My heart was pounding faster than ever. I didn’t even know it could go that fast. And I was running faster than I thought I could too. I hopped the fence, which ripped the leg of my worn out jeans. I breathed in deep and continued to run, since I was after all, running to save my life. I looked behind me, which was by far the stupidest thing I could have done. He was about three or four paces behind me, and he sure as hell wasn’t stopping. He wanted me. He wanted to keep me… Like I was his property. As I turned my head back around, my left foot didn’t touch the ground. I had tripped over a hole, and tumbled into the grass. I pulled myself back up, but not fast enough… He grabbed my foot and pulled. I fell flat on my face, and he held me down. He had me, and wasn’t letting go. I closed my eyes as soon as I felt his hard fist hit my face. I slowly drifted into unconsciousness…
He opened my door… He had my outfit for the day in his hands. “Dakota sweetie… It’s morning. And bad girls don’t get to sleep in.” He said to me. He didn’t look mad, but you never could tell with him. I slowly stood up, but my body was sore from last night. He must have washed my face, because there was no blood on it… He put my clothes down on my bed, and grabbed me by the wrist, “I don’t know WHAT you think you were trying to pull last night, but it WON’T happen again.” He raised his hand in the air, and I backed up. I wasn’t afraid of him anymore, and nothing really hurt anymore… Some things were just a habit. I looked up at him, “I’m sorry… I’m stupid.” He smiled his horrible fake smile, “You’re not stupid, you just don’t think.” He let go of me, left the room and slammed the door. I looked at the clothes he laid on the bed. It was the same outfit he laid out for me last Saturday- The green dress with white flowers on it. He made me dress like this because he liked it. I look more like a little girl this way, which was what he liked. I put the dress on, which barely fit me anymore. I sat back down on my bed, and waited… I waited for him to come get me like he does every morning. I listened, and I heard him talking to Hailey… The other girl that lives with us. She is younger than me and gets more attention. He loves her more. She’s a little girl, not me.
I heard his footsteps. My door swung open, and he and Hailey stood in my doorway. Hailey’s eyes were red, as usual. She wasn’t used to living here yet, and she hated it. “You look beautiful…” He said. He picked up my brush off of the table, and ran it through my long blonde hair. “It’s Saturday, I am going to the grocery store. You and Hailey need to prepare the house for tonight, Mr. and Mrs. Brown are coming over, and we CAN’T MESS THINGS UP.” He said. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are social workers, and they have to come once every two months to make sure that He treats us right, because he adopted us. He looked at me and then at Hailey, “Do you NEED anything from the grocery store? I don’t want to hear you whining about it later…” We shook our heads, telling him that we didn’t need anything. Honestly, it didn’t matter. One time I told him that he should by soy milk, because I’m lactose intolerant… But that didn’t go over well with him. He just yelled at me and told me that perfect little girls didn’t have such terrible flaws. Because of that, I haven’t drank milk in three years.
Hailey and I cherished he very few times that He was gone. You are probably thinking, Why don’t you just leave while he’s gone? Well, have you ever heard of those little chips that you place inside your child’s body, so that if they get abducted or lost, you’ll find them? Well, Hailey and I both have two. I have one behind my ear and in my forearm. If we leave, He will find us. Our only hope in getting out of pure hell is somehow getting the social workers to find out for themselves.
I was vacuuming the carpet, and Hailey was dusting when the unexpected happened… The door bell rang. Hailey ran for the door… I screamed at her, “HAILEY STOP!” But it was too late, she opened it. We weren’t supposed to answer the door or the phone when He wasn’t home… But Hailey had just screwed up. I didn’t recognize the man that stood before us, but he was dressed very nicely and smelled good too. He was tall. I stepped in front of Hailey, “Wh-Who are you?” I said. The man smiled, “I’m Dennis Welty. I live about two houses down… I was awakened last night when I heard screaming, and then I saw… You… Running through my yard. What was going on exactly?” My heart pretty much stopped and fell out of my chest. I looked at Hailey, and then back at the man. “Me and my… Dad… Were arguing about my… Sister. And I ran from him, because I was mad.” He nodded his head, and told us that if we ever needed anything, that he was just two houses down, in the blue house with the white shudders. I was happy that this had come when it was just me and Hailey. If He would have been home, I would have been dead.
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