Magnolia

Chapter Three

I wasn't sure how long I had been in the closet. The sun rise and fell. The girls cries and screams turned into a new nightmare. I didn't know how many times I had thrown up over the smell, which in turn made the smell worse. When I banged on the door, I was beaten and thrown back in. I was so weak with hunger and wasn't sure if I was ever getting out.

"She'll die in there George." I heard Sharon speak.

"She's alright. She's still banging on the door."

More time passed. I heard footsteps and the door opened a crack. A glass of water and a sandwich slid through.

"Eat." Sharon whispered to me.

I grabbed the sandwich and ate as fast as I could. The water felt like heaven sliding down my throat. I didn't want it to end. When I was finished, she took the plate and closed the door again. I slid back into my corner and waited. As the days passed, I could hear Sharon and George argue more.

"She can't stay in there forever George!" Sharon shouted.

"You want her to come out and start disobeying you again! She'll stay in there for as long as I see fit!"

"But it's been weeks! What if she gets sick?"

They would argue and argue until I heard the squeaking of the bed. Whatever he did to her, she would stop arguing with him and I would go even longer without eating. Some of the older girls would start sneaking me food when Sharon and George were out of the house. After a few days, I could feel my strength returning.

I had tried to stretch out without touching the filthy clothes and my dried-up puke when I heard a familiar voice.

"Please, let me go." Gloria cried. I rushed to my knees to peer through the crack in the door.

I could see George as he tried to move closer to Gloria. No, not Gloria. I started banging and kicking against the door. You can't have Gloria. I screamed to let her know that I was here.

"Magnolia?" Gloria rushed around him and opened the door. I jumped to my feet and stood between them with a scowl on my face. If I had to lose my life to save Gloria, now was the time.

"Haven't we been through this before?" He smirked, lunging for us.

Gloria and I used our body weight to push him back from us. I saw the silver bat that he had in the corner of the room. This bat was used to beat most of us and it was time the favor was returned. I had never swung a bat in my life, but I made sure not to miss. He yelled, trying to block my hits and Gloria scrambled through the dresser. She found the silver container that held the cash and started for the door.

"Magnolia. Come on." She urged, running down the stairs.

I pushed George back onto the bed before following Gloria. I could see her fighting with Sharon downstairs. George grabbed me from behind and tore a piece of my shirt. He pulled me back into the room and I clawed at his face. He was trying to tear my bottoms off and fumbled with the zipper on his pants. I felt a wave of panic go through me. No, this wasn't going to happen. He had his pants down and I kicked him as hard as I could.

He growled, falling back. I charged for the door but, George was on my heels. I lost my footing on the stairs. We tumbled down, and his body weight knocked the air out of me. I tried to push him off but his weight over powered mine. The other girls ran to the rescue and pushed George off. While the girls attacked George, I started to push all the boxes and contents of the kitchen onto the floor. Sharon pushed me into the glass table and a piece of glass pierced my neck.