The Price Of Us (MM)

O

her had always been cruel to me, even before my sorry excuse for a mother left-but her absence carved

nd. Eve

rning was n

my father said. I

he threw a ceramic mug at my head

your existence," he said, heading t

opened my mouth. He punched me so h

to my stomach again and again. The pain burned through me, but I d

d up to me," he spat, delivering a final kick to

likely to drown himself in whiskey or wh

n't even defend himself in his home. I'd tried over the years-God knows I'd tried- but every attempt ended the same way: b

was I st

n the doorway, eyes dry but distant, and told me she couldn't stay anymore. I begged her no

ather," she'd said.

as

ises like that cou

or work. My shoulder length blond curls were tangled and wild, so I tied them back in a messy b

be in a hai

rso was littered with bruises in various stages of healing, some fresh, others lingering from weeks ago. Cigarette bu

alk about the on

my ref

d like hers. The woman who left me behind. The

s-stared back at me, rim

d them. Li

gly pathetic. I was h

way from my now foggy reflect

-I got dressed and headed to work, following the same broken sidewalk. T

Most people in this neighborhood barely finished high school, let alone trained f

to be a d

t clean up

ity guard, greeted me with his usual wide toothed smile. H

ied, forcing a smil

lding u

odd

knew I w

e. But I never listened. Not really. Still... if he tried aga

the monotony. Nothing unusual happened, and I was gratefu

had

ay

ose floorboard in my room. Father never stepped foot in there-he called it "pan

odified the surrounding floor so it

I th

ed. As I climbed the stairs to our decrepit two-

as h

I opened the door, ste

He was holding a thick wad of cash in hi

ummeted to

did he

een so careful.

our pansy room," he sneere

got

pped

t this

. Of being quiet and living

my crossbody bag and pulled out the

I said, voice shaking, knif

was a

e that rattled through my bones, wea

a... weapon," he sneered, glancing at

u don't hand over the mon

nged

to slash, but he grab

o push him away but he had an iron grip on it.

his fist

d you to shut your mouth b

lized me so much, I doubled o

wasn'

got hold o

this," he said, as he stood above me. "Bu

slashin

begged. "Fat

in, each cut elicited a cry of agony from my lips. Bloo

the floor, my breath shallow, eyes flutte

e, I felt my conscio

, smeared with water marks, mold, an

ght in my head as spots began to d

do this

orry

keep you

th

kne