Welcome to my Nightmare
Cowering Lucy hid behind the caravan. Her best dress spattered with beetroot juice. Pieces of glass and beetroot clung to her hair. Acid curled and uncurled in her stomach.
Shaking like a leaf she mumbled whispery prayers, begging forgiveness. Knowing there would be none.
“Lucy. LUCY COME HERE!” Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run. Fear locked her limbs, rendered her immobile. Paralysed she watched as the shoes stepped towards her hiding place with imminent stealth.
She started getting up, her whole body a jabbering mass of shakes. Nausea bubbled in her throat. Suddenly she was yanked up by her ponytail. Daggers of pain shot through her scalp. A warm trickle of urine ran down her leg.
“I did not mean to break the salad bowl Mum,” she blubbered. The only answer a vicious fist slamming into her head sending her to the ground. Her mind blacked out. She curled into a foetal ball trying to protect herself from the assault. Tears mixed with snot ran down her face.
Another painful yank on her hair. “Go to the bathroom and clean yourself. Then go to your room and stay there. I want you out of my sight. You make me sick.”
Numbed she stumbled away on rubbery legs that threatened to drop her to the ground. “Walk up straight. Stop acting,” the monster boomed behind her. Followed her to the bathroom.
Under the monster’s watchful eye she tried her best to wipe her face. “Don’t waste hot water, it costs money. Get on with it, I don’t have all day.”
“Yes Mum.”
She heard the car door slam in the garage. The monster left the bathroom. Dejected she went to her bedroom, crawled into her bed. “Dad will once again believe her. I am just not precious enough to protect.”