Forbidden
ONE
Her lips were pulled into a tight smile, but Jessa Davis' eyes told a different story.
“Phil, come on! This picture will hardly be greeting card material if you don't smile.”
A grunt of discomfort was heard, and Jessa stole a look at the stiffened man standing next to her. In an instant, the sour expression on his face turned to one of joy, and a hand reached up to rest itself on her shoulder.
“Is this good, honey?”
“It’s perfect! Okay, Phil, I want you to put your hand on the other side of the trophy; Jess, just keep your hand where it is.”
Jessa nodded at the woman holding the camera, who was waving her hand in a meaningless effort to explain exactly what she wanted. She smiled excitedly at the new images she would be able to put on display around the house, and most likely show off to her book club friends.
“Donna, is this really necessary? I’m sure we’ve taken enough pictures as it is. Do we really need a hundred more?” Phil groaned out.
“First of all, I’ve taken enough pictures, Philip, but you haven’t. Second, your daughter just won first place in the Science fair. How many pictures is really enough? We need to show as many people as possible what a genius she is.”
Phil's grip on Jessa's shoulder tightened in obvious displeasure, and the girl winced slightly, but quickly masked it over with another smile. His hand attached itself to the other side of the shiny new trophy.
“Okay, just one more and then we’ll be done,” Donna said, glancing at her husband and daughter, clearly looking for a new uncomfortable position to place them in. Jessa desperately just wanted this to be over so she could go inside and forget about the whole thing.
“Phil, you take the trophy this time and Jess, you wrap your arms around his middle in a nice hug. That’ll look absolutely adorable.”
“What? Donna, this is getting out of hand now. We have enough pictures. I’m going in the house, and I want my dinner to be ready within the hour, so I suggest you get in there and start it before I get angry.”
Phil quickly removed his hand from his daughter’s shoulder and stomped back into the house, slamming the door behind him.
Jessa sighed in relief and brushed a few stray strands of blonde hair from her eyes. Her heart was pounding still, though, at the thoughts running through her mind. It was all she could do not to scream at her mother for the situation she was about to be put in.
“Jessa,” Donna started, arms folded over her chest, as she approached her daughter. “You can never be civil about anything, can you? Even after all these years; things are different now, and for some unfathomable reason, you still can’t even look at your father, let alone touch him without making that face. Why can't you just get over it? Huh? Move on.”
Donna took the trophy out of her daughter's hands and followed Phil's footsteps into the house. Jessa breathed deeply, clenching her fists so tight, she could feel as her fingernails began to leave little crescent moon shapes in her palms.
“God, help me,” she whispered, before forcing herself to turn and walk back into the hell hole she was forced to call home.
“Phil, come on! This picture will hardly be greeting card material if you don't smile.”
A grunt of discomfort was heard, and Jessa stole a look at the stiffened man standing next to her. In an instant, the sour expression on his face turned to one of joy, and a hand reached up to rest itself on her shoulder.
“Is this good, honey?”
“It’s perfect! Okay, Phil, I want you to put your hand on the other side of the trophy; Jess, just keep your hand where it is.”
Jessa nodded at the woman holding the camera, who was waving her hand in a meaningless effort to explain exactly what she wanted. She smiled excitedly at the new images she would be able to put on display around the house, and most likely show off to her book club friends.
“Donna, is this really necessary? I’m sure we’ve taken enough pictures as it is. Do we really need a hundred more?” Phil groaned out.
“First of all, I’ve taken enough pictures, Philip, but you haven’t. Second, your daughter just won first place in the Science fair. How many pictures is really enough? We need to show as many people as possible what a genius she is.”
Phil's grip on Jessa's shoulder tightened in obvious displeasure, and the girl winced slightly, but quickly masked it over with another smile. His hand attached itself to the other side of the shiny new trophy.
“Okay, just one more and then we’ll be done,” Donna said, glancing at her husband and daughter, clearly looking for a new uncomfortable position to place them in. Jessa desperately just wanted this to be over so she could go inside and forget about the whole thing.
“Phil, you take the trophy this time and Jess, you wrap your arms around his middle in a nice hug. That’ll look absolutely adorable.”
“What? Donna, this is getting out of hand now. We have enough pictures. I’m going in the house, and I want my dinner to be ready within the hour, so I suggest you get in there and start it before I get angry.”
Phil quickly removed his hand from his daughter’s shoulder and stomped back into the house, slamming the door behind him.
Jessa sighed in relief and brushed a few stray strands of blonde hair from her eyes. Her heart was pounding still, though, at the thoughts running through her mind. It was all she could do not to scream at her mother for the situation she was about to be put in.
“Jessa,” Donna started, arms folded over her chest, as she approached her daughter. “You can never be civil about anything, can you? Even after all these years; things are different now, and for some unfathomable reason, you still can’t even look at your father, let alone touch him without making that face. Why can't you just get over it? Huh? Move on.”
Donna took the trophy out of her daughter's hands and followed Phil's footsteps into the house. Jessa breathed deeply, clenching her fists so tight, she could feel as her fingernails began to leave little crescent moon shapes in her palms.
“God, help me,” she whispered, before forcing herself to turn and walk back into the hell hole she was forced to call home.
♠ ♠ ♠
Yeah, so, this is back. I gave it a facelift; changed some of the characters, tweaked the plot a bit, and it's got a new banner/layout. So, I'm excited to get back to posting for this again. ^_^.The first couple chapters will serve as introductions of sorts to the two main characters. So, part two of the intro will be coming soon. Until then, don't be a silent reader!
xoxo.