by Letty Scott
When one girl jumped on him, wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him, he tried to pull her off him. I knew that while he was distracted, it was my chance to get away from him, so I turned and walked away from his side.
Before I walked out of the school building, I turned to see if he was able to escape and was coming after me, but there was no sight of him. I sighed, thinking maybe he finally understood what I had been trying to tell him all day and went off with one of those girls. This was for the best, for both of us.
As I walked home, I started thinking about what awaits me when I walk through the door. Sometimes I wished I was able to just run away and never come back. Most eighteen-year-girls who were being abused at home would have been long gone by now, but I had something keeping me in place.
When my grandmother died when I was ten, she left me an inheritance. The only thing was that I would be unable to have it unless I finish high school. I knew that if I left, I would be homeless and end up living on the streets. That would lead to me having to drop out of school with no real future for me. For now I was stuck in this hell for the next three months, and then I would be free to leave and go off to college to live a normal life, far away from this place.
When I had gotten to my house, I opened the door as quietly as I could so as not to alarm anyone I was home. When I walked in through the door, I saw my stepfather, Greg, sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand but he looked asleep.
The TV was blaring so it helped drown out my arrival home, giving me a slight peace of mind as I closed the door. I walked up the stairs to my room, hoping for a peaceful night. I closed the door behind me and looked around and let out the breath of air I was holding in.
I looked about the room and everything was just simple and had no personal touches to it. Just a twin-size bed that sat in the middle with the headboard pushed up to the wall. I don’t remember the last time I had slept in it, but I was thankful the bed was still made, which meant that no one else had been in it.
There was a small dresser on the other side of that against the wall. Then behind me was the closet that also hung a full length mirror. That was all there is in my simple room and it was perfect to me.
As I changed out of my school clothes, I turned to look in the mirror at the damage that had been done the night before. It still hurt on my left side, but I was used to the pain that I learned to ignore it. I stood there in my undergarments examining my newly formed bruises. There were three purple areas that swelled up along my right side. Then on my left side there were two massive dark circles right by my rib cage. I stepped closer to the mirror to see that the area I had been kicked at had turned black with a deep purple circle around it.
Maybe my step-father was right. Who would want a girl like me? I was broken and would bring nothing but trouble. Brandon did the smart thing, leaving with someone else after school and not following me home. Even though during lunch I had a little hope that maybe he would be here for me and protect me from this devil of a man, I should have known better to hope though.
This was my fight and I wasn’t going to let anyone else fight beside me. I didn’t need his help. I knew how to stick up for myself, but there was just something about my step-father that made me shy away from that girl I knew I was.
“So, I heard you’re whoring yourself around now.”
I heard my step-father’s voice say, bringing me out of the trance I was in. I looked over at him standing in my doorway looking at my bruised body that he had caused. I was starting to feel uncomfortable under his eyes that I searched around the floor to see, if by any chance, I left a shirt lying around, but my floor was spotless.
“Answer me, girl.”
I looked back up at him as he walked into the room now. “No, it’s not like that. He just noticed I was hurting today and when he saw my face, he wanted to know what had happened,” I explained.
As I spoke, he took a step closer to me, which made me take a step back. I knew I was about to get beaten because of someone finding out that I was being abused. There was nothing I could do to stop it.
I watched as he removed his belt and wrap it around his hand. “What did you tell this little boy toy of yours when he asked about that mark across your disgusting face? I honestly think it makes you look a lot better. It shows what a wretched girl you truly are.”
“I told him I fell this morning before coming to school,” I replied. I started to circle past the wall to try to make it to the other side of my bed to put some distance between us. I was getting an uneasy feeling with him being in here with me eyeing me like I was his prey and was waiting for the perfect time to pounce on me.
“Did he believe you?” he asked at the same time he grabbed hold of my arm before I could make it to the other side of the bed. Fear crept up in me, as my brain went blank knowing what was about to happen. All I could do was shake my head back and forth in answer to his question. “Why would that be?”
“I don’t know,” I answered, and he pulled me closer to him, so I couldn’t escape. “He kept pushing for answers, but I kept telling him the same thing, that I had fallen and hurt myself.”
“Maybe you just weren’t that good at being a little whore like he thought you would be.” That was when he gripped me by my arms and pulled me against his chest. “Let’s see what this little boy toy saw in your beaten ass,” he commented.
I didn’t understand what he was talking about till he threw me on my bed. I tried to sit up, but he was faster than me and jumped up on top of me, straddling me and pinning my arms down. I started thrusting around to get him off, but it was a weak attempt since he was much stronger than I was. “Mandy, bring me some rope. We’re going to teach this little whore here what happens when you open your mouth to the wrong people.”
“No, please don’t do this!” I pleaded, still trying to fight him off me.
I was still struggling when Mandy walked in holding what looked more like bungee cords. She had a devilish smile on her face. “Here you go, daddy,” she said, handing them to him.
“Mandy, no, please. Don’t let him do this. Help me.” I begged her as I saw him lean over me, pulling one of my arms up to tie my wrist to the bed.
I was about to start hitting him with my now free hand only to have Mandy grab hold of it. “Shut up! You brought this upon yourself,” she said, tying my other hand to the headboard. “I saw you with your little boy toy today during lunch when I went to spy on your sorry ass. I saw how you were sitting in his lap. It’s funny to think a guy like that would be interested in a scum like you.”
With my hands now restrained, they moved to tie my legs to the foot of the bed. I kept screaming, hoping someone outside would hear me and get help. I normally didn’t make noise when I was getting beaten, but this was beyond anything they have ever done.
Once they finally had me defenseless, Mandy went back to the door and turned to look at us one last time. “Have fun, Daddy.” Then she closed the door behind her.
I looked up to see my stepfather taking off his clothes while looking at me in disgust.
“Please don’t do this. I’ll stay away from him. I’ll run the opposite way when he tries to come up to me, please just don’t do this.” I started pleading to him. I didn’t want my innocence taken away by this guy, the way he had taken so many other things from me already.
“I don’t care what you do with that little boy toy of yours, but after today, no one is going to want your slutty ass. You’ll be nothing but a dirty, worthless whore around town known for sleeping around with every guy in sight by the time I’m done with you,” he threatened and started to crawl in between my legs.
I felt him press up to me through my boy shorts till I felt him pull them to the side and realign himself into me.
“Please, no!” I cried when I felt him push just a little into me. I knew pleading and begging wouldn’t help any, but I had to keep trying. I would scream on top of my lungs if I thought it would get me the help I so d
esperately needed.
“Stop screaming or I’ll knock your sorry ass out after I’m fully inside you,” he growled, his voice full of malice. “That way you know it’s me who’s fucking you and not that boy toy of yours. You had this coming for talking to that boy about the things that happened in this house. This is your punishment and it will stay this way till I say otherwise.”
I was still begging for him to leave me alone. Before he could push any further, though, I heard another male voice say, “I think the girl said no.”
3
How did he get here?
How did he know where to find me?
Those questions went through my head as I opened my eyes to see Brandon standing in my bedroom doorway with a displeased looked on his face. I watched as his hand clenched and unclenched, taking in what he was seeing.
“I think you need to remove yourself from Kami now before I do it for you.” His voice echoed through the room. With the way he was eyeing my stepfather, I was worried that something bad was about to happen, leading to more trouble for the both of us. I knew Brandon takes on teenagers, but I was unsure about his being about to defeat my step-father.
Seeing Brandon in the doorway, my step-father sat up on his knees. As he sized up Brandon, I watched him cock his eyebrow at the younger man.
“So you must be the little boy toy she’s been messing around with today. Well, let’s just see how good she really is for you,” he warned, returning his attention to me and realigning himself.
He tried to push, but I used what energy I had to fight him off. I was weak, but my thrashing about was making it difficult for him to go with his horrible plan. I closed my eyes, thinking this was it, that my stepfather was going to take away my innocence. And what would happen to me? There would be nothing left. Just a shell emptier than I already was.
But suddenly, the weight on top of me was gone.
I could hear some grunting coming from the side of my bed. I opened my eyes and turned my head to the side to see Brandon on top of my stepfather throwing punches to his face. I watched my stepfather try to throw a punch in, but Brandon ducked it and swung to hit him again.
Brandon kept throwing one punch after another, telling my stepfather what a sick bastard he was, while my stepfather was yelling at Brandon and was saying ‘how he was going to regret interfering.’
After what felt like forever, the room fell silent. I closed my eyes, wishing the world around me would disappear. I was more ashamed of myself than ever before. I didn’t want Brandon to see me so weak. All I’ve done was fight him off today, but I hadn’t been able to fight off my stepfather. I wished I had put up more of a fight before being tied to this bed and being more exposed than I’ve been in my life. Then maybe Brandon wouldn’t have witnessed what he did.
I yelled when I felt someone at one of my feet. “Shhh, Kami, it’s me. Don’t worry, I’m getting you out of here,” I heard Brandon say as he untied the cord and went to free the other foot. I opened my eyes and saw him standing at the foot of my bed looking down at my exposed body. I turned my gaze away from him, not wanting to see the pity in his eyes. I closed my eyes, wishing that today had never happened. That Brandon never walked up to me at school and was now saving me from being raped.
When I felt my hand being untied, I opened my eyes. I still didn’t want to face Brandon so I leaned my body away from him as I untied my other hand. As I looked down, I saw my step-father unconscious and lying on the floor. I watched as his chest moved up and down slightly, informing me that he was still alive.
There was blood dripping from his parted lips. I felt the rage started to swim inside me as I got off my bed and stood beside him.
Without thinking, I brought my foot back and kicked him in the side, just like he had done to me so many nights before. I cried out as I brought my foot back and kicked him again and again.
I had totally forgotten that Brandon was in the room till I felt his arms wrap around my waist, also locking my arms in place and pulling me away from my step-father.
“Stop, Kami. It’s ok, you’re safe for now,” he gently said, pulling me away to the other side of the bed. He released me, but I kept my back to him as I let everything sink back in around me. “Kami, here, put this on. We need to go before he wakes up.”
I felt clothes being placed on my shoulder. I gripped a hold of them and placed the pants on the bed as I slipped the shirt on, then picked them back up to cover my legs.
When I turned around to face Brandon, I saw that he had turned his back to me and was looking out in the hall, like he was waiting for someone to show up. That was when I thought of Mandy. Where was she? Why hadn’t she shown up by now?
As those questions ran through my head, I went to my closet to get my hoodie, so I could cover my face. I was about to get it when I felt Brandon’s hand on mine. “Leave it. I have a better one in the car you can have,” he said, pulling me out of the room.
We were walking down the stairs when I heard some banging coming from the hall closet. The further down we got, I could tell that Mandy was the one in there. “Let me out of here,” she kept screaming as she hit the wooden door. “I’m going to kick your sorry ass when I get a hold of you.”
I could hear Brandon laughing. “Yeah, you got to find me first, sweetheart. Now I think I’ll take what I came for and go,” he yelled with some humor behind his voice. How he saw the situation funny, just confused me more about how he figured out what was going on.
“When my father’s done fucking that whore, he’s going to beat the shit out of you,” she yelled back, slamming against the door right when we got to the bottom stair. I found out that a chair had been placed under the door handle, making it impossible to open from the inside.
Brandon was smirking as he said, “Oh, you mean that guy who’s now lying on the floor in Kami’s bedroom?” Brandon walked me to the front door and faced the hall closet. “Have a nice night. The cops will be here soon.”
We didn’t hear her reply since he pulled me out of the house and into his car. He opened the passenger door for me and I gave him a look still, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Brandon, what the hell are you doing here?” I took a step away from him, letting go of his hand. He wasn’t supposed to be here, he was supposed to be with one of his fan girls.
“I’ll explain later, Kami. Please just get in the car,” he said, gesturing with his one hand for me to get in the car while the other held the open door. I knew he wasn’t going to just let me go on my own, so I gave in and got in the car.
I was so focused on looking out the window that I didn’t really take in much of the car on the inside. I took in my home and thought about the lies that went on inside that the outside world didn’t know. I looked at the two-story white house, with the oak tree in the front yard and the flowers surrounding it. The yard was well taken care of and the grass so green.
It made it seem like a perfect family lived there, when in really it was a dysfunctional family. A family that was evil and there was no love. There was only someone who’d rip your soul from you.
I was still looking outside when the car moved. Brandon was driving and was taking me away from this hell. Someone had been looking out for me today and brought Brandon to my life. “How did you know where to find me?” I asked, wanting to know how he had been able to find me so fast.
It seemed that all the rage and tension from my bedroom had washed away and he brought a smile to his face. “I have some acquaintances that live on this street and I’ve seen you walk into that house plenty of times to know that you live there.” I knew by acquaintance he was probably talking about his bed friends. “What I want to know is why you just walked away from me at school?”
“I didn’t feel like standing there,” I began as I put my hands in my lap, looking down at them. “…hearing all those girls ask questions and bad mouth me, so I was trying to do us both a favor and walk away before one of us got hurt.” I never thought he’
d leave those girls and come after me. Nothing about this day made sense to me.
“Kami, you almost got raped in there!” he yelled.
I looked up to see that his knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. “So please tell me what you mean by, no one would get hurt. If I hadn’t walked in when I did...” he just trailed off and sighed. “I’m just glad I got there when I did and now I know you’re safe.” He went to hold my hand but I flinched away from him. “Kami, I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe now. I’m not going to hurt you. You can trust me that I’m not going to cause you any harm. You don’t have to go back to that house ever again. You’re in good hands now.”
“You don’t understand. If I don’t go back, then I’ll be homeless. I don’t have any family left. My father left me with my mother and that devil family. He didn’t even want me,” I yelled at him.
“Your mother let this happen? Why would she let him touch you like that? You’re her daughter. She’s supposed to protect you from people like that.”
“She’s usually drunk when she’s not working. When my stepfather starts hitting me, she just sits there and laughs about it. I don’t understand it either.” I sounded confused, looking away from him and back out of the window. I watched as we drove through town. “Where are we going anyway?”
“The police,” he said, like it was the simplest thing.
“No! I can’t. I will lose everything,” I screamed at him.
“What do you mean lose everything? Kami, from what I could tell, you had nothing back there.” He was also yelling now, slamming the brakes on the car while pulling over to the side. “For the love of God, Kami, he almost raped you. When I saw him on top of you, I saw red. When I came to, all I saw was his limp body under me and you still tied to that bed. Seeing all those bruises that lay under your clothes makes me want to go back and kill him. So tell me again why we shouldn’t go to the cops.”