*Ellie's POV*
My Daddy stands over me with the belt, looking into my eyes with his cold, glassy stare. I try to avoid his gaze but our pupils keep meeting.
"What the hell did you just say, you little bitch?", he shouts.
I start to tremble as the words come out of his mouth and his voice deepens.
"Nothing, Daddy", I quickly whisper.
Then he goes for it. He hits me. Hard.
He grabs me by the arm and turns me on to my stomach. I see his arms fly into the air as he brings them back down and whips me on the back with the metal clasp of the belt. I let out a scream. The moment I do, I instantaneously regret it.
"Get up", he roars.
My weak little body tries to move, and I can feel the tears running down my cheeks as I start to feel the aches and pains.
Daddy grabs me and puts me over his shoulder. I know better than to argue, so I just stay as still as a mouse, as he carries me upstairs to my bedroom. He opens the door and throws me onto my bed. I curl up into the fetal position and stare at the wall. There's no use in crying. I've done too much crying.
There are no tears left.
"I'll be back later. If you so much as move, you'll be just as dead as your Mommy before you know it."
I flinch as he slams the door, and when I hear the bang of the front door, I start to whimper. It hurts. My entire body is in agonizing pain.
I know where Daddy's gone. He went to that big scary place where he drinks this yucky brown stuff with his friends. When he comes home he's always very angry. Angrier than usual.
I wish I had a mommy. Daddy told me that Mommy went to heaven because she was sick of me.
I need to go potty, but I'm scared that Daddy will know if I leave the room. I know he'll be even angrier if I have an accident in my pants, so I slowly move towards the door, and my clammy little hands reach for the handle.
I turn it, and surprisingly, it's unlocked. I walk out into the landing and tip toe down the stairs.
I don't like to use the upstairs bathroom, because the bathtub is in there, and sometimes Daddy puts my head under the water. It's very scary.
I rush to the downstairs bathroom, and when I'm finished in the potty I wash my handies.
They're shaking.
I walk out and I notice that Daddy has left the front door on the hinge.
It's wide open.
Then it hits me.
What if I just ran? What if I ran far away from here and found a new Mommy and Daddy? I'd like that, but Daddy would find me. He always does.
I poke my head outside, and breathe in the fresh air.
It's a little frosty and, I'm only in my PJs. I look down at my bare toe toes.
I don't even think, I just run. I run and I run until my little body can't run anymore. People turn to stare, but they say nothing.
I see a park with little duckies. I go and I stand near the edge of the pond. Hours pass, and I'm still standing. My legs start to shake and I eventually kneel. It's starting to get dark and I panic. Daddy's going to beat me so hard when he finds me. I start to wail and something taps my shoulder.
I turn around and I see a beautiful tall lady with shiny blonde hair. Her hair is short and her legs are long. She smells like cookies. "Oh, sweetie", she says. "Baby, are you okay? Where's your Momma?"
I start to whimper and she hesitates before lifting me into her arms.
"Don't make me go back", I sob. "I don't have a Momma."
She quickly takes off her jacket and puts it around me. We walk to a nearby bench and we sit. She looks confused and scared, but I cling onto her, and she doesn't let me go. At least an hour has passed and I've stopped crying. She's still rocking me back and forth, cooing in my ear.
"It's okay, baby, take your time. You're okay, it's safe. Nobody's going to hurt you. I just need to know your name, baby."
"My name Ellie Rose", I whisper.
"Ooh, what a pretty name. Do you know that I have a friend called Ellie?" She asks. I nod my head and she continues.
"Her name is Ellie Goulding and I think you'd like her. She has a beautiful voice."
I nod my head again, and soon enough I'm asleep in the blonde lady's arms.
****
I wake up in a big living room. I'm in a huge pile of blankets, on a big couch. I'm confused. Where am I? This is not my house. I don't see Daddy anywhere. I hear voices coming from outside the door of the room. I get up and move towards the sound.
"I can't just leave her Adam. The cops gave me temporary custody until they find her a permanent home. They tracked down her Dad. It's not looking good. We need to adopt her. She's beautiful", I hear a woman's voice talking. Then I remember who it is. I recognise the voice from the park.
Then I hear a man's voice.
"I don't know Taylor, baby, are we ready for this? You're just finished touring, I just moved in. Things are going so well. You need a break, you know what the doctor said about your stress. You need to relax, hang out with the cats. Meet your friends. Do you really want to commit to a three year old? I'll support whatever decision you make, but right now, you're my first priority".
"The moment I held her I knew she was ours, Adam. That's our baby", the woman, who I think is called Taylor, says.
All of a sudden, a cuddly white cat comes out of nowhere, and I jump back. I land on my ankle, and I let out a high pitched wail. The door swings open and Taylor comes running in and scoops me up. "It's okay, baby, you're okay", she says, and kisses my temple. I rest my head on her chest and she bounces me around the room.
I lift my head and I see the man. I think his name is Adam.
"Hello, little munchkin", he whispers with a smile.
---------------------------------------------
Chapter 1 of my first story is complete. Let me know what you think, it's clearly still a work in progress. Nobody's ever even going to probably read it, so it doesn't really matter x
I'm going to try really hard to update a lot over Winter break, so there's lots more to come!!
