So Long and Goodnight...

A bolt of lighting, streaking across the black night sky, lit up your room as you heard your step mother ask her heated question.

"Where the Hell have you been?"

She snapped on the only light you had in your room:
a Nightmare Before Christmas lamp, on your headboard.

"Here's a better question," you shot back.
"Why the Hell are you in my room?"

"I'm your mother. I'm allowed to be in your room."

You lost it.

"Bitch! You are NOT my fucking mother! You don't fucking own me, and you can't fucking tell me what to do! NOW GET THE FUCK OUT!"

From behind you, you heard a booming voice and instantly regretted what you'd just said.

"She can tell you whatever the Hell she wants. I married her so she IS your mother."

"She will NEVER be my mother!" you screamed.

Your father stepped to you, grabbed your arm and twisted it hard.

"OW!"

"SHE ...IS ...YOUR ...MOTHER. You WILL accept that and you WILL respect her. Do you understand?"

"Yes," you whimpered with tears in your eyes.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you," he said as he twisted your arm harder.

"YES!" you screamed as pain shot up the entire length of your arm and into your back.

"That's what I thought," he said as he dropped your arm.
"Now get to fucking bed and you listen to me, you little bitch. If I EVER catch you sneaking out of this house again, I'll break your fucking legs."

You just stared at the ground, your cheeks stained with your tears, cradling your throbbing arm in agony.

"DO YOU FUCKING HEAR ME?" your dad boomed.

You slowly raised your head and looked at him.

You'd never been so full of hate in your entire life.

"I heard you," you said through gritted teeth.

He drew his hand back like he was going to hit you but Jessica stepped between you and him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Marshall, that's enough. Let's just go to bed okay?"

He turned his hateful gaze back to you.

"You lucky bitch," he said with his hand still drawn back in a fist.

"If she wasn't here, I would beat the living shit out of you.

You just continued to stare at him with hate wishing he would just fucking drop dead right in front of you.

Jessica ushered him out of the room then turned around to address you.

"Helena, are you okay?" she asked with sympathetic concern.

"Why the fuck would you care, bitch?" you whispered with tears running down your cheeks.
"You ruined everything."

Jessica pulled back as if you'd just slapped her across the face.

She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but then changed her mind.

She turned around went out the door and closed it softly behind her.

You went over to your bed and turned off the light.

Every move you made sent a stab of overwhelming pain through your entire upper right side.

You laid on your back completely motionless and tried to go to sleep.

It was very hard to do but eventually you drifted in to a fitful slumber.

It was a good thing.

You knew, but dreaded, that you had to be up in three hours.

Tomorrow would be Hell and you wished it would never come.