Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 1

       "We're leaving sweetie,have fun with uncle Rick" my mom says as her and dad walk out the door.
I sit on my bed praying that tonight will be different, hoping that he'll just leave me alone. Then I hear the knock.
        "Oh Natalie" he says my name in a singsong voice, "let's play a game, it's called listen to me or else you're sleeping in the basement!"
  He pushes the door open and stomps to the foot of my bed. Uncle Rick gives me an evil smirk, and at that moment I knew things weren't going to be different.
                                ***
I sit on my bed shivering, wanting to erase everything that had just happened. I look in the mirror checking the new bruises I've received, trying to figure out how to hide them or  come up with an excuse to tell people.
       "Well Natalie, at least he didn't break anything" I tell myself  trying to look on the bright side.
       "SMASH!" I spoke to soon.
   I wince at the sound of the cup hitting the marble floor.
        "NATALIE!!! Why would you break that cup!! " Uncle Rick shouts from the kitchen, "COME CLEAN THIS UP!!!!!"
I take one look in the mirror smile at myself trying to pull it together and head down the stairs.
I pick up the glass shards thinking,who in there right mind  would let a six year old pick up glass shards, sure I was really smart for my age but that doesn't justify the things he does.
   I headed back upstairs to my room trying to clean the cuts that I had gotten from the glass.
      "You're smart Natalie, you have a photographic memory, you skipped 2 grades, you're beautiful, strong and independent. You can get through anything. When all hope seems lost, just remember, there's always tomorrow, there's always tomorrow, there's always tomorrow" I murmur  to myself as I  headed to bed.  I pull out my diary I got for my 6th birthday which was 2 months ago.
                       Saturday,August 5th, 2000
            Dear diary,
It's been 2 months now and it doesn't seem to be getting any better I think I might tell my mom about it tomorrow after school. I thought I could handle this myself but maybe something's you can't do on your own. Anyways I better get headed to sleep it's going to be an eventful day tomorrow. I will end off my diary entry like always now so hear it goes:
I am writing to you, diary and you alone. I'm telling u about all my fears,  decisions, doubts, achievements and discoveries. Discoveries about myself and others around me.
I'm Natalie Dace and this is my story
                                ***
Another restless night, I kept tossing and turning and breaking out into cold sweats. I had the same dream again , me running down an dark, empty hall. The exit sign the only visible thing, every time I try to get closer to the exit it never comes into reach.
August 6,2000(afternoon)

My day at school wasn't the greatest. Melissa kept on picking on me for not having the same peachy skin tone as her, and Tiana kept on picking on me for being to "light skin". Honestly I don't know why 3rd graders feel the need to make a 6 year old feel bad about herself. I just have to keep reminding myself that there's always tomorrow, besides today is the day everything changes. Today is the day I tell my mom that uncle Rick is molesting me.