Love And Hellfire

Chapter 13: A Deal With God

Avila regained consciousness almost instantly, as she entered her cursed dream. Her living nightmare. Abruptly sitting up upon the lumpy, hard mattress, she gasped for air, breathing heavily. 
"Shit." She panted, worriedly scanning her immediate surroundings. A heavy feeling within her chest confirmed her worst fears. She was home. Not her new Hawkins home, sadly. But her old home within the city of Anderson, Indiana. She was far from Hawkins now. Despite her uneasy feeling, Avila couldn't help but feel a level of comfort, as she gently brushed her hand along her old bed sheets. She remembered the countless times that this very room had offered her safety, comfort and sanctuary from the real monsters in her life. For a mere moment, Avila had become distracted from the reality of what was happening to her. 
As her bedroom door remained closed, from the other side she could hear crying in the distance. 
"Mom?" She called out, hesitantly rising from the comfort of the bed. The sound of her mothers crying was etched upon her brain, it settled in every memory she had of her, even up until present day. Avila's biological father had passed away when she was only months old, so that firstly caused a lot of heartbreak and depression for her mother. This lead to pills, drugs and drinking. Avila spent a lot of her childhood with Robin and her mum, watching on from a corner as her mother broke down night after night. Day after day. The support of her own family just wasn't enough for Avila's mom, soon enough she found herself within the clutches of a new man. Terry. He was controlling, manipulative and persistently tried to drive a wedge between Avila and her mother. No matter the circumstance, Avila would always be perceived as the bad guy. The rotten apple. The problem within the family. Of course, this drove her and her mother so far apart in the end that it triggered a new kind of depression. Avila was almost invisible in the eyes of her mother, unless she was looking for someone to blame. She drank more and more, cared less and less about herself and more about Terry. It all sadly came to a head when Terry began beating Avila. It occurred firstly due to silly little things. Late home from school? Black eye. Wears a skirt that's too short in his eyes? Cracked rib. 
Days before she fled to Hawkins, he'd beat her over and over for upsetting her mother purely over the fact that she was young, and her mother sadly grew older and more weathered as the days went on. She was a shell of her former self, whilst Avila continued living being young and beautiful, with her whole life ahead of her. This was enough for Terry to justify his actions. Avila couldn't be happy or beautiful, not if it distressed her mother. 

A door downstairs slammed shut suddenly, causing Avila to jump on the spot. The muffled sound of someone muttering to themselves got closer as Avila approached her bedroom door. 
"AVILA!" He yelled, enraged. It was Terry. 
All of a sudden, the door to her room burst open, revealing a long, extensive corridor separating her from her step-dad.  This was clearly a bad dream, she thought, as the real corridor was nowhere near this long. Avila considered how many times she could have used there being this much distance between her and her step-dad. It would have bought her time atleast. 
Their eyes met instantly as Avila began to shake with fear. 
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" He bellowed, slowly walking towards her as he rolled up the sleeves of his plaid shirt. "How many times do I have to tell you about the way you dress?!" 
Avila tried to speak, but alas she fumbled her words. This only made Terry a great deal more annoyed, as he shook his head, laughing. It was a horrible, creepy laugh, one which made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. 
"You think you're something special, don't you?" He scolded her, gaining pace as he approached her bedroom. "Let's see how special the world thinks you are once you're 6 feet under, princess!"

Panicked, Avila froze on the spot once again, as Terry began sprinting towards her. She struggled to contain her emotions any longer, as the tears began to stream down her face. Shaking her head frantically, he continued to shout and cat-call her. 
"NO! NO!" Avila cried, covering her ears with her hands as she stood there, watching him run towards her. "GO AWAY!" 
As she screamed, the door to her bedroom slammed shut once again, all by itself. Complete silence presumed for a second or two, before the banging began. 
"Let me in you little slut!" Terry struck the door with his fists, over and over. Each time the door moved, it appeared to be coming loose. Opening. "You let me in right now, or you're dead! YOU HEAR ME AVILA? DEAD!" 
From the corner of her eye, Avila suddenly noticed an object appear out of nowhere. An object well known to her, but definitely didn't belong in her bedroom. Approaching it, she wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt as she grasped the handle. It was Steve's bat. The one with the nails. Lifting it, she was taken aback by how incredibly light it was to handle. She expected to not be able to move it, let alone lift it above her head. 
The endless hammering upon her door continued, as she turned to face it bravely. 
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" He bellowed once more, hitting the door over and over. 
Taking the bat firmly within both hands, Avila widened her stance taking a deep breath. 
Bravely, she was determined to fight back this time. She was committed to facing Terry head on, defending herself no matter what. 
"Let's do it then!" She screamed, holding the bat steady. "If you wanna kill me, then come on and frickin' try!"