Abigail

T w e l v e

Yes, she was more sensitive and emotional than the average person, but her tear this time came from both sadness and frustration. "I j-just feel like you don't, l-like I don't matter." Her voice broke as her chest felt heavy.

Ricardo approached her, "Abigail..."

"You wouldn't give someone you love away, that's so heartless. So why me? W-why?"

"We've been through this." He groaned and slapped his hand on his face.

"B-but why?"

"Stop this now, you're acting like a child," Ricard took hold of her wrist and pulled her hands away from her face, "Your bags are packed and you're leaving tomorrow morning, it's too late for you to be thinking like this. So enough!"

"No, not enough!" she snapped pushing his back a bit to release her hands, "I don't want to go, it's not fair."

Ricardo gripped his hair, "You're acting like a child, I said stop."

"You're so selfish, this was never about me so stop telling me you know what's best for me. This was all for you, what kind of monster sells their niece to a stranger? You're a selfish man and I hate you!" She shouted her voice never holding such a tone and anger before. Her irritation grew as he took another swing of his flask and acting on impulse she reached out and knocked it out of his hand. The flask landed with a loud clank as its contents spilt all over her floor.

In an instant, the air in her lungs was slapped out of her and she forgot how to breathe. Her tears stung as they fell down her throbbing left cheek and heat spread down her neck. She lifted her hand to her face and cupped her inflamed cheek feeling the heat against her fingertips. She winced as the stinging pain came in waves. Her vision blurred as each short breath got stuck in her throat.

"You hate me?" He laughed darkly, his face bright red and filled with rage, "I've given you everything Abigail, and you hate me? I'll fucking give you something to hate."

His heavy hand gripped her hair in a tight fist and pulled her face closer to his. She screamed, crawling closer to ease the pull on her hair. With his other hand, Ricardo gripped her jaw and tilted her head up.

"P-please, stop it. I-it hurts."

His teeth grit together, "Say it again, Abigail. Repeat to me everything you just said."

"I-I'm sorry, Uncle. I didn't mean it, I'm sorry!" She cried out feeling the grip on her hair tighten and his fingers digging into her face.

"Repeat what you said!"

"No! Please, Uncle, s-stop."

His grip didn't loosen the slightest, he yanked at her hair once more. Panic in her chest rose.

"Now you want me to stop? No Abigail you started it. Now come on, yell at me, call me a monster. Do it!"

She held onto his wrist trying to pull his hands off her, "P-please, it really h-hurts."

"Oh, It hurts does it? Go on, tell me what else?"

She wailed. "I'm sorry, I'm scared." She tried to say but was muffled by her own cries. She was scared to move out and scared to live with Damien, but that fear couldn't compare to the fear she was feeling under the hold of her own uncle. He aggressively yanked her head to the side forcing her body off the bed. She screamed as she lost her footing, her scalp stinging.

"I'm waiting, Abigail. I want you to repeat what you said." He snarled.

"I said t-that you are a s-selfish man. I-I called you a m-monster." She winced as Ricardo pulled on her hair after each sentence.