A light in the dark (On hold)

Chapter 17

    I sat, my knees drawn up to my chest and tears streaming down my face, while William rubbed my back from next to me. I thought I heard him say "It'll be okay, we'll find a way around this" but I wasn't sure. All I could hear is those last few words my Father had said before he left, ringing in my ears as I cried.

    Father was back. He was going to beat me again, like he used to. No, I wouldn't let it happen again. I will be the bigger person, and I will fight against him.

   I couldn't though. I wasn't strong enough back then, and I still wasn't strong enough now. He had hit me, sent me flying across the floor and then I'd have to go to kindergarden and say I tripped and fell down the stairs or had accidently cut myself when I ran with scissors. He was abusive verbally too. He used to call me fat, and ugly, and told me how ashamed of me he was, and then he would say how he hated me and that he'd give me away. That was only a small part of what he did to me.

     I hated him. I still do, and now I was going to get him back.

    I was vaguely aware of William still trying to comfort me, but I wasn't listening because now, Father was coming over to us.

    I stood up, and realized I was still shorter than him. William was on the ground as he looked up at me, confusion written across his face.

    "What the heck do you want, Comrad?!" I asked Father.

    He grinned, and shook his head. "That is no way to talk to your dad, now is it?"

   "Maybe if you actually acted like a Father then I'd have reason to respect you." I said, hiding the anger that boiled in the pit of my stomach. My fists clenched and unclenched by my sides.

     His grin grew. "You haven't changed much."

    "I'm stronger than I used to be, and that's all thanks to my mother's good parenting. Unlike what you did!"

     "You should stop while you're ahead. You'll regret those words."

      "I regret ever calling you Father. You were an abusive jerk."

     Father's hands balled into fists at his sides. "Last chance, Adrianna."

     Anger shook me. "You aren't worth it. I hate you, and I swore after you left that if I ever saw your ugly face again, I'd rip it off. I'm not afraid of you, you can't hurt me anymore!"

    He pulled his arm back and swung. The anger was pulsing through my blood stream, giving me a moment of adrenaline, but it wasn't enough as his fist connected with my lower stomach.

    William shot up beside me, in time to catch me, as I fell back. I spit out blood from my mouth, tears welling up in my eyes from the pain. I was royally ticked off now, and I needed to lean against William for support and then just so I wouldn't take Father's head off.

    William's head snapped up to Father, and I noticed how much taller William was. "Why the heck did you just do that?!"

     Father smiled at William. "She needs to learn her lesson. She obviously had forgotten since I left, so I'm going to teach it to her all over again."

     I coughed in William's arms, and he tightened them around me. I turned so I could burry my face in his chest, readying myself mentally and physically.

    "You haven't any right to treat her like that!" William said, and I felt the muscles in his chest contract. He was angry, and if Father wasn't careful-

     "And you should watch your mouth too, boy. You need me, right? Well, keep your mouth shut." Father said, still sounding polite and well kept. I knew that it was merely a show, and I was furious with how he treated my new friend. William's anger must have dissapated, and he seemed to be take a back by Father's words. Now I couldn't take it anymore.