Torn

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2:

Lynz used to see a shadow almost wherever she went since she could remember. She couldn't see any detail, any color, but black. She assumed, from the outline, it was a teenage boy. She was never sure if it was a ghost or just some stalker. Lynz would see him sometimes at school, but in the next blink, he'd be gone. Lynz would see him when she would prepare to fall asleep. She knew she wasn't going crazy. She was sure she saw something. And she was determined to find out what, or who, that was.

Lynz Dawson's early teen years were hectic and chaotic, with the addition of having a strange masterless-shadow show up often. Her life was rough, filled with curiosity, hurt, and trying to find something to depend on to take away the physical and emotional pain. True, she was not an orphan. But she might as well have been. Brenda was, in no way, a mother anymore. Her motherly figure, and her father, had both disappeared, in what Lynz thought of as the Dark Days.

Not a single day was even decent. It was when she cared less than she ever had. She had no dignity, and she was unable to take care of herself. She was only 13 when the Dark Days began.

Her mom and dad didn't get along, but they weren't like other parents that constantly yelled and tried to make it obvious to the other the greatness of their hate. Her parents secretly despised each other and couldn't help but show it sometimes. They tried hiding it by not talking to each other. Lyndsay didn't understand why they were even married.

But finally, the day came; the day when Lyndsay's dad cracked. He had had enough dealing with, what Lyndsay thought, them. They had all been distributed around the living room; Lyndsay was sitting in a chair at the dinner table, reading a book; Brenda, her mother, was sitting across from her, reading a magazine; and Lynz's dad was on the couch, watching TV. He had recently gotten laid off from his job as an architect, and it seemed as though everything immediately went downhill from there. He didn't care to dress as nice as he used to, sporting a wrinkled, buttoned shirt and heavily faded jeans. His carelessly tousled blonde hair made him look 25 rather than 32.

Lyndsay's father stopped his channel surfing. He turned the TV off, stood up, and slammed the remote on the small coffee table in front of him, screaming angrily. He furiously approached Brenda and grabbed her shoulders, ripping her from her seat to stand up. She was utterly terrified.

"Why do you act like nothing's wrong?!?!" He shouted in her face. He then threw her to the ground. Unfortunately, Lyndsay was the next victim. His reddened gaze turned to her.

"And you," he said angrily, through gritted teeth. He grabbed Lyndsay's shoulders strongly. Lyndsay tried to rip away, but he was too strong. He turned her to face her mom on the floor, crying.

"Is she why you act like everything's okay?! IS SHE??" He was still shouting. He shook her at the two last words he spoke. Lyndsay was crying.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??" Brenda shouted at Lyndsay's dad.

"Wrong with me? You think there is something wrong with ME? You ignorant bitc-"

From that point on, everything went black. After the darkness, Lyndsay woke up covered in bruises, feeling sore in every possible place in her body. She asked herself what happened, but fortunately, she didn't remember. The trauma numbed her as if to whisper a gentle "rest". She stood up from her bed, but pain surged through her, and she fell back onto her bed. She positioned herself on the bed and brought her knees up to her chin. She was going to open the door, but feared what she might see, or who might be there waiting for her. So she stayed there, and cried herself, silently, to sleep.

The following morning, her father was never seen again. He did not want to be a part of Brenda and Lyndsay's lives, and he wasn't willing to risk getting arrested for the obvious evidence he didn't care to hide. Brenda told Lyndsay he was crazy, and it was best that he left. He could have done more damage if he stayed.

"Why did you marry him if you knew he was crazy? We wouldn't be in this situation if you two weren't together!"

"Lyndsay, I didn't expect this! He never acted this way when we first met. I don't know what happened, what caused him to react this way, but something must've snapped. At least he won't be back again."

"How do you know?" Lyndsay sounded hoping. She wanted to be completely sure they were safe. Tears streamed her face.

"The police will check up on us every once in a while. They don't know where he's at, but we've got enough evidence to prove it was domestic violence'."

"Divorce him. Divorce him like the other kids' parents!"

"It won't be as simple as that, Lyndsay. There's a long process-" Brenda paused and looked at Lyndsay, staring into the terrified child's eyes. Lyndsay saw that her mother had waivering strength, trying to stay calm in the worst moment of their lives. She knew Brenda was just as scared and fearful as she was, but choked down her own feelings for the sake of her child. "But we'll get through it. I wouldn't risk anything else to happen to either of us. And besides, I make a large pay, so I know we can make it on our own."

Though it sounded convincing, Lyndsay still worried. She's right, Lyndsay thought, I'm just a bit freaked out. Brenda worked as a surgeon, which Lyndsay could tell that if her mom didn't know her dad much to know that this could happen, her mom obviously didn't date this guy long enough to actually pay attention to every action he made and what he said. Her job always came before relationships.

"How long did you date-him-until you got married?" Lyndsay did not want to refer to that man as her dad. Never really was a dad much in the first place, anyway. Brenda waited a few seconds before she replied, either disappointed in herself for being with such a guy, or just trying to remember. Lyndsay couldn't tell.

Brenda sighed before she talked. "A couple of months...about 5..." She shook her head. "Too short. And it backfired." She turned her head to look at the door. Lyndsay wondered if the police got there to escort him out, or if he ditched before they could get here in time.

"What happened after you told him he was crazy?" Lyndsay didn't want to say it, to hear it, but curiosity conquered her fear...unfortunately. It was too late, she already said it, and she immediately regretted doing so.

It was an ugly but true story. Lyndsay couldn't handle hearing it. She could plug her ears, but it wouldn't do anything. She knew what she had heard would repeat and come up randomly in her mind over and over again, and she wouldn't be able to contain it. This was the true moment where Lyndsay began to be traumatized.

Things started to change after the situation. Her mom never seemed to care about Lyndsay as much as she used to. She didn't care what Lyndsay got into. Lyndsay desired attention to the point of intentionally making an incision on her own arm, about a 2 ½ inch diagonal line of blood forming.

She wanted her mom to notice but it was as if the scar was invisible, and her mom was oblivious to it. Lyndsay didn't care to bandage it up, or hide it. She wanted her mom to care, make sure it wasn't infected, or whatever. Lyndsay made sure to wear short-sleeved shirts to expose it, but it didn't work. She wore short-sleeved shirts to school. If Lyndsay's mom didn't take notice to the scar, maybe one of the teachers would, and talk to her mom. But no; nothing happened. Lyndsay realized that if her mom didn't care about this, why would she have a reason to care in the future? Lyndsay had lost her mom...all she was left with was a woman that did nothing but cook, clean when necessary, take care of her own laundry, and go to work. She couldn't call her "mom" anymore, so she started calling her Brenda, her first name.

Lyndsay was left to care for herself. She felt no different than an abandoned child, unfit to take on her own, full life under the age of 18. She had no one to care for her, care about her, and no one that would care to listen to her.

Lyndsay was already the "weird kid", even before her dad left. She just didn't fit in. Everyone was too judging. She never seemed to be happy, and they used to call her goth and emo. She never had close friends, either. Her mom had never set up play dates when she was younger, therefore, it led to her having no social life. Lyndsay only focused on school because there wasn't any other thing she cared about.