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She opened her eyes and then closed them again. It couldn't be morning already. It felt like she had just closed her eyes, only to be opening them again. She stretched her whole body, let out a big yawn, and then rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her dreams were getting stranger by the day. She always had dreams that told her things, about her friends having big news, her parents' plans for the weekend, mostly trivial stuff. But once in a while she got a whopper of a dream. Not always good news, and while she appreciated the gift, she knew it came with a price. She knew she had to be the one to deliver the news to whoever was in her dream. No one would take it from anyone else but her. Who would turn down a girl with angel wings on her back?
This latest dream was about her best friend. She could sense that her friend was having some problems lately, but she also knew that Ashley would tell her when the time was right. She had a feeling that today was going to be that day and from what she had gathered from her dream, she knew the news was not going to be good. Sure enough, she heard the chime of her cell phone go off as soon as the text came in. Quickly she grabbed it and read the text.
Ashley: "hey, Mol. you up yet?"
Molly: "sure am, just opened my eyes. what's up?"
Ashley: "i'm sorry i haven't been talking much lately."
Molly: "it's okay sweetie. you know i'm here when you're ready to talk."
Ashley: "i think i am now."
ashley: "meet me at our place in 30 minutes."
Molly: "you bet."
Molly stared at the clock. She was glad it was a weekend, that meant she didn't have to get up for school. She was just so used to getting up early her body just woke her up as the sun rose. At first she was annoyed but at this point she just got used to it. And she could see the sun rising from her bedroom window, so if she got up a little earlier she had some time to make some coffee and watch the sun rise from her bedroom window. It didn't happen every morning, but on those lovely days where she beat the sun, she claimed a small victory as she sipped her coffee and watched the rising of another day.
Today, however, was not one of those days. She knew that Ashley had something important to tell her and she was thankful she didn't have to care about what she had on because she didn't have time to fiddle when her friend had news. She put a hoodie on over her pj top and some shoes on her feet, wrote her parents a note that she'd be out just for a minute, got on her bike and road to their spot at the park.
She could have used her wings to fly. They were fully functional, after all. But she felt that the more she didn't try to flaunt them but only use them for emergencies, the better she felt about herself. She loved her wings, she really did. She didn't mind having her clothes custom made to fit them or the extra space she needed on the school bus. They weren't retractable so they did have a presence to them. She could never be ashamed of something that was so clearly a part of her. She knew that she wasn't fully human. Her gift was being put on this earth to be a part of the human experience, to be a daughter to parents that she loved, and to have friends that she felt were often angels to her. That's why she loved Ashley so much. Before Ashley came along, the kids more or less ignored her. Sure they came up with the classic stupid kid comments that didn't phase her besides to sometimes confuse her, but she didn't really feel a connection to anyone. Nobody really understood how she had real wings and why she never hid them, yet no one ever bothered to really get to know her enough to ask. Except Ashley.
Ashley had been born into a family of generations of people who lived in the town, way before most everyone got there. By the time Ashley was 4 years old, all the other kids knew that whatever she said, she meant. She wasn't mean, but her main concern was people being mean to each other, and she wasn't having any of that in her preschool. So when she saw that no one was asking that angel girl to play with them, it broke her little 4 year old heart. She walked right up to Molly, sat down, and asked if she wanted to share her snack pack. Molly smiled a shy little smile and they were inseparable ever since.
Right now Ashley was sitting on top of the picnic table at the center of the park. She had that face on that Molly saw in her dream: ashen and a little off. Molly knew that it was Ashley by the way she was sitting, cross-legged without any shoes on, but there was something off about her. Molly's wings twitched as she took off her hoodie and let them breathe in the almost-fall air.
"Hey, sweets." Molly sat down next to Ashley, who didn't say anything at first. She tried not to panic, but in her heart she knew something was very, very wrong.
In a shaky voice Ashley started talking. At first her voice was so small, so timid, that Molly would not have believed it was her had she not been sitting right next to the girl. "It's over."
"what's over?"
"my life."
"excuse me?"
"I am in so much trouble."
"what do you mean?"
Ashley sighed her annoyed sigh and looked Molly in the face. Molly's stomach was tied in knots as Ashley's face tried to appear composed, and then suddenly she was in tears.
"If I tell you what I'm about to tell you, promise me you won't judge me."
"Ash, when have I ever judged you?"
"you promise me? you won't judge me?"
"I promise. just tell me what happened."
Ashley sucked in air as she tried to find the words. It was then that Molly really looked at her friend. How could she not have seen it before? Ashley's eyes were swollen from crying, but there was something else, too. Was that blood? A bruise? That wasn't right. Upon further examination she saw more bruises on her arms. Not just from punches but what appeared to be finger marks. From being grabbed?? Molly knew that Ashley's dad had a temper but she never suspected him of doing this to her. Not until that dream she had...
"I was bad."
"What do you mean?"
"I stayed out past curfew, two minutes to be exact. He was waiting in the doorway with the belt. There was nowhere to hide."
Molly's dream was coming back to her now, not just in flashes but in motion picture settings like in a movie. A huge figure stood before her best friend with a face as red as a ripe tomato. He screamed at her for being a whore and that was why she was late coming home, he never should have let her out, and to just give up and let him beat her ass for being so stupid. She remembered the words as clear as a bell, they were the most horrible words that had ever been uttered. Ashley was the best person that Molly knew. They often talked about being sisters, and Molly often thought about adopting Ashley. Of course, that never seemed like a possibility, until Ashley bent forward and Molly saw the horrible vision that was Ashley's back. Even without lifting up her shirt, she knew what she would see. She wanted to hug her friend so tight and tell her that everything was going to be okay, but she was afraid to touch her. Her angel wing sort of reached around and hugged Ashley gently. Ashley crumpled into the wing and Molly's arm and they just stayed like that for a while. Eventually the tears ran out and Ashley told Molly everything that was going on with her and why she had been distant for a while.
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It started when she was about 12. Ashley's mom had passed away and her dad, who was a very respected man about town, didn't feel very respected at home. He expected Ashley to take on the duties of her mother, but she just wanted to mourn the loss of her mom and leave the rest of it behind. She knew how to cook and clean and didn't mind doing those things, what pissed her off was being expected to do it every single night when she had homework and other responsibilities to take care of. Her dad didn't want to be looked at as a bad father so he kept her in the programs that she was in at school, but he only bothered to show up when it suited him. While her mother loved to watch her dance at ballet recitals and loved her art shows, her father couldn't give two shits about it. He called her ballet stupid and pointless, and told her she may as well take up a hobby that could make her money and forget about stupid frivolous hobbies that wouldn't get her anywhere. She didn't care about the money, she just loved being creative.
Once in a while she would get affection from her dad. It wouldn't happen too often, but sometimes before bed he would come in her room and tuck her in and sometimes he would even talk about his day. This went on for a while until one day he climbed into bed with her. At first he rubbed her back, but then he wanted to explore other areas of her being. She felt uncomfortable about it at first but she wanted so badly for her father to love her that after a while she gave in. Until he started making her touch him. At first he put her hand in the places he wanted her to touch him. But then he demanded it. It didn't start getting really bad until a few months ago. She never told Molly about it because she was so ashamed of herself. Molly already knew her friend's father was not a very nice man, but now she wanted nothing more than to see that man be sentenced to death. Instead, she thought up a plan.
"You know what, Ash?"
"you think I'm a dirty whore and I should just kill myself and get it over with?" more tears.
Molly squeezed her friend tightly to her, never wanting to let go. "Of course I don't think that of you. I have never thought that of you and I never will. You are my sister and you should live with me in my room."
"won't your parents get mad?"
"you know what? I will talk it out with them. The next time your dad tries to do anything like that to you ever again, you know you can always come to my house. I understand why you never told me before, but i just wanted to tell you that I love you and I am always here for you. Always."
She wanted to kill her friend's dad. Of course she wouldn't, she couldn't do that. It wasn't in her nature. She had been having these dreams for months that something was going on with her friend, but even her dreams were too horrible to remember. Who would want to remember something like this? But something had to be done. She looked to the sky for answers. She didn't know any other way of life besides the one she had, knowing full well that she was more different than anyone else on the planet. And yet this girl cradled in her wings was sobbing, and Molly had no idea how to stop her tears. But what she did know was that she had to get her best friend out of that house. She couldn't just let Ashley's dad get away with this. She knew she had to be honest and tell her parents about what was going on otherwise they would never let Ashley stay at the house for more than a couple of days. She cleared her throat.
"Hey Ashley?"
"ye...yeah?"
"can I ask you something?"
"sure."
"you have to stop crying for a minute."
Ashley was shocked at Molly's request, but she somehow found the strength to take some deep breaths and gain her bearings.
"okay... what I have to say you might not like, but I'm going to suggest it anyway. You can say no, I won't get offended. But it's the only thing I can think of and remember that I love you."
The look in Ashley's eyes were heartbreaking. Molly almost didn't want to say what she was about to say but she knew that this was the only way to protect her friend. "I want you to come live with me."
Ashley nearly burst out of her skin. "Do you really mean it? Like real sisters?"
"Of course I mean it," Molly said with a chuckle. "But there's one catch." She watched as her friend's face fell and then struggled to gain composure. "We need to tell my parents what is going on so they'll let you stay."
Molly could see the struggle in Ashley's eyes. Hatred towards her father mixed with compassion for the man who raised her. She knew what coming forward was going to accomplish. Police and trials and possible jail time. She also knew that if the truth didn't come out now, it might be too late. With shaky breath, Ashley answered her friend. "Okay."
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