Chapter 2

VIOLET

The phone stopped ringing, and a text message came through. It was our signal to tell me that whatever she needed to say was important.

I pulled it out and cursed when I read her message. ‘He’s drunk again and pounding on my bedroom door…’

Fuck. I texted her back that I was on my way home and took off running. Thankfully, the diner wasn’t that far from our house. It was also a good thing that I was a fast runner. I was panting by the time that I ran up the porch steps, but at least I made it.

He was still pounding on Daph’s door. God, I knew that she had to be terrified right now. Daph was a brave person but felt emotions deeply. It infuriated me that he was scaring her. That girl didn’t fucking need to deal with his shit.

I would love nothing more than to run away with her, but I knew that he would stop at nothing to get us back simply because he refused to let anyone else have control in life. No fucking idea why he kept us around because he hated us with a damn passion.

We were at his mercy to do whatever he wished with. It was precisely why I had been saving up as much money as I could. Having enough money would make it more likely that we could disappear one day. It was a risk, but one that we might have to eventually take.

My hand slapped the wall twice to catch his attention. It worked like a charm. His head whipped around, eyes colliding with mine. They were glassy, clearly having drank a fair amount of alcohol. He was a lush drinker, always seeing the bottom of the bottle.

I could probably count how many days he’d been sober this month on one hand. He was an unpredictable drunk, always keeping you guessing which Ron you’d end up getting. Sometimes, it was the angry one that would leave me with a bruised body. Other times, it was the verbally abusive one who would leave my heart bleeding instead. 

“All hail the mighty bitch,” he slurred, sneering at me.

Was that all he had to say? I didn’t voice that question because it’d be a wasted effort. He didn’t particularly care for backtalk or sarcasm. It wasn’t my fault that I excelled at both of those things.

He prowled towards me. It took a lot of effort to remain rooted when my body wanted to hit the flight mode and get the fuck away from him. However, as long as he was focused on me then he wasn’t focused on Daph. I could take whatever he dished out, but I wouldn’t stand by if he touched her.

“Cat got your tongue?” he taunted me.

“Nope,” I said, popping the p. I was attempting to appear completely casual.

Without warning, my head whipped to the side. Pain exploded in my head, and I swore that I saw the damn Milky Way. I could even taste blood in my mouth from the impact. Without a doubt, that fucking hurt.

His hand clenched my jaw hard and forced me to look at him. I did everything in my power to keep the pain off of my face and out of my eyes. I would no doubt have a bruised jaw in the morning. Good thing that I had makeup to hide it. This wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last time that something like this happened.

“You see, I think you enjoy this. You get off on the pain. Otherwise, you’d think twice about angering me.”

Sure, I loved getting the shit beat out of me. I dreamed about it day and night. Delusional much? Perhaps he would like to know what it felt like to be on the receiving end. There were many techniques that I could employ, each one taught to me by none other than the asshole in front of me.

Mom died two years ago when I was seventeen. Daph and I were stuck with Ron since he was our stepfather. He hadn’t been all that great when Mom was alive, but he got worse once she was gone. He hated me. I had no idea why, nor did I give a shit. The only reason I stayed was because of the sweet girl who was in that room. The same girl who was no doubt terrified right now.

“You’re nothing but useless bastards. No purpose. Nobody to care about you.” He laughed in my face when he saw me flinch at that. “The only benefit that you give me is money. I’m going to make you a deal. You’ll put $1,000 in my hand by noon tomorrow or else you can say goodbye to your precious little bitch. I’m getting that money one way or another. Either from you or from the guys that I’ll be selling her to. They’re in the business of collecting useful things. Many guys would pay a fortune to bed her.”

Each word that he spoke added a spark of fury into my being. It continued to collect until it was just a molten river inside of me. He could threaten me all that he wanted to, but he just crossed a line that he never should have even gotten close to. 

Daph was fourteen years old! I would have to die before I allowed that shit to happen. I was the only person that she had left in this world, and I would give my final breath to protect her.

It felt like pressure was building up inside of me again just like it had done at the diner. Warmth spread throughout my body until it felt like I was going to explode. There was an excruciating pain in my head, which hurt so badly that I cried out.

Everything happened in slow motion. The moment that I felt the explosion, Ron went flying backwards.

I gasped as I looked at my shaking hands. What in the hell was happening to me? That was twice today. How was that even possible? Nothing made sense. Oh, God…

Ron awkwardly clambered to his feet. There was blood on his hand when he touched the back of his head.

“You’re just like her,” he spat incredulously, glaring at me with nothing but hate and disgust in his eyes. “You’re a fucking monster just like your mother. How did I not see this sooner?” he asked himself.

Ron clenched his hands into fists. His entire demeanor screamed danger. I had seen him in many different lights over the years, but I had never seen him quite like this before. He was unpredictable in the best of circumstances, but this was the furthest thing from that.

What did he mean about Mom? Why would he call her a monster? Could she do the same thing that I just did? What in the hell was it that I just did? People didn’t go flying like that. There were so many questions but no answers to be found right now.

He stormed off without another word. I should be relieved, right? Why did I feel unsettled like there was a sense of foreboding that was burrowing down inside of me?

I shook my head, desperately attempting to clear away my thoughts. There were more important things to deal with right now.

“Daph, open the door,” I said after knocking on it.

There was some shuffling as she padded across the room. Then I heard her moving something away from the door, clearly having put an object there to keep him out. Smart move, sis.

I slipped inside the room once she opened the door. The tears in her eyes broke my damn heart. I pulled her into my arms and held her while she cried. The sounds coming from her were tearing at a place deep within my soul.

I was the only person that my sister had in life, but she deserved someone better and more capable of protecting her. She definitely deserved someone who could make her life better instead of someone who was allowing this shitshow to continue.

Tears rolled down my own cheeks. Once again, I felt like I was failing her. She shouldn’t have to live in fear or have to block her door just to feel safe. 

I made sure to lock the door before leading her over to the bed so that she could be more comfortable. I nearly snorted with my own thoughts. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I couldn’t let this continue.

One way or another, I would take her away from here. I just had to be strategic about it because it would be game over otherwise.

While Daph slept, my thoughts went back to Ron’s comments about Mom.

She had been rather mysterious when it came to her past while she was still alive. It had been a topic that she always shut down.

I didn’t look like Mom, so I assumed that I looked like my sperm donor. There was no telling who that was because I was never told anything other than he had been Mom’s first love. She hadn’t been with anyone until she got pregnant with Daph. Her father also pulled a Houdini act just like mine had. Then Ron came into the picture a year before she died.

I learned the meaning of hard work and dedication from her. I learned to never take life for granted, a lesson that I was reminded of when she died. It made me regretful for all of the times that I could’ve told her how much I loved her and all of the times that I could’ve helped to share her burden.

It truly sucked that we often times didn’t know what we had until it was gone, leaving nothing but a memory behind.