Welcome to the Family

Tyfany pulled up a couple houses down from where I lived and I climbed out of the car, “Feel better babe.” she said and drove off.

I walked the few minutes to my house. Once there I hopped the fence and grabbed onto the drainpipe and began to hoist myself the ten feet up to my window. Upon reaching the window I pulled myself up over the sill and before somersaulting into the room. As soon as I stood up my phone rang.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Hey did you know that you left your signed thingy in my car?” Tyfany asked.

“I-” but I was interrupted when suddenly I felt a slap across my face.

My phone flew out of my hand and I fell back onto my bed. There was a ‘click’ and suddenly I saw Brad standing over me. His eyes were blazing and his jaw was set.

“Do you want to tell me where you were?” he spat.

“I-I-I-” I stuttered and he slapped me again.

I felt a coppery taste in my mouth and knew that it was bleeding.

“I asked you where the hell you were!” he said.

“I went to a concert!” I said the tears starting.

“A concert? Who the fuck told you that you could go to a concert? And…where the hell did you get these clothes?!?” he asked.

I opened my mouth when Brad’s fist connected with my face, “You wanna dress like a freak? You wanna dress like a little whore?” he asked.

“Brad please I’m sorry.” I sobbed.

“Oh no you’re not but you’re going to be little girl. So just what fucking band did you go see?” he asked.

“A-Avenged Sevenfold.” I whispered.

“WHAT?!? How dare you! I’m your father you little bitch! That good for nothing drugged up piece of shit rockstar is nothing to you!” Brad said and I refused to take that.

“How dare me? How dare you! That man is nicer than you’ve ever been to me! He loves me! He cares! You’re nothing to me but an abusing bastard that my mother was too fucked up in the head to see was a horrible person!” I spat.

For a moment Brad froze. I’d never yelled at him like that. Usually I took his abuse and was silent about it but now he was messing with Brian. So what if he’d moved on and had a totally new family? He was still my dad and Brad wasn’t going to fuck with him.

A moment later Brad snapped out of it, “You piece of shit! How dare you speak to me like that! I kept your sorry ass your mother died. I gave you shelter, food, clothes and this is how you repay me? I’ll show you.” Brad said.

His hands moved to his belt and I froze. He undid the belt and pulled it from the loops. I watched as he wrapped it around one hand before bringing the metal buckle down on me. I screamed as it hit the bare flesh of my arm and I scrambled to get away. Brad had finally lost it.

“Get back here you little bitch!” he screamed and grabbed the back of my shirt as I climbed off the bed.

I pulled away and the shirt came over my head. Brad threw it across the room and came at me, backing me into a corner. He brought the belt down again and again, the buckle cutting into the tender flesh of my arms and upper back. I screamed every time it came down on me.

I had to get out of this. If I didn’t I knew that Brad would kill me for sure this time. When he went up to strike again I aimed my foot right and kicked him square between the legs. He fell down holding himself and I took it as my chance to escape.

However I underestimated how long it would take him to recover. Just as I reached the steps Brad grabbed me by the hair pulling my head back.

“You’re not going to get away with this you little bitch.” he growled in my ear and with one shove I was tumbling down the stairs.

Each step brought new pain to my body. I finally landed in a pile at the bottom of the stairs. I heard Brad’s footsteps come down the stairs. He stepped over me and looked down at me lying on the floor.

“You stupid little bitch.” he said.

Suddenly my breath was knocked out of me and pain shot sharply through my chest as Brad brought his foot back and kicked me in the ribs. I felt things crack as he kicked me again and again. I attempted to scream but there was no air to do it.

He stopped after a few kicks and left my lying on the floor. I drifted in and out of consciousness.

“This is it. I’m going to die here and no one will ever know.” I thought during one of the few bouts of consciousness.

I don’t know how long I lied there when suddenly there was a sharp knock on the door, “OPEN UP! THIS IS THE POLICE!” a voice yelled.

Before I knew what happened the door busted open and people began to rush in. Suddenly there were people around me, asking me questions that I didn’t really understand. Their voices were soothing though and made me feel better.

“Josephine? Josephine can you hear me?” one of the people who kneeled over me asked.

“She like’s Joey or Josie.” Tyfany’s voice said from somewhere to my left.

“Okay Joey my name is Jeff.” the first voice said.

“We’re going help you okay? Just relax.” he said.

They began to do things to me. They injected me with something that numbed the pain before putting me in a neck brace and rolling me onto a backboard. I was loaded onto a stretcher and they took me out the door.

“Ma’am what can you tell me about your friend?” Jeff asked as we got into the ambulance.

“Um…nothing really. Her mother died a few months ago, she doesn’t know any of her other family and-” Tyfany’s voice said.

“James Owen Sullivan.” I said.

“What?” Jeff asked.

“My uncle’s name is James Owen Sullivan. My father’s name is Brian Elwin Haner Jr..” I said.

“Josie baby you’re not making any sense.” Tyfany said leaning over me, “We went to an Avenged Sevenfold concert tonight. She’s hallucinating or something. They’re members of the band, The Rev and Synyster Gates.” Tyfany said.

“No! My uncle’s number is 745-4023 and his wife’s is 874-9689.” I replied.

I heard the sound of a pen scratching on paper as Jeff wrote all this down, “Okay Joey this says that you’re getting stressed so we’re going to put you to sleep.” Jeff said and before I could say anything I was asleep.