~~~~~~~~~
The sun peeked through the window like it was asking a question. It was wondering if it could come in and shine on the faces of the two girls sleeping soundly side by side, soft breathing and hands linked even in sleep. The answer was obvious, of course it could not come in. Ashley's eyes were all but swollen shut. It was all the crying she did after she came home, to her new home, at least for the moment. She couldn't believe that her dad had actually been arrested.
He had been sitting in his favorite chair reading a paper while the big game was on in the background. The knocking on the door was annoying and he didn't want to move. "Ashley?" His big booming voice sounded throughout the whole house. The knocking only got louder, followed by an authoritative voice asking for him. Incredulously, he opened the door. "What is this about?" he asked, clearly unamused. The cop at the front door did not back away, instead he said with a voice that did not shake or waver in any way. "We're here to arrest you, sir," he said. "You what?!?"
"You heard me."
"You must have a death wish."
"And you must be insane to believe that what happened to your daughter did not have anything to do with you."
Ashley's father didn't deny it. The cop could see recognition planting itself in his pompous, pretentious eyes. Although it was clear he knew what the cop was talking about, he was also crazy enough to believe that his actions were warranted and he shouldn't be in trouble for merely disciplining his daughter.
"What, those bruises? I told her to look where she was going, she never turns the light on in the dark."
The cop looked Mr Angular right in the face. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attourney. If you can't afford an attourney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they are read to you?"
Ashley's father chortled. Even as the handcuffs clicked into place behind his back, even as the cop and his partner walked him to the police car and sat him in the back, he still did not falter. "My daughter is going to have hell to pay for this," he said under his breath. The cop who had put the handcuffs on him was suddenly thankful for the barrier between him and the backseat. He turned slowly to face the man before driving away to the station. He looked Mr Angular straight in the face. Without even so much as a tiny undercurrent of fear he spoke out loud. "The whole town saw what you did to that girl. Everybody knows about the daily beatings. You will be lucky to survive prison." And with that, he drove off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ashley was the first one to move. It wasn't so much out of wanting to than it was her bladder. She had the incredible need to relieve herself more than she really wanted to get up and start moving. Her body was still so sore. Her eyes felt like they were swollen shut from the beating she had recieved and then from crying all day. She stretched slightly and then winced at the pain in her side. She lifted up her shirt to see a fresh bruise had planted itself right under her ribcage. "Are you serious?" she thought. She stared at her friend, Molly, still sleeping soundly. She really had no idea what she would do if it weren't for her and her family. Her family was already talking about adopting Ashley and since she had no next of kin, all she needed was her father's signature and she would be Molly's sister for real. Her heart fluttered at the thought. They had been like sisters their whole lives anyway, and she loved Molly's parents and they her. She couldn't think of a better family to belong to. And even though she loved her mom, she knew her death was a blessing in disguise. Anything to get away from that man.
Getting to the bathroom was rough. She was not as graceful as she had hoped. She was in so much pain that she could not move without crying out. Molly was up at once. "What is it, Ash?"
"I have to go to the bathroom," Ashley answered, tiny tears forming on her cheeks.
"What hurts?" Molly asked.
"Everything," Ashley answered.
"Maybe we should get you checked out," Molly said.
"Well, if I don't get to the bathroom soon, we might have other problems besides that," Ashley concluded.
"well alright then." Molly gathered herself and scooped Ashley up and together they finally got to the bathroom.
~~~~~
"Ahhh, so much better," Ashley said when she was finally done. "I wish my face looked better though."
"I didn't realize there was more than just your eyes," Molly said, chiding herself.
"Oh no please don't feel bad," Ashley pleaded. "I didn't want to scare you but I had to tell the police everything, and I think that bastard cracked a rib or something."
"I guess in all the excitement yesterday, nobody really thought about getting you to a hospital."
Molly checked downstairs to see where her parents were. Her mom was in her usual spot, making Saturday breakfast. Her dad was at the table reading his horoscope and pretending to scoff while really making mental notes of what he should be expecting. "Hey, guys?" Molly's voice was quiet but she knew they could hear her. Molly's mom turned her head to see her daughter standing there with a face of concern.
"We need to take Ashley to see a doctor."
"Of course, we've already scheduled an appointment for 2:30pm today," Molly's mother said.
A look of relief flushed through Molly's face. "Thank God," she said. She went up to tell Ashley but didn't have very far to walk. "How did you get down the stairs?"
"Very slowly."
Molly's mother saw her best friend's daughter half standing, half leaning against the wall to the kitchen. Her legs could not get to her fast enough as she lead her to the table and carefully sat her down. "Now... what exactly happened?"
Ashley let out a big sigh. She felt the tears coming and they would have spilled over had she had any energy left for them. She knew she could trust this family, and better yet, she could trust the whole town to believe her story. There was no hiding this secret anymore, and her father was safely behind bars where nothing could happen to her. She knew she could talk.
"Well, first I'm going to have to say I'm sorry to Molly because I haven't been able to tell you any of this." Molly sat at the table next to her friend, her hand immediately covering her friend's hand, her angel wings wrapped around them both. Ashley started playing with the feathers as she spoke.
"My dad had been beating me for months. For not doing the dishes right, for having my music too loud, even for being friends with you. He hated that I associated myself with you, he called you a freak and he said you should be burned alive with all the other freaks." A look of horror came upon Molly's face. She could not believe that anyone could be so cruel. She knew people looked at her differently, how could they not? But these people in this town weren't mean towards her, and they certainly did not have this opinion of her. They were friends with her and her family. She squeezed her friend's hand and urged her to continue.
Ashley saw her friend's face fall at the words she had said. She knew it broke Molly's heart to know that someone was that mean. But she also knew that no one else shared this opinion of her and her dad was an asshole. So she continued in confidence.
"This was HIS opinion of you. But he didn't want me to have ANY friends. Molly, you are my best friend. You are my sister. Your family is my family. I mean look! I'm here right now because of you guys."
She looked around the table at Molly and Molly's parents. They each had a look of understanding and awe that took her breath away. She had no idea how she was going to tell them what she was going to tell them... but she knew that she had to tell the whole truth.
"So... Friday night we were supposed to see each other for the first time in what seemed like forever. I was going to tell you about what's been happening to me. My dad didn't know that of course, he just assumed we were going to go out and get into heaps of trouble. So he ordered me to stay in my room. I told him to 'fuck off' and he grabbed me by my hair and pulled me into my room. He told me what he was going to do to me and that I was going to like it because I had no choice. I asked him what the fuck he thought he was doing, and he said I knew exactly what he was going to do because I had wanted it. I asked him, 'are you fucking crazy?' and he said, 'you're my wife right now, and I need this as much as you, so just shut up and take it.' and then he ripped my pants off."
Molly's face blanched. She stared at her friend, almost immediately remembering the dream she had. It was of this exact moment, and as Ashley spoke the words she began to have flashbacks. Flashbacks of screaming, clothes being ripped off, more screaming, manly sounds that were most certainly not loving or gentle, the grunt of the conclusion, the end. Suddenly she felt the world closing in on her. The kitchen was not the kitchen anymore but a black box, void of all sound and self of self. Her best friend had been raped by her own father.
She looked around the room at her parents, whose faces were also ashen. They knew Ashley's father had a temper, but never thought that THIS would happen. Although they could tell by her crumpled face that it was indeed true. Molly's dad was the one who spoke up first. "That bastard is so lucky he's in jail right now."
Suddenly, Molly felt like she was suffocating. She could not be in that room any longer. She wasn't disgusted at her friend. But for the first time in her life, she felt emotions so strong she did not know what to do with them. All she had ever known was love. She did not know jealousy, or heartbreak, or even anger. She knew she was different, she didn't feel emotions the same way others did. But she knew how to love. She knew what love was and how people acted when they truly loved each other. She did not know that this emotion was called Hate. All she knew was that she had to get the hell out of that house before she broke something.
She let go of her friend's hand. Her wings retreated back into their resting spot on her back. There were no words to describe what she was feeling, only that she had to be somewhere, somewhere other than where she was right this very second. She gave her friend a kiss on the cheek and without a word, ran as fast as she could out the front door.
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