The Little Girl Who Liked Shoes

Rashell used to like shoes
Especially the leather ones
Her Daddy wore
The ones she could see
Her reflection in 

Rashell curls in a ball
Beneath her bed
Her only company
The dust bunnies
Her Teddy bear
And a fear so strong 
She nearly cried

Someone screamed in the house
And then silence 
Rashell knew the scream
Was one of her mothers 

Footsteps echoed in the stairwell
Slow and steady
And a voice she knew to well
Called her name
In a long, drawn out way
That chilled her to the bone

The door to her bedroom
Slammed open 
And Rashell covered her mouth
With her tiny hands
So she didn't cry out loud 

Rashell squeezed her eyes shut 
As the footsteps drew near
Close enough that she could hear
His ragged breathing
 
She opened her eyes
To find herself staring back at her
In her Daddy's shoes

Something red dripped
In tiny droplets next to the shoes 
And Rashell tried not to cry
When she realized the red
Belonged to her mother

Rashell used to like shoes 
Especially the ones
Her Daddy wore
But that was before she knew
That the person that wore those shoes
Would be the one
To end her life

All because 
He had a little to much to drink