pence coins scattered all over the mould-infested carpet. I briskly walked towards the bed and I saw her sprawled across it with a bottle in her hand. Not even God knows how long she had been lying there for. I removed the empty bottle from her hand and placed it on the dresser. Placing my hands upon her back, I shook her violently whilst whisper-shouting into her ear.
"MUM! WAKE UP! SERGEANT BROWN IS WAITING AT THE DOOR!" I exclaimed.
Mum let out a low grunt. She half-turned over to look at me.
"Tell that bastard to shut his face and fuck off. I dont want him near my house again!" I sighed.
Some things never change.
Sergeant Brown must've heard what she said, because I could now hear his thick,heavy boots trudging up the stairs to meet us.
"Hannah, sweetie, would you mind going to your room for a second whilst I have a quick chat with your mother?" he said in as polite tone as possible.
"Sure!" I told him with a hint of fake, nervous laughter and trying not to sound rude. I rushed towards my room, unable to look back, as a single tear rolled down my eyes. Despair swarmed me, clouding my thoughts.

It only took a few seconds for the muffled shouting and screaming to start. More tears began to flood my face. As much as I hated my life here, the thought of starting a new life in a new town with a new family was much more terrifying than my current situation. All I had left to do was hope.

We will be adding a new chapter as soon as we can! We hope you enjoyed the story so far x