Petals in the Wind

Chapter Twelve

Two days flew by and I still hadn't seen or heard from Clint or my mother.
I was relieved but I knew with his police connections, it wouldn't be for long.
He would keep true to his word.

Henry has been the most sweetest guy. But deep down I was still scared.
How long would I hold onto this mentality?

It was tiring to put a smile on my face when deep down I was worried.
But I had been able to actually smile around Henry.

I was sitting outside, staring out into the green abyss behind my house. Memories seemed to be flashing like a slideshow through my mind today, always haunting me.

I grit my teeth as his fist collided with my jaw. Blood pools into my mouth as my teeth clash from the strike.
I look up to see Clint staring down on me.

"If you won't act like a lady, I'll beat you into one." He sneers, his eyes dark as night.
I smile at him darkly, the blood that was now coating my teeth, drips down my chin.
"Fuck you." I tell him before kicking him in the knee. I watch as he falls to the ground before he gets back up.

"You're an embarrassment to your mother, to this family." He says angrily. His hands wrap around my throat, squeezing tighter and tighter.
Black dots begin to dance across my eyes, but I refuse to give up.
I use my free hands and try to claw at his face.
He drops my body to the floor, as his foot collided with my stomach.

"Your mother should've aborted you." He sneers out, the insults are endless.
I take deep breaths, my lungs screaming from the lack of oxygen.

"Is that what your mother told you?" I say breathlessly. His eyes light up with rage and his foot collided with my stomach again and again.

I grab his foot and manage to pull him to the ground. I punch him in the face, my knuckles bruising at the impact.
He pushes me off of him, and my skulls slams into the ground.
Darkness flashes before my eyes and I grit my teeth as the breathe leaves my body.

"One of these days Dallas, I'll kill you and I'll enjoy every minute of it." He tells me, kicking me in the side.
The sound of his boots are all I hear as my broken body succumbs to the darkness.

I close my eyes at the memory. I was 17 then, I had started fighting back. It was always like that, us beating the shit out of each other. I always ended up in the worse condition though.
He would always say that I needed to act more lady like. My mother knew about the beatings but would only say, "if you just listened to him Dallas, he wouldn't have to hit you."
But I refused to bow down to what they wanted. They wanted me to wear dresses and make up. My mother and him had this image set up, making people believe we were the perfect family.

If only people knew what happened behind closed doors..

I open my eyes when I hear my back door close. Turning I see Henry walking towards me, a small bouquet of purple tulips in his hands.
He smiles at me, though when he sees the turmoil in my eyes, the smile slowly dampers.

"What's wrong Petals?" He asks me once he takes a seat beside me. He lays the bouquet down in front of me.
The more I was around Henry the more I could feel my walls begin to fall.
I could feel myself slowly falling for him.
And that scared me beyond belief.

I smile at him softly, "nothing now that your here." I tell him honestly.
He wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me in closer to his body.
He kisses my forehead,
"You can always talk to me Petals, don't bottle it all up." He says.

A part of me wanted to tell him, to spill all my dark secrets out to him.
But what would he think of me then?
I was broken, and I couldn't bear the thought of Henry thinking I was too.

I lay my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes.
"I know Henry, thank you." I say simply.

Maybe one day I would tell him everything.
Maybe one day.