Burning
She gripped the bottle in her hands as she took drink after drink from it. Trying to drown out all the sorrow she saw every time she closed her eyes. The quote her mother used to say to her kept repeating within her mind.” Everything will be alright” she hated that quote since nothing ever was “alright” in her world. As she sipped the last drop of the bottle, her body grew light and she fell onto her bed into a drunken sleep……….
Ali woke up the next day with a throbbing headache and longing to hide deep into the darkness. She left her room to walk into the living room, where she discovered her mother with her panties half way down to her ankles and a satisfied smile on her face.
Ali exhaled “Not again” as she covered her mother up with a blanket.
“Hey there” a deep raspy voice spoke startling her. Ali turned to see Jim, one of her mother’s boyfriends. He stood there without a shirt letting his potbelly hang out in the open.
Disgusting she thought to herself as she ignored him to go back into her room. But Jim grabbed her arm and pulled her with enough force to knock her to the ground.
“you better answer me when I say something to you Girl!”
“Screw you” Ali picked herself and tried to run to her but Jim pounced on her trying to restrain her like he did to her mother.
“Stupid bitch, I guess I gotta discipline you like I had to do with that slut” he jerked his head towards her mother who still laid asleep.
Ali wouldn’t become like her mother, she struggled and wailed at him with a deadly fierceness. He caught her left hand and forced it above her head as he unbuckled his pants.
“Stop!” she screamed on the top of her lungs hoping her mother would help her. No. She couldn’t rely on her, she had to do this by herself. With as much force as she could into his nails, she clawed his eyes trying her best to rip them out of their sockets.
“Bitch” he grunted as his hands went to his face, seeing her opportunity she kneed him in his groin and pushed him away. Ali without looking back ran out the front door and just kept running for what seemed like hours. She didn’t wait to stop, afraid he would find her. The only thing that matter to her was to get as far as away as she could.
As she finally reached the bus station, her mind was frantic and unsure of what to do. She reached into her back pocket where she kept her wallet but it was empty.
“shit” where was she going to go? Where could she go? All these questions popped into her mind. At the moment Ali just felt like losing it, she found the nearest wall and punched it as hard as could. She didn’t care about the pain she felt as her fist hit the wall over and over. She only wanted an escape, a way out of this world.
Calming down she leaned her head on the wall and simply closed her eyes.
“Hey” she turned around slowly expecting the worst “Ali” she opened her eyes to see her friend Mark. Ali tried to rely what happened to her but she couldn’t make a single word. He wrapped an arm around her “Don’t worry, Everything will be alright”..
Now that see thought about that, maybe she didn’t just hate that quote……
Part 2
Ali and mark talked until they announced the arrival of his bus but before he left he slipped her enough money to find a “safe Place”. “Goodbye and Thank you” she said as she turned away.
“Ali, Thank me by living” He turned and walked away pushing the terminal door open.
She didn’t watch him leave, she couldn’t right now. She couldn’t show him the tears that flowed freely down her pale cheeks. Ali took a breath of air, to gather the courage to go on. Wiping away the tears, she walked over to the teller.
“May I help you dear?” her voice was sweet and her eyes filled with worry.
“um..Yes, I’ll Like to get out of here” Ali kept her head up with a plastic smile as she looked the woman in her eyes.
“Where would you like to go?”
“I..Don’t know just out of here please” She barely could keep up the façade. Her eyes started to swell and her voice started to crack…..
The teller looked Ali over before typing something into the computer next to her. Ali rubbed her eyes with her sleeve trying to hide it from the kind woman. The loud noise of shuffling brought her back to the outside world.
“Here Dear” she handed Ali a bus ticket “Gate 12, at 3pm”
“Thank you” Ali took the bus ticket before leaving the teller a smile that couldn’t even look close to real.
Her feet wouldn’t stop, she was just wanted to retreat from the woman’s kindness. She sat down on the furthest chair from the teller and started a fight within herself. It’s too much! Everything is just too much! Can’t you see she’s in pain? Can’t you see needs help? But she doesn’t know how to ask for it.
Please someone help me
No one is watching me
Ali was wrong, dead wrong….The rest of her heart sank into the abyss as…Jim walked into the room.
No..No..No…Nooooo! She pushed her ticket into her pocket and ran as hard she could into the women’s bathroom. Pushing the door open, she found a stall and slam the door shot locking it with shaky fingers. She sat down on the toilet seat with her head on her knees rocking back in forth. Please don’t let him…
Jim’s big burly body busted through the door with enough force to shake the stalls. “I know you’re in here Ali”
He checked the first stall, empty. He checked underneath and couldn’t see her feet. “Come on out Ali, I just want to talk darling”. He pushed the second door open, it was empty her could hear him swear under his breath.
“You’re testing my patience you little whore!!” He roared
She couldn’t stop shaking her mind was gone, her hearts cold and beating fast.
He pushed the 3 rd door open, empty again. “Come out now! I swear it’s going to be painful for you” He rubbed his crouch with a sick delight.
Time was up, as he reached the fourth door open it wouldn’t budge. He found the crack on the side of the door and whispered “Found you dar-ling” with a wicked grin………