Birthday Party

It all started when I was six years old. It was my birthday party and for a child, that was the greatest day of your entire life.

The date was June 6th, 2002. My dad was drinking in the backyard, a lonely but large backyard; with a swimming pool that didn't even take up half of it, a garden between a large green fence, and a memorial for our dead pets. It wasn't depressing though, the grass was shining green and the sun was happy. I was happy, for a child; it was my birthday, why wouldn't I be happy? My big dad, with a buzzcut and had a large beer gut, was lounging in a big chair. For the first time in what seemed my entire lifetime, he looked...happy. In a way. We all knew it wouldn't last for long. I smiled at him, and walked up the stairs into the back porch and threw open the door, only to hear a "Gabriella, goddammit! Be careful with that damn door!" I ignored it and proceeded anyways, he couldn't yell at me or ruin my day. It was MY birthday. 

As I went into the kitchen, my Aunt Eva and my mom were finishing up my cake by frosting it. It was a fairly large chocolate cake, decorated with white frosting and flowers. My cousins all played in the front yard, with my other five siblings. We had many pets too. Most of them didn't leave the basement, always pissing on the floor. We had a big dog Sammy, who by next year we would have given away; a dog China, who was evil and wouldn't leave the bathroom in the upstairs, and lastly we had Raindrop, who was my little kitten, my best friend. Overall in my house, we had 8 people, including another sister who we'd only met once, her name was Sandra. My family was large; we had so many cousins and uncles/aunts I didn't know half of them. Rarely, my family would come together and celebrate something, but for some reason they decided to celebrate my 6th birthday. I sat on the front steps, adjusting my pink plastic crown, watching everyone messing around. My eldest sister, Cara, was holding our newest baby brother Mason. He was one year old, and he was able to crawl. He wasn't an ugly baby, but he definitely wasn't the cutest. No one minded though, because our family wasn't exactly "good looking". Most of us were chubby, including me.

Today was a nice day, everyone was laughing; even Cara, who never laughed. She stopped laughing as soon as dad started beating her. She was the first one to adapt to the beatings, and it would get passed on eventually reaching my youngest sister, B. Her real name is Barbara, but so disgusted by it, since she could talk, she changed it too "B". Cara, and my two other half-sisters, Madeline and Sophia weren't from the same dad as I was. He still felt obligated to beat them, even though they weren't his blood kids. Their biological father never came around, so I guess he was basically a dad to them anyways. As soon as my mom gave birth to Sophia, their real dad left.

My cousin Jared came up to me and sat down next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Jared was tall, had blonde, short hair, acne, thick glasses and a greasy face. He was the funniest cousin I had, even if I didn't understand his jokes at the time. Everyone else did though, and would laugh constantly with him. Dan rarely came around anymore, he was busy with school and our parents didn't get along too well. His father was related to my mother. Two crazy alcoholics, obviously they couldn't agree on anything. 

"Gabby, aren't you excited for your birthday? I bet you got so many gifts. I have a special gift for you upstairs later," he threw me a wink. For some strange reason, he whispered those words to me, but no one seemed to notice or mind. I was just wondering what could his gift be? Maybe a new doll or something, but he said it was special so it must be. My whole body shook with excitement. Jared was my favorite cousin at the moment, without a doubt. We heard Aunt Eve scream for us to come in and that the cake was ready, so our whole family proceeded inside. My dad, mother, and a few aunts and uncles were already surrounding the cake and the large white table. Everyone swiftly tried to find a seat, and my mom lifted me up with a grunt to blow out the candles. As they sang, I looked around, beaming. Everyone seemed so happy, so joyful. Was it because of me? I hoped so. When the song finished I blew out the candles. I wished for more days like these; no yelling, crying, screaming or fighting. Just pure happiness. Of course, my wish wouldn't come true in the end. 

I felt sick, after eating about 3 large pieces of cake; and I sat outside. A few family members were outside already; either smoking, drinking, or socializing. Jared came up to me and grabbed my hand and tugged me all the way upstairs to my room. It was a large, blue room with two beds, one for me and one for B. Our house had overall about 5 bedrooms; B and I shared one, Sophia and Madeline shared one, Mason had his own little room, and Cara stayed in the basement. In my room, there were two large closets that had no clothes, so Jared took me into them. I didn't think too much of "why were we going into the closet", I just wanted my surprise gift. He fumbled to turn on the light, inept at doing so. I did it for him, and had the biggest smile on my face. I couldn't wait for this "gift", but I wanted to hurry because I knew people would come to find us. 

Jared smiled back at me, and it began; I blame this entire incident on what ruined my sanity. He unbuckled his belt, and pulled his tan kakis down. He pulled down his blue, plaid boxers too. He grabbed my head and moved it towards his penis, and then took off my shirt. He touched me, he forced me to touch him, and he grabbed me. He hurt me so much, but I couldn't scream. He kept whispering, "This is normal, this okay. I won't hurt you. People do this all the time." How was I supposed to know better? 

When it ended, I didn't know what happened. I didn't know what was going on. I was 6 years old, and I felt like the world had just crumbled on my shoulders. I was confused and hurt, and I couldn't tell my parents. I couldn't scream for help. I was alone on this, and completely ruined. Ever since this day, June 6th, 2002, my life was completely Hell. 

Reviews

[de_maruf]

good going

[violetta york / nicki elle]

Thanks!

[J. Write]

I like the plot of your story Nicole, and you wrote this chapter well with the necessary detailed to bring out the background of your story, the family situation and most importantly the theme. well done, and keep Writing.

[violetta york / nicki elle]

Thank you!

[DrD]

Nicole, there a places of magnificence in this work. Some of the descriptions of a dysfunctional family are superb. If this is a chapter, I am curious to know where you are going with this. Writing in first person is very difficult for a complete book and I respect your courage in doing it. I liked this very much in spite of feeling a peculiar outrage for the events within it.

[violetta york / nicki elle]

I plan on finishing this book possibly, its my first try, hopefully I can get more great reviews like yours! I unfortunately grew up around this family (it's not mine, and the story isn't about me) and thats how I might have got such a good detail on it. Thank you!