Chapter 1
It was a normal day in the life of a teen. Well as normal as it can get in my family.
My sister is getting dressed in the bathroom after taking a shower , so I head to my bed and wait for her to get out. I have my light turned off and my eyes closed, resting them, when the door slams open. I sit up and look at the door to see my mom glaring at me. The anger clear in her brown eyes that have turned a darker shade.
She flicks on the light rather harshly. "I thought I told you to brush your nasty ass teeth!" She growls glaring at me.
I get up hastily as I look at her my heart beating nervously as it always does around her.. "I was waiting for Clarrisa to get out of the bathroom. She just finished her shower." I say like trying to explain myself was going to help me at this point. Nothing would ever help me at this point.
She points to the outside of my room not saying a word and I quickly walk out before she could hit me in any way. My mom yells at me a lot. If something isn't done to her standards we get punished for it. After awhile I started to get used to it but it doesn't mean my anxiety will ever be relieved with her around.
She smacks me on the top of the head on the way out of my room and she follows me out of the room. "I am waiting for you to finally get that girl gene Abigail. I'm waiting for it. All you do is wear shirts and pants. You never try to look pretty. I'm still waiting for you to ask me how to do make-up. When I was your age I had wanted to where make-up and dress nicely." She says as she follows me to the bathroom.
I grab my toothbrush from the holder. I want so bad to just tell her how I am not her and that she should stop trying to make me like her. I keep my mouth shut though never having been able to stick up for myself anyway. Too much of a wimp for that.
She grabs a hold of my underwear. "What's this?" She tugs on them and they rip. Her voice is edged still showing anger as she decides to nit pick while I'm already in trouble in her eyes. "Why are you wearing two pairs of underwear?" She asks like it's the most ridiculous thing I could have ever done. Of course, when is she not trying to make me feel stupid? I can answer that. Never.
I look at my underwear as I feel a lump in my throat looking at them being torn. The underwear may have been old but I had still liked them. "You told me to wear underwear underneath my pajama outfit." I say trying to bite back my frustration. She changes what she says a lot and it makes me so mad because she'll say one thing one day and fuss saying she said something completely different.
"No I told you to cover up when wearing that pajama outfit. Why wear two pairs of underwear? God Abigail your pushing my buttons. You're really pushing my buttons." She says through gritted teeth. She clenches her fists and narrows her eyes at me like I'm doing this on purpose just to agitate her. "We both know what happens when you push them too far."
I turn to the sink letting out a breath of frustration that had been pent up inside of me. I want so bad to just brush my teeth and go to bed so I can cry myself to sleep. I've never been able to talk back to any adult because of my anxiety pushing the words down my throat where they get caught. I'm such an emotionally sensitive person that even the tiniest insult would make me ball my eyes out. I try my hardest to hold them in until I get to bed though. That way my mom won't call me a baby and yell at me more.
"Did you just huff at me?" She asks angrily. I look at her quickly shaking my head with fear and confusion. Why would she think I would be brave enough to disrespect her like that? She walks up to me and pushes on my chest so that my legs touch the side of the toilet. "Listen hear little girl. You may be 17 almost 18 but I am an adult and I will not have you disrespecting me. If you ever huff at me again I will hurt you." She threatens.
Anger boils up inside me almost spilling over the edge as my tolerance for her pushing me around finally wilts like a flower that falls off it's stem. I'm tired of her always threatening me and making me fear her. I'm tired of the constant jabs and her always making me feel stupid. I push her against the bathroom wall and walk out of the bathroom heading to my room with my fists clenched. I walk to my bed grabbing a pair of clothes that were picked out for the next day before getting changed.
I head downstairs. Not even glancing toward the bathroom my anger still simmering like a stove that had just been turned off. I can hear her as she stomps out of the bathroom. "Where do you think your going? Get your ass back up here now!" she yells her voice echoing of the walls of the house traveling to the front door as I reach for the knob twisting it.
I open the front door swinging it until it hits the wall. "I'm going for a walk." I say angrily walking out and slamming the door behind me. I'm pretty sure the whole house had shook from the force I had used to close the door but I didn't care at that point. I knew I would be in big trouble when I came back inside but I needed to calm myself down first before even thinking of taking what she has to dish out.
I start walking on the sidewalk not caring or knowing where I'm going. I scream letting out all my pent up anger. A few tears fall down my cheeks but I wipe them away. Shoving my hands in my pocket I go back to walking letting my mind drift. I end up going to the empty lot close to the entrance of my neighborhood. I sit down in the middle of the open space and close my eyes trying to calm myself down focusing on the sounds of the peaceful night. The crickets and frogs noisily chirping and croaking slowly sets me at ease.
I hear the sound of a car and open my eyes thinking it was my mom or dad looking for me. Instead I see a car with black tinted windows parks right in front of the empty lot. The window roll down and a man looks at me. I squint to try to make out his features but find it hard since the night offered so little light. "You ok darling?" He asks in a sweetness that seemed to be layered on a little too thick. Warning bells went off in my head.
I nod forcing myself to stay relaxed and nonchalant. "Yes sir. I'm just relaxing waiting for my mom." I say with a tiny smile. I know it's a lie but I also know someone wouldn't risk taking someone when there's a possibility that they would get caught before they even had the chance to. I at least hope that this man isn't stupid enough to try something out in the open like this.
He smiles. I can tell by the white shining in what little light the lamp on the far side of the street provided. "Why don't you come inside my car and stay warm while waiting for her? It's awfully chilly out here and I don't think your mother would want you to catch a cold." He says with a gentleness that almost got me to trust him. He probably is mistaking my age though. Many people do it. Apparently I look a couple years younger than I actually am to most people.
I shake my head trying to seem as respectful as possible. "Thanks for the offer but I feel fine. Plus my mom will be here any second so it would be a waste to head over there when she'll be here before I reach the door." I say politely. "I appreciate your concern though sir." I move myself to a more comfortable position as I cross my legs resting my hand on my lap.
His smile drops and I can see a glint of shiny black metal which I can only assume is a gun. My heart pretty much stops beating right there in shock as well as intense fear for my own well being at this point. "I think it would be best if you got in quietly my dear." His voice no longer laced with his mocked kindness, instead it has an underlying threat buried within it.
My heart races as I look at the gun. I slowly get up from the ground and make my way towards the man's car. He gets out not moving his gun from it's position on me and grabs my arm shoving me in the passenger side. My elbow knocks into the cubby in between the two seats causing me to wince as there's a prickling pain shooting up my arm. He closes the door rushing to the drivers side before getting in. He puts his gun under his seat and quickly drives away.
He drives for about a half hour before stumbling upon what looks to be an abandoned parking and parks. I look at him confused and frightened, my head spinning with many reasons as to why he stopped here of all places. Was he waiting for someone so he could sell me off? Was he going to rape me? None of the possibilities were good. He pulls out a rag from his pocket and a bottle of something. My eyes stay trained on his every movement as he unscrews the cap and pours the liquid on the rag. He looks at me a weird look in his eyes. Almost like he regrets what he's about to do. "Time for you to go nighty night my dear."
Before I have a chance to even figure out what he means he places the rag firmly over my mouth and nose. The smell of chemicals burns my nose and I gasp trying to pull the rag from my face. My hands gripping his arms tightly trying my hardest but to no avail. I start to feel nauseated and dizzy at the stench of the chemical invading my nostrils. My attempts weaken as a drowsiness takes over my body. Everything blurs and my body goes limp without my control. My eyes close slowly and I drift off into an unnatural sleep.
