This Broken City Sky

Stephanie's point of view.

Thirty. Gasp. More. Gasp. Minutes. Gasp and a cough. Left. I kept thinking that as I saw the clock change to 30:00. A few minutes earlier, my heart rate had gone under 185, and just as he had said, the blades had cut into my arms, causing excruciating pain to course through my already aching body.

Things can't get any worse. It's impossible. When I heard the speakers above my head crackle on, it was then that I realized, I should just shut the fuck up.

"Hello Stephanie. I hope you're having a good time. Cause I have some news for you. It's about me... your mother... and Officer Rowley, whom I believe you have already met before. You know, when your mother got another DUI."

"Shut up! She's over that! She-she-she won't be doing that again!"

"Yeah, right. Says the bottles of liquor under her bed. Looks like she's not telling you the whole truth now does it? So now I do. Stephanie... you should know that I'm not your real father."

"W-w-what? What do you mean? What does this have to do with mom and Officer Rowley? And why do you have to tell me when I'm still running?"

"First of all, I'm telling you this while you're running so it'll be harder to run. But who cares, time's almost up anyways."

I looked at the clock to see that there was only one minute left. Damn. I did great! Take that bitch!

"Secondly, what I mean is that, I. Am. Not. Your. Father. It's as simple as that. And thirdly, Officer Rowley is your father. Now before you ask any questions, I'll tell you the story."

Before he could start though, the time buzzer went off, and i was released from the restraints. I fell onto the ground gasping for breath. My arms were bleeding. And they hurt. But I didn't care. I wanted to hear this story.

"Long before you were born, your mother and I met. I guess you could say it was love at first sight. For me. It took a long time for me to convince your mom to just go on a simple date with me. She never told me it was because she had a boyfriend. I found out when we were already married. She had been cheating on me the whole time."

"When she told me she was pregnant, I didn't know what to think. Was it mine? Was it her lover's? I know you're thinking, 'You stayed with her even though she cheated on you?' I couldn't help it. I loved her. She claimed it was mine. I believed her. Rowley had left town a month before the baby was born. I could tell that this just broke Valerie's heart."

"The baby was born, and i couldn't believe my eyes. This baby, was so beautiful. But I could tell she wasn't mine. I tried to love her. I tried to convince myself that she was mine. But as she grew up, she looked more and more like Rowley, and less like me. So I started hating her, and her mother."

"As you know, this her, this she, is you. My so called daughter. My so called flesh and blood that I am supposed to love with all of my being. I couldn't do it. It was when I saw you and your mother in your room, playing with your barbie dolls, that I decided, that I hated you. I didn't love you, I hated you with all of my being."

"I knew I had to get rid of you. But how? Just leave? No. That'd show weakness. Men are not weak. Maybe I could... make them them leave. So that's what I decided. On your tenth birthday, I gave you a present that you would never forget. That you would never forget. Your mother didn't like it. I thought it was a god idea. Your first beating."

"Your mother was stupid. She thought it was a one time thing. But she was wrong. Oh, and how wrong she was. Stupid. And naive. I wanted to kill you. But I never got the chance. But now... I do."

"After you, if I still have the chance, your mother, and Rowley, will be next."

"You will not touch my mother. I don't care what she's done. I don't care what she's done to you. You will not. Touch. My mother."

He chuckled darkly. "We'll see about that."