Not so broken after all

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But I couldn't. I was frozen in place. Maybe by horror. But most likely by fear. The moments replayed in my memory, reminding me of what I had witnessed. I remember the crack of her skull on the granite counter, as she was pushed with force into it. The sound of the shattering glass as he slammed the vase that once held flowers onto her. The sight of her with blood running down her face and dripping onto the floor must have been too much for me to see. Because soon after I blacked out. But not before I saw the smile on his face. His look told me more than words could. "One down, one more to go." His eyes told me. "You're next" he said with his gaze. That look permanently reminded me of what I had let happen. That look he gives me every once in a while to remind me. That face I see everyday. The one that belongs to the man I am forced to call my father.