Colours Of The Dark (Completed)

23

"Barbara!."
Ugh!. Why did this door have to be so squeaky?.

"Yes,dad." I replied, still standing by the door.

"How was school today?."

"Why do you care?!." I mistakenly blurted out but I didn't regret it. In fact, I've been wanting to ask him that for a long time. Did Laney's accident suddenly make him realize that he can lose a daughter or he'd already lost one?. "Why?." I repeated.

He just stared at me. I bet he never expected me to ask that question but what else could I have done?. He suddenly started acting nice daddy and expected me to act along. I wanted to know why.

"Is this all going to end when Laney comes back?. When you get your real daughter back?."

"You're also my real daughter." He calmly replied.

"Oh really?. I always thought I was adopted. You know why?. Because you never acted as though you were actually my father!." I screamed and proceeded to go upstairs to my room.

"I'm sorry." He sounded defeated.  "I wanted to tell you. But I made a promise."

I stopped halfway up the stairs.
"What promise?. Let me guess,you made a promise to my mother before she died that you'd treat me like shit till I leave your house right?." I spat as I walked back down.

"Wrong. She isn't dead."

"I've heard that so many times but I don't believe you. If she isn't dead, then why hasn't she come for me?. Doesn't she know I'm in hell on earth?. Where is she?." I grabbed his shirt forcefully till I felt tears running down my face and I sank to the ground, realization dawning on me.  My step mother was right. My mother didn't want me. She doesn't want me.

"I can't tell you anything. I made a promise to Eunice that for you to live with us, I wouldn't show any act of fatherliness to you." He said, sadly?. No!. I don't believe him.

"And as a good man who keeps to promises,you did just that. So why are you breaking it now?."

Then I suddenly realised, this was the first time we were alone together. Other times, it would be with either my stepmother or my stepsisters. Except that morning he came into my room and wanted to drop me off at school then my step mother came in.

"Its because they're not here.  This doesn't change anything. You're still the cause of everything. You shouldn't have cheated on your wife. You shouldn't have agreed to that. Why keep me here if you weren't going to act like a father to me?."

"Because I couldn't take my daughter to an orphanage!!." He finally exploded, making me shiver and move back.

"A..an orphanage?. You guys wanted to send me to an orphanage?. When I have both parents alive and acting shitty.. Wow!!."

He was about to speak when the door opened and in came the devil and her daughter.

"Barbara, go make us dinner. We're tired." She said,dropping her bag on the table.

"And so am I." I said, and quickly stood up and walked up the stairs to my room.

I was really tired. Physically and emotionally. Tired of doing whatever they asked. Tired of always being left out. Tired of being hurt. Tired of everything.

I opened the door to my room and walked up to the one thing I held dear to my heart. The one place I could go when I couldn't take the pain anymore. My bed.
As a tear dropped on my pillow, I prayed I don't take the pain to dreamland.

I woke up to noises outside room.
"Why are you defending her?. She needs to make us dinner."

"Eunice,you can make dinner for tonight. The poor girl had a very tough exam today so she's tired." Dad lied on my behalf.