After what he had done to me, I cried, not being able to sleep. I couldn't believe what he did. It was so horrible. I didn't know what to do. He threatened he'd do something bad if I told anybody. He had raped me; I had to do something, though. But, I couldn't. No one would believe me. No one would believe a little girl. Plus, my dad was known around the neighborhood as "the perfect father". I cried more, knowing the next day wouldn't be any better.
The next morning, I took a shower, feeling really dirty, and went to the kitchen, dreading the worst.
"Good morning, Rosalie," my mom greeted, pouring orange juice in a cup.
"Hey, Mom," I muttered, sitting on a chair.
Her face softened. "Oh, Rosalie, I know what your father said was disrespectful, but he's under a lot of stress." She came over to give me a hug but stopped.
"What happened here?" she asked, rubbing where my dad slapped me. I cringed at her touch, remembering the pain.
"I, um, just hit myself by accident. I-I have to go," I said nervously, moving my way to the door.
"Okay," she said, confused.
Right when I was about to grab the door knob, the door opened, revealing my dad.
"Sorry, I'm just-whoa careful there, Kiddo," he said like nothing happened the day before.
"Rosalie, say hi to your father. Even though we're getting a divorce, it will not change anything," my mom said, noticing that I didn't say anything to him.
I glared at my black sneakers. I didn't want to talk to him.
"Rosalie," my mom warned, her voice rising.
I groaned inwardly. "Hi, Dad," I muttered.
My dad bent down, eye to eye level. "How 'bout I take you to school?" he asked, father like, which was unusual because he had never acted like that. But, I knew he was faking it, probably thinking I'll forget about the night before. I wasn't giving in, though.
"That's a great idea. Anyways, it looks like it's going to rain," my mom praised.
Biting my lip, I looked at my parents, debating whether or not to go.
I nodded, doing just for my mom.
Getting up, my father clapped. "Great!"
I walked out the door, keeping a safe difference from him.
"Rose, don't be so quiet," my dad said, breaking the silence, in the car.
I ignored him and kept staring out the window.
"Rose, I know what I did was wrong, but we can forget this."
That's when I blew it.
"Forget this? I can't forget what you did to me! What you did was horrible! How do you expect me not to think this isn't big?"
He pulled over viciously, looking at me furiously. "Look here, Rosalie. I don't care what you think. You're not saying anything to anybody. And, I'll make sure you won't."
I gulped, scared. I kept quiet for the rest of the ride, making sure that I wouldn't cry.
The rest of the school day, nothing happened, but all I wanted to do was cry. I couldn't tell anybody, not even Avon, or the worst could happen.
"How are you keeping up?" Avon asked after school.
"I've been better," I answered, not bothering to looking into his eyes.
