chapter 14

My stomach roiled like a tornado had taken up residence there. I couldn’t stop fidgeting in my seat as Jane drove closer to my house. It had been pointless for me to have postponed my return here. Father had warned me that my mother would pay for my absence if I didn’t hurry and get to the house. My throat went dry and I clenched my hands into fists so they wouldn’t shake.

“Are you sure you don’t want to call Rai first?” Jane asked and pulled the car to the side of the road. It would be so easy to have her take me somewhere else and forget I had a home but mother needed me and I owed her my life.

“Yeah, don’t worry I’ll be fine,” slowly I stepped out of the car and headed for the house. Jane had yet to leave and I was she would see something she shouldn’t or father would see her and she would get hurt too. Suddenly, there was a crash from inside the house and I sprinted to the door.

“Where are you going? Come back here” father yelled and then another crash was heard following my mother’s scream. Without thinking about the consequences, I threw the door open and ran in the direction of the noises.

The scene before me caused a pit of unfathomable rage to form within me. My mother was crouched in the corner with her arms thrown over her head for protection and father was looming over her with a vase in his hands, ready to throw it in her direction.

“Stop it!” I cried out without thinking and instantly I regretted it. He turned towards me and I could see the rage mixed with the liquor in his eyes. The rage I had felt quickly turned to fear and I could feel my insides turn to queasy mush of panic. Without warning, he threw the vase at me and I ran out of the way knowing that I was in for a world of hurt.

“Hey Adel, are you alright in there?” Jane called from the front door.

I was quick to run to the door to stop her from coming upon the scene father had created. If father saw her he might hurt her and I was not going to put anyone else through this. Dread clutched my stomach and bile rose in me as I tried to put on a calm demeanor.

“Um…hey, what are you still doing here?” there was a bit of a sharp edge to my voice but it was not against her. Would she take it the wrong way? I was realizing how hard it was to keep a friend again.

“I heard crashing and wondered if you were alright” she said it with suspicion in her voice.

“Yeah it was my father. He got over excited over something again and knocked over some things in the living room. Don’t worry it’s just the normal here.” I wasn’t technically lying to her even if the truth was far worse then she could ever imagine. But I wasn’t going to put this burden on her shoulders.

“ADEL!” father yelled from the living room, his voice filled with rage.

“I have to go Jane. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Without waiting for her reply, I quickly closed the door and leaned against it. Father was really mad and I was probably in for a punishment tonight. I shouldn’t have stayed at Rai’s and instead taken my chances coming here. Well it was too late to regret it now and it was time to face the music.

“ADEL! You little brat, come here” he yelled furiously from the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

“I’m coming!” I had to be strong in front of him or the pounding would be far worse. With my head held high and my hands in fists at my sides, I walked to the stairs and looked up at my father. If looks could kill, I would be dead ten times over already. His eyes screamed anger and frustration and his face was as red as a tomato. His hands were shaking fists ready to cause me harm. Internally I was afraid for my life but I couldn’t show it. He thrived on my fear and weakness.

“Come up here” he said in a tense and low tone.

That tone meant danger and every fiber of my body was screaming to run and hide but I couldn’t. I could see my mother sobbing in the corner of the living room through my peripheral vision. He would continue to hurt her if I left and I couldn’t allow that, no matter how much o wanted to be free of this cage.

With slow cautious steps, I climbed up the stairs towards my so called father. In my stomach there was a storm forming from so much fear. I wouldn’t be able to eat anything for a couple of days after this. There was a tingling in my brain as it tried to shut down like it used to do when I was smaller but I had learned to control that. I used pass out, before getting the first few blows, out of plain fear.

I stood before my father and I could feel the threat coming off him in waves. My shaking had stopped and now I felt my body tense ready for the thrashing he would give me. His fist connected with my abdomen like a sledgehammer and I doubled over. He took a hand full of my hair and wrenched it up. I was looking into his face that was filled with a sick pleasure and satisfaction that cause bile to rise in me. Then without warning he turned me to face the stairs and pushed.

Every time my body hit a stair a blast of pain ran through my body. There would be bruises as big as apples soon. When I hit the landing, my jaw hit the corner of the last stair and I tasted blood in my mouth; it was a metallic taste that I had gotten use to over the years. I rolled over onto my back so he wouldn’t end up turning me into an invalid.

I knew this was only the tip of the iceberg and I was right by the sound of him stomping down the stairs. God, I hated my life.