Chapter 1
November 3rd 2010
He is at it again, the same thing every night.
He storms through the door, using all his might.
Maybe it will be different tonight.
Maybe he’ll choose to fight.
Here she comes again, with a face so sweet
She runs into my arms and begins to weep.
The noise all around is faint to my ears
As I once again have to face my fears.
Crashing from room to room, searching for an escape
I become the hero without a cape.
Tonight was no different than the night before, or the one before that. It will not be any different than tomorrow unless he chooses to fight. Lia ran to the room next door with Attie perched on her side, holding on for dear life. Lia was tired of living this way, and she knew that sooner or later, she was going to have to do something about it. However much longer did she have, Lia hoped it was enough to form some sort of plan.
When her mother was sent to prison almost 2 years ago, no one had bothered to tell Lia the reason she was sent away. Maybe it was because of her young age at the time, or maybe it was because she didn’t care, but Lia she never inquired about it either. Now at seventeen, all she knew was that her mother would most likely never get out. Lia had been forced to care for her little sister Attie who at the time was only one. She didn’t like it at first, but soon, Lia realized that no one was going to step up and take responsibility. Her father was dead; her step father was a drunk who Lia believed had schizophrenia. His favorite things to do were get drunk, call her names, and try to harm them in no specific order.
Lia heard the door handle rattle, maybe he was going to get in this time, and maybe he was finally going to kill them. As if Attie knew what Lia was thinking, she clutched her arms even tighter around Lia’s neck making it harder for her to breathe. Lia had run into the many times before, somehow it always provided them shelter.
Lia took one look at the scared little girl she was holding, her heart broke once again. Lia pulled her back so Attie could see her face. Lia plastered a brave smile on her face before she said “Attie I need you to listen to me. This is just a game, I've got you. I've never let anything hurt you before, right?"
Attie shook her head no, and Lia continued "This is nothing new. I will always protect you, I promise”. Attie smiled a smile that said how much she trusted her sister and placed her head back in the crook of Lia’s neck.
The door handle rattled a little harder, Lia tensed as her eyes darted across the room in search of a better hiding place. She was certain that tonight was the night the door would betray her. They will be found. At last, she found an escape, there was a closet right on the other side of the room and Lia was sure she could make it before her stepfather was successful in opening the door. She slowly made her way toward the closet, and once she was in she felt extra grateful that the door had a lock. It was at times like these that Lia both doubted and believed in God.
Lia settled into what she would call a comfortable position in the closet before she placed Attie in her lap. They sat there quietly, until the all the noises faded. A moment later, Lia heard Attie’s soft breath that told her that Attie had fallen asleep. Lia was tired and didn’t wait too long to follow Attie to dream land.
The mornings always came quicker than Lia expected, she never had enough sleep. She woke up feeling more tired than ever, and the position she slept in didn’t really help. Lia picked up a still sleeping Attie and listened for any noise that would indicate that her stepfather was still around. She didn't hear any. Usually he would be somewhere in the house sleeping the alcohol off or he was already out to work. How he could work like that was beyond Lia’s understanding, but that again was something she never questioned. When Lia was satisfied that there was no noise, she move stealthily around the cramped closet and threw the door opened. She quickly surveyed her surrounding before she fully stepped out. Lia crossed the messy room, all the while trying to keep silent. She paused once again before she went to her own room.
Once in her room, Lia quickly locked the door. She then placed Attie in her bed and proceeded to get ready for school. This was her last year in high school and sometimes she debated whether or not she should keep going. One look at Attie, she knew her answer, Lia had to keep going. She had to be an example for the little girl, since no one else seemed to care much about Attie. Lia hastily showered, threw some clothes on and threw her work clothes in her school bag along with all her school books and notebooks.
Lia had learned long ago to keep Attie’s belonging in her room. It made getting ready in the morning easier. She looked through her stuff, and found Attie an outfit which she casually threw on the bed. Lia moved around to find the little mermaid backpack she had bought for Attie a while ago. It was on the floor right next to her shoes. Lia opened it to make sure Attie still had the clean clothes in there along with a couple of books. She added a few more things in the backpack for her little sister to take to the babysitter.
After Lia’s mom was imprisoned, Lia had become the responsible adult. At 15 she couldn’t enroll a one year old in a daycare, Lia realized that they asked too many questions. Unless Lia was prepared for someone to come and take her little sister away from her, she had to find another way. That was when she found Sallie; who lived about a block away from her. Sallie was an older lady and she could easily be someone’s grandmother. Sallie was nice enough to watch Attie along with a couple more children in the neighborhood. Lia only had to pay her sixty dollars every other week to take care of her sister.
Lia knew that Sallie only let her pay so little because, she couldn’t afford it. Miss Sallie wouldn’t let her pay at first, something about her being a child herself and needing to save some money. Lia didn’t make enough money at the fast food restaurant she worked in, but because of Miss Sallie’s niceness she was able to put some aside. Every now and then, Lia would add an extra twenty so Sallie could feed Attie. She knew it wasn’t enough but Sallie never complained. Sallie had been watching Attie for almost 2 years now and Attie loved the older woman like a grandmother. Sallie even joked sometimes about adopting Attie.
“Lia, are we going to see Miss Sallie today?” Attie asked sleepily
“Of course we are, are you ready to have a fun day?” Lia asked turning to the little girl still nestled in the bed. Attie shook her head up and down vehemently and quickly got up. Lia wouldn’t have time to give her a bath, but Sallie would take care of that.
Attie walked to her sister and hugged her leg, as she looked up at Lia expectantly. Lia picked her up and placed Attie on her side, before she gathered her school bag and Attie’s things. Lia made her way out the door and towards Sallie’s home. She could easily carry the little girl the entire way, but Lia had too many things in her hands. So Lia put Attie down, adjusted her school bag and held her hand out for Attie to hold. It took her less than 5 minutes to reach Sallie’s house.
Lia raised her hand to knock but before she could the door swung open, to reveal a short older woman. Sallie had soft wrinkles around her mouth and some near the corner of her eyes, which could only come from laughing too much. Sallie had salt and pepper hair and warm brown eyes, a smile lit up her face as soon as she saw the smile on Attie’s face. Lia also smiled, this was one of the rare times she ever smiled.
“Lia, come in, let me see my Attie.” She stepped aside so Lia could get in and then she added. “Attie, do I get a hug today?”
Attie didn’t need to be asked twice, she ran to Sallie who had bent down with both arms wide open.
“Hi Miss Sallie, Lia said we were going to have fun today. Is Sara coming today? Did you know that Sara is my best friend?”
Sallie smiled and so did Lia. Attie reminded them every day, whenever she could that the only other girl that Miss Sallie watched along with her was her best friend. Lia envied her innocence, she wanted to protect Attie. Lia would never let anything or anyone take that away from Attie.
“Of course we’re going to have fun munchkin, and yes I know Sara’s your best friend.” Sallie said.
As if on cue, Sara walked in with her mom, which briefly distracted Attie. Lia took that opportunity to talk to Sallie and give her Attie’s stuff. Lia then turned to Attie before she left for school.
“Hey baby, I have to leave, but I will see you later, okay?” Lia said
“I am not a baby” Attie said scrunching up her face. She ran up to Lia before adding “I’ll see you later. Can you bring me another toy today?”
Lia always called her a baby and Attie always reminded her that she wasn’t one. Lia often brought Attie toys from the kid’s meal at her job. “Sure, I’ll bring you something, which one do you want”
“Oh that’s easy silly, the turtle.”
Lia laughed and ruffled her dark black hair. She bent down to Attie’s level and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Okay, the turtle it is. Now be nice for Miss Sallie, okay? I have to go; I love you very very very much”
“I love you this big” Attie said as she spread her little arms on each side of her body to show her sister just how much she loved her. Lia smiled one last time at her little sister, and politely thanked Miss Sallie for everything before she left for school.
*****
The school wasn’t so far away, only two blocks and it took Lia less than ten minutes to get there. As usual, Lia made her way through the crowd of people, toward the huge lonely tree in the courtyard. In many ways the tree was just like Lia. It stood tall and strong, just like she tried to do, except that it was alone, just like Lia felt more times than she'd like. There, Lia sat against the trunk and waited for the bell to ring to announce the beginning of her first class.
School as usual was uneventful, Lia did what she had to do and made sure she got a good grade, but avoided people at all cost. She didn’t trust anyone; she didn’t want people to find out about her and risk losing her little sister. So she became a face in the crowd, a shadow of some sort.
As soon as last bell rang, Lia was out the doors. She had to catch 2 buses to get to work and she couldn’t afford to miss one. Once she didn't leave fast enough, had to wait about 15 minutes for the other bus, so Lia was late for work. Since it was her very first time being late the manager let it slide, but he had specifically told her not to make a habit of it, not that she had planned to.
Lia worked Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. She couldn’t work more than that because she was still seventeen. Two years ago, when she first got the job, she couldn’t even be scheduled on week days because she was still in school. Lia had convinced the manager that she was okay and that this wouldn’t interfere with her school. The manager who happened to be on the young side, (he couldn't have been more than 19) didn't even put up a fight. He hadn't been manager for a long time, but Lia wasn't complaining. She needed the weekends off because she used that time to take Attie to the park and give the little girl a chance to grow up as normal as she could.
Lia made it to the bus stop with a few minutes to spare. She ripped a piece of paper from her notebook and placed it on the dirty bench before she sat. Lia kept her back straight just to make sure she wasn’t touching anything. She pulled out another notebook and started on her homework. This was what her days looked like, she went to school, did her homework in buses or anywhere convenient. She went to work and then went to get her little sister after work.
Lia heard the whistle that announced that the bus was close; she closed her notebook and found the bus pass that she would need to get in. She got up and waited.
Lia crossed the car filled road and walked into the little restaurant where she worked. She went to the bathroom and changed into her work clothes, and then proceeded to clock in. She placed her hat on and pulled it down so only part of her face could be seen. She put on the headset and advanced to the drive through window, where she would be taking people’s order for the next 6 hours.
At 9:30, Lia took her headset off, clocked out, bought a kids meal using her employee discount and made her way back to the bus stop that would take her home. She was tired but Lia had no choice, her stepfather never gave her anything, she had to get everything she needed herself. She also had to take care of Attie, because Attie’s dad didn’t seem to care about his daughter either.
She typically got home at about 10:20 when she worked, tonight was no different. Lia went to Miss Sallie where she picked up the already sleeping Attie, and made her way home. Lia tiptoed in silently and made her way to her room. She locked the door as soon as she was in, and placed Attie in the bed. She finished her school work, and then pulled out her journal that had become her best friend.
November 4th 2010
Today was uneventful and it seems as though for the first time in a long time I will have the chance to sleep peacefully. After last night, I think it’s a good idea to have a few things packed just in case we have to run quickly. We might not have enough time.
I don’t want to pass on the opportunity so, I am going to sleep. I will be back soon enough.
With that Lia closed her journal and got out of her work clothes, she pulled on some old sweat pants and a large shirt. She pulled her hair in a messy bun and climbed into the small bed next to Attie. She was so tired that it didn’t take her long to fall asleep.
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