Where Did It Go Wrong?

Three

*trigger warning, child exploitation*

September 27, 2014

1:35pm

After my breakdown in the bathroom, we decided to just leave IHop and get my birthday pictures out the way.

As we drove to my mom's house, i looked out the window replaying everything that happened in the restaurant. I started crying without even noticing.

My dad looked at me through the rearview mirror and started gripping the steering wheel, driving faster.

"I should fucking kill her for making my daughter do this." I heard him mumble. He thought i was crying about having to take the pictures but thats the last thing on my mind. I felt myself drift to sleep and didn't bother to fight it.

1:57pm

"Wake up Meilana." I heard my mom say sternly. I smelled the familiar scent of nasty cigarettes and started coughing. It was never this strong before.

"Stop coughing because if you die then thats more money i have to spend on your spoiled ass." My mom lectured. I had barely opened my eyes and i was already being cursed out.

"You don't have to say shit like that Michelle, its unnecessary as fuck. She's fucking 6 years old for Gods sake." My dad snapped at her. No matter what happened, they always found a way to argue. Whether it was about me or about stupid things like their shoes not matching their outfit. Either way, i hated it.

"Can you help me down please" i said turning to my mom. She scoffed before walking away, back into the house. My dad mumbled something under his breath before slamming his car door and walking over to mine, helping me down.

He bent down to my level and held my face, making me look him in the eyes. "Dont let her get to your head Lana. That's all she wants to do." He said in a slight whisper. I nodded and he kissed my forehead before going to Angelina's door and signaling for her to roll the window down.

"Stay in the car with the doors locked. This shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, you can come and check on us to make sure she didn't do anything crazy." He informed. She just nodded and sighed before reluctantly pecking his lips. I rolled my eyes, just looking away because there was no where safe for me to hide at the moment.

My dad saw my uncomfort and stopped before walking us into my moms house. I heard Angelina smack her lips and sigh loudly before rolling her window back up. I could tell she hated me. Not as much as my mom did, but she still hated me in some kind of way.

I held my dad's hand tight as we walked into my mom's house. The moment i walked in, she threw some clothes at me and sat on the couch. My dad picked them up before i could and i could tell he was getting angry again.

"My daughters not wearing this shit Michelle. Try again." He said as he threw the clothes back at her. I barely could see the clothes but from what i could see, there were tiny jean shorts that probably didnt even cover my entire bum. And what looked like a crop top that was basically a mini bra.

My mom lit a cigarette and looked at him as he was the crazy one.

"Technically my daughter since i spent 8 months of my life carrying her and 5 hours pushing her out. She's gonna put the damn clothes on or im gonna beat her ass and blame it on you to the cops. Your choice." She stated. She took a long hit from her cigarette with a look on her face like she ruled the world. I actually hated this woman.

My dad looked at me with sad eyes and i already knew. I sighed and grabbed the clothes off the floor near my mom. She smacked my head and started yelling. "AND WHEN I TELL YOUR LITTLE DUMBASS TO DO SOMETHING, YOU DO IT WITHOUT SECOND THOUGHT YOU FUCKING DISGRACE!"

I fought tears as i ran into the bathroom and began changing my clothes. I heard my dad cursing my mom out with every curse word known to man. I mumbled come backs to myself as i opened the bathroom door, feeling a breeze since i was practically in undies.

My mom started smiling like she was proud of what she was doing to her own child. I felt tears itching to come out but i blinked them away.

*A/N this just came to mind mid chapter idk why but i thought some of guys were probably questioning this, Meilana is not in school because her mom is too lazy to enroll her and her dad doesn't know she's never been to any form of school yet. This will come back later but i wanted to clear up some confusion on why school is never mentioned and won't be mentioned for a few chapters. Back to the story!*

My moms took out her phone and moved her finger in a circle, signaling for me to turn around. I slowly turned around, covering the part of my bum that was showing. She smacked my hand away and bent me slightly over.

"Arch your back a little and put one hand on your hip." She said in an irritated tone. I did as told so that i wouldn't get hit anymore. I closed my eyes tightly in hopes that it would be over faster if i did so. I heard the camera click 3 times before she spoke again.

"Get on all fours and keep your back arched and stay facing the wall." She demanded. I once again did as told, feeling an uninvited tear roll down my face. I heard the camera click 5 times before she slowly pushed my head to the ground. I wanted to look over at my dad for some kind of comfort but i was scared to move. She took 5 more pictures before grabbing my arm, forcing me up.

I guess it had been around 30 minutes because i heard the door open and looked over to see Angelina walk in. I took this opportunity to look at my dad and he was looking down at his phone, silently crying. That didn't do anything but make me want to cry more.

Once Angelina landed her eyes on me, she slightly bit her lip. I looked over at mom, trying to ignore it. My mom looked Angelina up and down before speaking to me.

"You can go. I'll see you on your next birthday." I reached to get my normal clothes to put back on but she slapped my hand away.

"I said leave" she said through gritted teeth. I looked over at my dad who obviously had 2000 words to say but only nodded and picked me up, heading out the door.

The car ride home was so silent that i could hear my own heart beating. Once we got home, i immediately went to my room to change my clothes. I heard footsteps behind me then i heard my door close and lock. By instinct, i thought it was my dad so i just spoke.

"Daddy can you hand me my frozen pajamas and what are we gonna do today? It's still my birthday you know!" I got no response so i turned around to see Angelina towering over me. She had a slight smirk on her face before she picked me up.

"Im gonna make your birthday very special baby."