Corruption

Chapter I

“Lily, get your ass out of your room” screamed my father from the other room. “It’s time for you to go to your damn school.”
“I’m coming, Papa,” I replied, trying hard not to let his whiskey soaked voice phase me. I always hated when Papa drank too much, because he’d get angry at me. Sometimes when he would be so angry, I wouldn’t even notice the smell of alcohol, but he must have had some to be so mad.
In my best dress, although still a tattered and a size too small, I raced out to door, put on my pair of shoes that pinched my toes the least and followed Papa out the door.
“It’s about time you got your ass out here,” he muttered.
“I’m sorry, Papa,” I said and smiled at him. “I had to put on my shoes real fast.”
“Stop making excuses,” Caius, my brother hissed under his breath. “It’ll only make it worse.”
“You’re not my boss, Caius.”
“I’m older!” he said, his voice rising.
“By about five damn minutes,” Papa said and rolled his eyes, slamming the front seat of the old beaten up car he called a vehicle.
Caius and I piled into the back seat and smooshed together against all of the trash that littered the other side of the seat.
“Papa?” I asked, and he looked at me in the mirror.
“The hell do you want, Lily?”
“Why’s my name Lily? Lilium? And why is he Caius?”
“Your mother’s sister,” he said slowly, as if trying to remember something from long ago. “She wanted to have kids and she couldn’t. So she asked your mother if you damn brats could be named Lilium and Caius. And your mother decided to be a stupid bitch and agree.”
“We don’t have an aunt,” Caius butt it.
“You did,’ Papa said, not veiling his irritation. “She’s not around anymore.”
“What happened to her, Papa?”
“She’s dead. She died in an explosion.”
“What exploded?” Caius asked, the promise of a good story catching his attention immediately.
“Shut up, Caius.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re being a dumb fuck! I don’t wanna talk about your damn aunt! Just shut the hell up!”
Caius and I looked at each other, and when he stuck his tongue out at me I squirmed to get away from him, and before I could get into a more comfortable position we arrived at the school.
“Your mother’s at work and I will be busy when you get off school. You’ll be walking home.”
“Aww, again?” whined Caius.
“Quit your bitching,” Papa growled. “You’re seven now. It’s not a long walk. You’ll be home in no time. Now get your ass to your classes, you’re late.”
Caius and I headed off to class which, being in the same grade, we had together.
We walked in late and Miss Jamie looked at us a little funny. “May I see you in the hallway, Caius and Lilium?”
Miss Jamie was the only person who ever called me by my full name. Most people just called me Lily. I liked it when Miss Jamie called me Lilium.
“Caius, Lilium, can you please explain to me why you’ve been late every day this past week?” Her voice was not full of anger, but rather concern.
“Papa has to bring us to school, Miss Jamie. Mama usually brings us but Mama had to work late this week and doesn’t get off until after we have to be here,” I explained.
Caius nodded. “Papa doesn’t like to get up early so he gets us here when he can.”
“I’m sorry we’re late again, Miss Jamie. We can ask him to bring us earlier next time, but if we do he’ll just make us walk home again.”
“How far away do you live?” she asked, voice filled with more concern than ever.
“Not too far,” Caius said before I had a chance to speak. “It’s okay to walk,” he said, giving me a warning look.
I nodded, and Miss Jamie looked relieved. “Well, try to be here on time, children. But thank you for explaining to me.”
I hugged her and ran back into the classroom with Caius and Miss Jamie following behind.
The students got quiet when Miss Jamie came back in and stood at her desk, and she smiled at the class.

By lunchtime, I was already lost in my own little world, wondering if Papa would really make Caius and I walk home. Sometimes when Papa was in a bad mood, he’d say things like that and then he would come get us after school anyways because Mama would make him come get us.
“Lily!” A bit startled, I glanced up to see my red haired, blue eyes best friend, Sam.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re not paying attention!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
“I was telling you that my mom said I can’t play with you anymore, Lily.”
“Why?”
“She said that your mom and dad are bad people so you’re a bad person too. She said you’re all going to Hell, and I’m not allowed to be with you anymore because you’ll make me go with you.”
“Sam, that’s ridiculous,” I said sadly.
“I’m sorry,” she said sadly. “We can’t be friends anymore.”
I watched her walk away and when lunch ended, instead of going out to recess, I asked Miss Jamie i I could stay in the class and help her.
“Sure, Lilium. But wouldn’t you rather go to recess?”
“No,” I said. “Sam doesn’t wanna be my friend anymore. I don’t have anyone to play with.”
“Did she say why? You’re a nice girl, and Sam likes playing with you.”
“She said her mama said me and my family are going to Hell. She said she doesn’t want me to make her go with me.”
“Oh Lilium, that is not true at all! Even if your family isn’t the best, you are a good girl, and Caius is a good boy.”
“What’s wrong with my family?” I asked suspiciously.
“Well, Lilium, it’s not really my place to talk about it.”
“I want to know,” I stubbornly said. Why would anyone say bad things about Mama and Papa?
“Well.... do you know what drugs are?”
“Yes. But that has nothing to do with my family, does it?”
“Well, some people think your parents do some drugs, but that’s not necessarily true. That may be why Samantha’s mother doesn’t want you to play. I am so very sorry, Lilium, I’m sure it has nothing to do with you. Don’t let what people say get to you, Lilium. Of course you may stay in and help me.”

That was the first time I found out my parents had anything to do with the usage and dealing of drugs. Methamphetamine, in particular. I was not informed of my father’s job as a dealer until I was eleven when one of their clients came to the door and I was the one asked to let him in.
When I was twelve my mom got fired from her job as a waitress at a restaurant, and Caius had started smoking marijuana by that time. I maintained my position that doing drugs was not a good thing, and while Caius was getting lower grades in school, I was able to keep up with my classes.
By age sixteen, Caius had all but stopped coming to school, and when he did it was only to see his friends. I was still away from drugs, sex, and all of the things I found my family to all be involved in. I wasn’t even on speaking terms with them some nights when I’d come home and plead with my family to stop, and they wouldn’t, they would send me away from the house and tell me not to came back. A day later, I would get a call asking me to come back, but I never really had a place to go when they would send me away. Since that time Samantha had pushed me away, no one had been willing to be my friend in any close way because she had obviously “warned” them of how horrible my family was. Except there had been one guy named Jonah who had never been outwardly mean to me. He was the only one in my whole class. But he was a bit of a social outcast anyways with no friends to be spoken of.
When they made me leave, I would usually just walk around all night, making sure to bring my school things with me to bring to school the next day. But being away from home wasn’t truly much of a punishment at all. When I was home, it wasn’t uncommon for my Papa to get mad and hit me, usually bruising me in at least fifteen places before he got his anger out. And despite his never ending anger, I loved him along with the rest of my family, despite their flaws. Somehow I knew no matter what happened, I would love them until the very end.
My favorite memory of my family was when we went on vacation to one state over. We stayed at my grandma’s house and Caius and I slept in the same room because there wasn’t enough space for us to be apart. We were only seven at the time. My favorite part of the whole trip was when grandma took me to the ice cream parlor. Mama had never been close with her Mama, but I had always gotten along with grandma.
“Why don’t you stay with me for a while, Lily?”
“What do you mean, Grandma?”
“I mean I think maybe you can stay with me for a while. Maybe this summer you should stay with me, Lily. I think you would be better off with me than you are with your family. Wouldn’t you like to stay with me, Lily?”
“I would, Grandma, but I need to stay with my Mama and Papa. And Caius.”
“Do you really fit in with them, Lily?”
“Not really, but they’re my family. And I love them.”
“Alright, Lily. Let’s get some ice cream.” She got me a chocolate and black cherry swirled ice cream with almond slices in it. It had been my favorite ice cream and I was rarely able to get it because it was expensive. We spent all day together, and we went out to a movie together. That night, back home at grandma’s I stayed with Caius in the room and we watched a movie together. It was just a great weekend because it was the last time I can remember my whole family was together and happy. Since then my Mama and grandma haven’t even spoken. I miss the times that I felt close to my family.

The day it all happened was a day I was on good terms with my family compared to how I had been for a while. I was seventeen and my birthday was in one week, and I knew I wasn’t likely to receive much of a birthday from my family or anyone, but I was still excited to finally be an adult, to finally be old enough to live on my own and make a name for myself other than the one my parents had shadowed me with my whole life.
It was over winter break from school and my family had decided we were going on a vacation for the first time in a very long time. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone on vacation. Apparently my parents were making enough money from their sales to go on vacation.
“Mama, I don’t want to go. I have school work I need to get done.”
“What for? It’s vacation, Lily. You need to do your work when you have time to yourself, not when it’s our family time.”
“Mama, I’ve been working on it. It’s a project for my English class. I have to get it done or I won’t pass the class, and English is a required class for the college I want to attend next year.”
“You know what Papa and I told you, Lily. We can’t pay for you to go to college, dammit.”
“I have a job, Mama. I have a job and I have a scholarship. I don’t need you two to pay for it.”
“You have to come regardless, Lily. Caius is coming.”
This surprised me. Caius was so rarely around the house that when he was, it was like he was visiting. He didn’t go to school anymore, either. I missed having him around.
“I... I really do have a lot I have to get done, Mama....”
“Bring it with you, then. Work on it once we reach the hotel. Either way, you are coming with us,” she said forcefully.
I sighed and packed away my old, outdated laptop along with my writing prompt and followed my Mom out the door to the old red car, and piled in next to Caius in the back seat, reminding me so much of when we used to ride to school together.

I never saw it coming.
The broken glass cut at my face, the seat crunched in and hurt my calves, most likely breaking the bones. The force made my head hit my mom’s seat, badly bruising my forehead.
My mom, not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the car and hit the car my papa had hit when he swerved out of our lane. Her neck broke instantly upon hitting the car.
Papa hit the steering wheel, so he stayed in the car, but the old, outdated windshield shattered and a piece pierced his head.
Caius had horrible contusions on his knees from hitting the seat and a head injury similar to my own.

I was surrounded by a grey fog, and all I could see were my parents and brother being taken away from me.
“Stop!” I tried to call, but my voice wouldn’t work. Instead I made my way over to them and grabbed onto my parents’ wrists, begging them to stay with me.
A hooded, black cloaked figure materialized and turned to me. “Let them go,” it said harshly, voice neither male nor female, but rather harsh and cruel.
“No! You can’t take them!”
“You do not want to be where they are going. Go back.”
“Let them go!” I screamed. “Take me with them, I don’t care! Give them back to me!”
The figure grabbed onto my own wrist and pulled me with my parents. My brother was not following with us, I noticed, but I was scared.
“Where are we going?” I pleaded to know.
“You will see. He will not be happy about having to deal with this.”
“Don’t, then! Send us back!”
“They’re dead. They can’t go back. You and your brother can. Go back. You don’t belong where they are going. It is not a land for the living.”
“I don’t care! They aren’t dead! Let us go.”
The grip on my wrist disappeared and a moment later I felt it again, this time bashing my head. I fell to the ground unconscious.
The sight I saw when I woke was the worst thing I had ever seen.