Chapter 1 Yup =D
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Constance, Age 14
Chapter 1: Dreams Vs. Reality
A little girl sat in her room playing with her dolls when the man stormed into the room, loudly banging the door against the wall as he walked over to where the little girl sat with her dolls. Throwing his bottle to the ground he roughly picked her up with one hand and began shaking her as her mother screamed from the door way, begging, pleading for the man to stop blaming the little girl, to stop hurting her.
The little girl wanted to tell her mommy that it was okay, because she wanted to be able to protect her mommy the way her mommy had so desperately tried to do for her for years.
So the little girl didn’t yelp at his harsh grip, nor did she scream and cry as he slapped her across the face. She didn’t kick, she didn’t bite and she most certainly didn’t fuss and he threw her back to the ground and gave a kick to her back before storming out of the room once again. Leaving the little girl and bottle on the ground.
Mommy ran over to help her daughter, to kiss her wounds goodbye and tell her just how much she treasured her and that one day they’d get out of here alive and well. But mommy couldn’t tell her everything she wanted to as the man came back into the room and took mommy away so he could yell at her for trying to help the little girl.
As the door closed again, the little girl didn’t get up to go and help mommy. Because she knew if she even tried, he’d do something even worse to mommy.
But then in the distance, as the scene started to change into a forest she heard her name being called in a soft, sweet, cherry voice.
“Constance! Constance!” The boy called out in the woods as he looked around for her, a smile on his face as he ran bare foot. She wanted to run into his arms, to yell out to him that she was here. Right there. But before she could even take a step before him, another figure appeared, standing right before her and blocking her view.
“You don’t touch my daughter!” The man screamed at the young boy who stopped abruptly and tried to look around the man at the little girl, to reach out and take her from the man. But the boy was scared as the man screamed again and this time came towards him, a cracked bottle in his hands.
Constance screamed, going after her step daddy, holding onto his arm to slow him down so he couldn’t hurt him. She didn’t want him to hurt him, no not him. She wouldn’t let him, not now not ever.
“You can’t have him!” She screamed, finally letting her voice out. The man looked down at her, angry. He threw her off his arm then, sending her towards one of the trees.
Roughly her back met bark and Constance sank to the ground, dirtying her little white dress in the mud as she slumped. Too hurt to even move. She was defenceless, useless. She couldn’t even save him.
Weakly she gripped the forest’s ground and tried to look up, to yell at him to run. But the little boy was no longer a little boy. But a teenager and he stood face to face with her step daddy. No fear in those eyes of his as he sized her step daddy up.
And before step daddy could even make a swing at him, the boy had the bottle knocked out of his hands, sending it flying into the bushes before landing a punch square in his face and causing this loud crack to sound as he broke his nose.
But the boy didn’t stop there, as he kneed step daddy in the stomach. He didn’t leave step daddy until he saw him on the muddy floor, and then he looked up from step daddy to her. Slowly he made his way over to her, holding up his hands and whispering that everything was okay now, trying to reassure her that step daddy wouldn’t get up and choke him.
The girl shaked, and finally let tears flow from her eyes as she whimpered and he took her hands, pulling her up into a hug. He wrapped her in his warmth as he kissed her forehead and murmured sweet words to her.
And then the scene faded and the girl was back in reality. Light streaming through the cracked window is what had woken her from her dream. And honestly it angered me. All I wanted was to be able to escape this life, even for just a little while. And while I couldn’t do that all the time during the day, I could do so when I dreamt. And even if the dream started out horrifying and scary, it always ended like that. With the boy saving me and helping me stand on my own two feet again as he told me everything was okay.
I wished I could dream all day, but the one good thing about reality was that he was also here, in my reality. And for that I was grateful, I thought to myself as I hugged my pillow close and let a few tears dribble down. But I quickly wiped them away as a knock sounded at my front door.
“Constance get up! It’s time for school you lazy piece of shit.” Step dad told me as he continued to pound on the door. I looked up from my pillow and slowly moved it away as I pushed the covers off.
“I’m up; I’ll be down in a little while.” I called as I rushed to find a clean shirt in one of my drawers. When I found a yellow shirt that satisfied me enough I quickly put it on and grabbed a worn out pair of jeans.
The last thing I did before leaving my room was to brush my long black hair. I had to cut my hair myself since my step dad wouldn’t let us go out and get it cut by professionals, nope it costs too much money. That was also why he was the only one allowed to watch the TV, because if women started to watch it as well, the bill would be well over five thousand. Or so he said. But that didn’t matter to me, I didn’t need TV. I just needed my own creativity, and I would never be bored.
Finally I was ready; I headed out to the little hallway and down the stairs to the front door. Our house was really small mind you. I picked up my racked up black converses and slipped them on before giving a quick smile to my mother who was carrying a tray over to step dad who was already propped up on the couch. Remote in hand, and he called me a lazy ass.
I stepped out the door and into the brisk air of January, yes somehow it was already January and soon enough I’d be turning fifteen and on my way to grade ten.
Taking my mind off of how old I was, I began my short walk to the middle school just ten minutes from my house. There I would see him in reality.
When I arrived at school, I walked past all the girls who glared at me with hateful eyes because I was so pretty to them. Little did they know, that under all this make up lay bruises and some scars from where my lip and split a few times.
But they didn’t matter to me, they were nothing compared to my step dad. And John was here, with wide open arms. He was awaiting me eagerly with that same smile on his face as every other day.
Before I knew it, I was running full force into his arms, letting him hug me tightly before kissing my forehead.
“Morning Constance.” He said, and those simple words were enough to warm my heart for the rest of my life.
“Morning John.” I replied, lying my head on his chest and closing my eyes. I was safe here; he couldn’t get to me here. He couldn’t get to me when I was in my perfect world with John. He just couldn’t, I wouldn’t let him.
“Wow the perfect couple is together already?” Felix commented as he opened his locker next to John’s. I only now realised where we stood.
“Oh be quiet Felix.” John said as he comfortably laid an arm across my shoulder and grabbed his binder from his locker before shutting it and locking it up again.
Had I forgotten to mention I was in a relationship with John? It’d been a long time already; honestly I couldn’t even remember how long we’d been together now. All I knew was that I never wanted it to stop.
“Just saying the truth man. Aw damn, we have math first?! What a great way to start off a Monday.” Felix grumbled as he slammed his locker shut and looked over at us. John shrugged; math was one of his strong subjects. Although he’d never admit it, he’d probably just say it was one of his okay subjects.
We walked off then towards homeroom. John took his arm off me once we reached home room and walked off to find his own seat. I too went off to grab my seat at the back and put my binder down.
As usual there was a note from another girl already waiting for me as I sat down. It was probably another one of those, ‘Stay away from our John!’ Or ‘Die you stupid ho!’ notes. I was used to them, so I just set it aside and watched the front of the classroom as homeroom began. Notes like that couldn’t bug me anymore...they just couldn’t so too bad for them.
When school ended I said goodbye to John by giving him a big hug and a quick kiss before heading out the back doors, this way was quicker to my house.
But when I reached the corner I found some very angry girls growling at me with razor sharp long nails. I hadn’t talked to girls since I was nine, because after I lost my best friend...that was when girls started getting jealous of me and stopped hanging out with me unless I could get them guys. But I guess I should have known I had pissed them off by not answering their notes, or showing some sign of fear from their notes. But that wasn’t who I was.
So I stood face to face with them, a plain look on my face as they smiled and swarmed in. Ready for the attack, ready to kill the queen of all the girls just because all the guys liked me, really was that a reason to hate me? I could only ask myself this, because I knew I’d never get an answer out of them.
As they began with scratching and weak attempt with punches I didn’t cry out or yelp at all, I suspected this only made them more angry. But that wasn’t my problem, now was it?
It was when I heard guys yelling that I knew these girls would be at their maddest. A swarm of guys came to defend me, John tagging along at the back to see what all the commotion was. But when he saw me with scratches all over my arms and across my cheek, he stepped in like the knight he was and yelled at the girls.
“Does this make you feel better?! Picking on Constance, who’s greatly outnumbered?! I hope you’re all happy, because I just lost all respect for you!” John spat at them. They recoiled, stunned and hurt by his words as he pulled me out of the circle and towards the end of the school yards at the back.
I noticed then that he was going to try and walk me home, fear surged through me and I stopped him.
“No I can go the rest of the way myself John, its okay. They can’t hurt me; they’ll never be able to.” I said, trying to quickly reassure him and making sure he wouldn’t follow me home. John bit his lip in resistance.
“But...” He protested, I held up a finger to his lips and smiled. This wasn’t my first fake smile, but it was to be my first of many towards John.
“I said it’s alright. I’ll see you tomorrow okay? Now go home, your mom’s probably worried.” I said and then I gave him a quick hug and walked away before he could say anymore.
And when I reached home, what I had expected to happen happened just as soon as I walked through the front doors. A right hook right across my cheek. Well perhaps that was the nicest welcome home greeting I had ever had. Besides, when tomorrow came, I’d be with John again.
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Not Too Sure If I'm Happy With This