Prologue: Anywhere but here

Prologue: Anywhere but here!

The sand was warm, the water was cold, and the sun was slowly setting. The sky was decorated with pink and purple lights, Alyssa sat there admiring the image that would only be projected for a few more minutes. She dug her toes through the sand enjoying the only warmth left. She was wearing black gym shorts, an olive green shirt covered by a white and gray hoodie. At the end of the sleeves was a small hole that she slid her thumbs through. She loved that jacket and almost always wore it.

Alyssa flipped open her cell phone and read the time, 7:05 p.m. She had to get going soon before her parents found another reason to flip out on her, not that they had a perfectly good one. Alyssa quickly got up taking one last look around the beach. She loved it there and wish she could never leave. Quickly spinning around, Alyssa started to walk home, her feet dragging along the cemented sidewalk and her hands dug in her jacket pockets.

Fifteen minutes later Alyssa walked through her front door and seen her father sprint pass her, loudly slamming the door as he left. She looked at her mother and seen that her eyes were red and puffy as she held a bottle of Spanish Rum in her hand. She glared at Alyssa for a long minute and opened her mouth to give her orders, "I want this place clean within the next hour you hear?" She demanded. "Cleaned from corner to corner, and if it's not done there is going to be hell to pay." With that, her mother walked off into her bedroom and slammed the door. Every Time something went wrong, Alyssa's mom gave her ridiculous orders. Alyssa looked around the house and seen that it was fairly clean so there wasn't much to do. She could have it done in the next half hour, but she knew that she'd have to go a little slower. If her mother came out in the next hour and didn't see her cleaning the house, she would assume that Alyssa didn't do anything and start throwing glass bottles everywhere giving her something to actually clean.

An hour later Mrs. Cameron came out of her room and glanced around the house searching for something to yell at Alyssa for. She couldn't find anything and was mildly satisfied. She decided to let it go but still called Alyssa down. "Alyssa! Get your but down here right now!" She yelled angrily so she didn't have to wait too long for Alyssa to come. Almost instantly, Alyssa came flying down the stairs and looked straight at her mother. "What do you plan on doing for dinner?" Mrs. Cameron asked. "I don't know yet." Alyssa answered softly. "Well you better figure it out soon or starve to death. I'm leaving and I won't be back for awhile." "Okay." Alyssa muttered.

It didn't matter to Alyssa that her mom was leaving, whenever she said awhile she came back the next day more drunk than when she left. She never did anything for Alyssa and could care less about what she did with her life. Alyssa could be running around having sex all day and her mom wouldn't give a damn about it. Alyssa's dad was never home and when he was he was either yelling or beating Alyssa. The weekdays were Alyssa's favorite time, she could go to school and not think about those things she was forced to call parents.

******

"Alyssa Paige Cameron!" Mr. Cameron yelled as he walked through the front door. Alyssa stepped down the stairs in a matter of seconds. She tripped on the last step and fell to the floor catching herself with her hands. She felt a sharp pain against her hand and she instantly knew she was cut by something sharp. Alyssa looked down at her hand and seen a small amount of blood seeping out onto the ground. She wondered where the glass came from. She looked to her left and seen liquid dripping down the wall and glass shattered at the bottom of the stairs. She knew her father must have thrown a bottle of liquor against the wall. The smell of the liquor invaded her nose as she slowly got up from the floor.

"Where is your mother?" Mr. Cameron snapped. "She said she was leaving and wouldn't be back for awhile." Alyssa answered through gritted teeth trying not to show signs of pain. Mr. Cameron's blood instantly began to boil with anger, he looked like he was going to explode. He was always angry and took it out on the first person he saw, meaning Mrs. Cameron or Alyssa. Angry, Mr. Cameron took off the belt he was wearing and yanked Alyssa up from the ground. Alyssa held her bloody hand to her head trying to somehow ease the pain that she was now feeling from her scalp. Her father quickly whipped the belt across Alyssa's back multiple times. The first few times Alyssa was able to hold her screams in. With every continuous whip, she no longer was able to hold it in and let out a loud yell. Tears streamed down her face as she stood there being controlled by her drunken father. Mr. Cameron let go of her and Alyssa fell to the ground with a loud thumping noise. Mr. Cameron felt relieved that he was able to get all that anger out of his body. As soon as he let go of Alyssa he headed for the door and took off again.

Alyssa watched him walk away leaving her feeling like her back was on fire. Tears slowly fell from her eyes, she couldn't move so she just stayed there. Alyssa soon got up feeling only a slight bit better. Alyssa looked down at the big pieces of glass left on the floor. She walked up the steps with a huge chunk off glass hanging from her hands, wincing with every step she took. As soon as she got to the bathroom, she started cutting herself in her wrist. He whole arms were marked up scars and she felt relief as she watched the blood seep out of her. She stepped into the bathtub fully clothed and watch the water fill. The water was becoming a bloody red. She set her arms down into the water and felt her cuts sting. She sat there all not watching the tub overflow and flood the entire room wishing she was anywhere but here.

Author's Note

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