Broken Survivor

by Jennifer Labelle

  He leaned forward to kiss her breasts, but she wasn’t having it. “Uh, uh, uh.” She shook her finger back and forth. “Isn’t it a rule that you’re not supposed to touch?” Man, it’s fun to be a tease sometimes. She stood up.

  “I didn’t think those rules applied here. You don’t strip for a living, and we’re not in the bar.”

  “Hmm, I guess you’ve got a point.” She stopped dancing and stood in front of him now. She had to widen her stance to keep from falling on her butt. Fisting the hem of her shirt, Holly slowly yanked it over her head and threw it in his direction before working on her jeans. In no time she was down to her bra and panties, and then it all went back to hell.

  “Oh God.” Holly gagged. “I don’t feel so good.” She gagged again and put a hand in front of her mouth. Shit! It was either that or vomit all over him.

  She heard clapping when she ran to the stairs to make it to the bathroom in time, and a bunch of male laughter followed.

  “Nice show,” someone shouted.

  Bastard had his friends out of sight but knew they were watching the whole time. He set me up, but why? Because he’s an ass, plain and simple. They all are.

  “Oh God.” Moaning again, she barely made it to the toilet before she threw up everything in her stomach and then some.

  She leaned against the wall after rinsing her mouth and slid to the floor. After banging her head a few times she ended the night with a good cry. “I’m so stupid.”

  Chapter Four

  What the hell?

  Holly woke to the sound of banging in the kitchen and groaned. “Chrys, someone’s here—Chrys?” Despite the noise, her sister was still sound asleep in the next bed.

  Well, isn’t that lovely. Not! Okay, plan B—get dressed and find something for protection. Just in case.

  After putting on her pants and untucking her nightshirt, the first thing she spotted was the bedside lamp. It’s better than nothing. Holly ripped it from the plug in the wall and threw away the shade. The base seemed solid enough to use as a weapon if need be. After wrapping the cord securely around the lamp, she slowly moved down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible.

  Okay, breathe, Hol. You can do it. Her hands shook, and her heart felt as though it was about to leap out of her chest. Not again, please not again. With one deep breath in and then out, she raised the wooden base above her head and tiptoed around the wall. The kitchen and bathroom seemed to be clear, which meant the person, whoever they were, was straight ahead. Here goes nothing…

  “What the hell do think you’re going to do with that?”

  Holly just about jumped out of her skin and screamed while he laughed. “Dad?” She dropped the lamp and clutched her chest. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Last I checked, this was my house.”

  “Yeah, but you’re never here.”

  “Still my place to come and go whenever I want though isn’t it?”

  She shrugged. “Whatever. Since you woke me up at this ungodly hour and scared the crap out of me, I could use some Tylenol and something to eat.” She ignored his dirty look and headed to the kitchen.

  “Make me a coffee while you’re in there, will you?”

  While in the kitchen, she put the coffee on and set about making herself some toast. A few minutes later, she brought it and some orange juice to the kitchen table. “My hands were full, so your coffee’s on the counter.”

  After grabbing his coffee, her dad sat across from her and began to roll a joint.

  “Rough night?” he asked.

  “You could say that.” She sighed. “Why the sudden curiosity? It’s not like you care.”

  “Because you look like shit.” Christian snorted. “What’s with the attitude?”

  “It’s not attitude, it’s curiosity, and maybe it’s because every time I see you, you say I look like crap. Just what every girl loves to hear.” She rolled her eyes. “Then there’s the fact that you scared the heck out of me a few minutes ago, and I’ve got a headache that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Happy now?”

  “Well, the best cure for a headache is one of these. Want some?” Christian held the unlit joint between his fingers and offered it to her.

  “You’re kidding, right?” She eyed it warily, because hell yeah she wanted it, but smoking up with your own father, aka sperm donor, seemed weird.

  “No, I’m not kidding.” He laughed and then shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She tried ignoring the scent while he lit it and began deliberately blowing the smoke in her face. A couple of tokes later, he passed it over again, and this time she took it.

  What the hell, he’s offering, she thought and sucked in a few hits of her own.

  “There you go,” he said. “Now give it back.”

  “No way!” She turned away from him, hogging it. “You want some, roll another one.”

  He was acting weird for some reason, nice even, and when it came to Christian, nice wasn’t a word you would ever associate with him. But hell, one joint wouldn’t do any harm, right?

  An hour and a second joint later, she finally had a full belly and a good buzz. “So how long are you staying?” she asked him.

  “I’m not sure. It depends on how long it takes Paige to get over her mood.” He shrugged. “I think it’s that time of the month.”

  Holly gave an unladylike snort. “Why is it every time a woman has a bad day, a guy thinks it’s because of her period?”

  “Because it usually is.” His blunt, idiotic answer would have normally started an argument between them, but she was too stoned to care enough.

  “What’s going on?”

  Holly turned in her seat to see her groggy sister approach. Wait, what? “Did you just say something?” Damn! If she could just make her head stop spinning enough, she might be able to pay attention.

  “I said, what’s going on?” Chrystal emphasized and waved a hand in front of her face. “What the hell did you give her? She’s baked.” Her sister turned to glare at Daddy Dearest and waited for an answer.

  “Nothing. She had a headache, so I let her have a couple joints. Want one?”

  “Yeah, I’ll pass, thanks!” Chrystal pulled out a chair beside Holly and stole a cold piece of leftover toast from her plate.

  “I’m fine, Chrys, really.” Holly waived a hand in the air and tried to enjoy her dreamlike trance. She felt relaxed for once.

  “Yep, a regular chip off the old block.” Christian smirked.

  “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m nothing like you.”

  “Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” The more offended she became, the more Christian seemed to be enjoying himself. Jerk.

  “I will.” She got up and glared at him.

  “Okay, enough,” Chrystal said, looking back and forth between them “Stop egging her on.”

  “I don’t need this, or you.” She waved off her sister’s concern and banged the chair against the table in frustration. She glared at Christian. “I repeat, I am nothing like you, and if it makes you feel better to think so, then you go ahead. I’ll just make sure I prove you wrong.” She grabbed the wall for support and made her way back upstairs to bed. Maybe if she slept it off, the ugly words would go away.

  It was time for a wakeup call, but was she strong enough to cope?

  ***

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just great, thanks!” Holly grimaced and walked past her sister to curl up on the couch. She’d slept the whole day away and was thankful the sperm donor was nowhere in sight. “Have you heard from Dad?”

  “He called about an hour ago.” Chrystal sat down beside her. “Looks like Paige has forgiven him for whatever he did this time, and he’s spending the night over there again.”

  “Good!” Holly scowled. “Can you believe the crap he was sprouting earlier? A chip off the old block, my butt.”

  “You’re nothing like him, and neither am I. Don’t sweat it, okay? Let him talk, but then prove him wrong in your own
way.”

  “Revenge would be sweet.” She smirked. “Have I told you that I love you lately?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Her sister leaned forward to give her a purple nurple. Her fingers squeezed and pinched Holly’s boob as hard as she could.

  “O-ouch!” Holly’s scream got louder as Chrystal twisted the skin and then let go.

  “Did it feel good to sleep all day? Don’t ever smoke with Dad again. God only knows what he’s got laced in that shit and where it’s come from. You want to smoke, fine, do it with anyone but him. Okay?”

  “What the hell, Chrys!” Holly rubbed her sore skin and could already see the bruises forming on the top portion of her breast above the neckline of her shirt. “Do that again and I’ll make sure I get you back three times worse.” She pushed Chrystal away.

  “Call it your punishment for being stupid, and you still haven’t answered me.” She stood and folded her arms across her chest. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Holly grumbled. “You’re just lucky I know you care.” Holly rubbed her chest again. “That fucking hurt, you bitch.”

  “I love you too.” Chrystal chuckled. “Now, how about a drink?”

  Drink? Now that combined with Chrystal’s concern brought back some not so good memories…

  Childhood giggles filled the house as she and her sister raced to the bottom of the stairs. They’d just gotten ready for bed like they were told to and had gone downstairs to wait for Emma to get back from work.

  “Hey, girls, Mom’ll be back in a few minutes, so I figured I’d make you something for the wait.” Christian held out two mugs for them to take.

  “What is it?” Chrystal asked as they both reached for one nervously, and Holly remembered wondering, since when does Dad make anything for us without being forced to? Like the times their mom would force him to spend a few hours every other month or so with Holly and Chrystal for some good old daddy/daughter time. None of them enjoyed it, but they went along to keep the peace and make Emma happy.

  “Hot chocolate.”

  Their dad stood in front of them with big eyes, pupils dilated, sweat along his brow, and a little bit of blood trickling down from the fresh track mark in the middle of his arm, right above the elbow. Skeptical still, they sniffed the drinks before taking their first sip.

  “That’s it, drink up.” He motioned them forward and sat back on his favorite part of the couch to watch TV.

  “Psst, Holly, look,” Chrystal whispered when she was about halfway through the beverage and showed Holly what lay at the bottom of her cup as discretely as possible. “Check yours too.”

  “Um, we’re just going to rinse out our mugs and head to bed,” Chrystal said. They were afraid to trigger his temper, were used to walking on eggshells, especially when their mom wasn’t around. As soon as they reached the confines of the kitchen, Holly slowly poured the rest of her hot chocolate down the drain to see the same thing her sister saw in her own mug.

  “Is that a Tylenol?”

  “I don’t think so.” Chrystal moved the contents of her cup, and they both watched the little pill that was not completely dissolved move along with it. With wide eyes Holly wondered what it was.

  Had their father tried to drug them? It appeared so, and after following her sister to their room, they slept heavily through the night.

  Damn! How could I be so stupid? Holly mentally chastised herself for being dumb enough to take anything from their father, and the memory confirmed how so. “Would you make mine a virgin, though?” Holly wiped a hand across her face and tried to shake the disturbing memory away. “I think I’m going to take it easy tonight.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Chrys tossed her a can of soda and sighed when she put her feet up on the coffee table. “Here’s looking forward to a quiet, relaxing night, just the two of us.”

  “Amen to that.” Holly leaned forward to toast. A night to veg on the couch sounded pretty good at the moment. It’d been quite a while since they’d done it, months really, especially after moving in with the idiot who’d helped create them. They normally either threw a party or were invited to one where pretty much anything went. Teenage freedom was sweet for the most part, but plans easily changed. They’d barely managed to get through a movie before their friends came by with their own agenda in mind.

  ***

  “Hey, baby.”

  “Don’t ‘hey baby’ me.” Holly grimaced as soon as Cole sat down on the couch and put his arm around her shoulders. The house was loud, the music turned up, people laughed and shouted trying to be heard, and bottles of alcohol appeared.

  “Aw, come on, Hol, don’t be like that.” Cole turned to face her and lifted her chin with his fingers so she’d look at him. “Can I get you something to drink? Loosen you up a little?”

  “Yeah, and we all know how that turned out last time.” She snorted and decided to try to make her escape. Turning her head away from him, she stood and stepped away. “Sorry, Cole, there’ll be no drinking for me tonight. I’m not feeling so well all of a sudden.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure he didn’t follow and finally walked away to grab another can of Coke from the fridge. She mingled for the most part but kept a low profile by mostly hanging out near the kitchen table. After a card game or two, she decided to find Chrystal to let her know she was turning in for the night. She just wasn’t feeling it and wanted the solitude of her empty room.

  A few minutes later the door clicked shut, and she sighed with relief. Her room wasn’t quiet, per say, but it wasn’t crowded, either, and the space gave her the ability to breathe easier. Between her sister’s concerns about smoking with Christian and her Dad’s comment about being a chip off the old block, she had a lot to think about. Between the two of them, she was motivated to stay sober for the night and felt a little nauseous at having been so out of control.

  I’m just like my father? I don’t think so. I’ll be damned if I turn out to be some washed-up, abusive douche-bag. He’s a lost cause without a care in the world other than when he’s going to get his next fix or what woman he can screw over. I’m better than that, damn it. It’s not like I haven’t got enough going on already. I really don’t need this on top of it, ugh!

  “I’m better than that,” she whispered and groaned as soon as she flopped onto the bed face-first. At times like this, the longing for her mother intensified. As if being a teenager wasn’t hard enough, add a dick for a father and being a witness to her mother’s murder into the mix and it felt utterly hopeless. She was so distracted, she didn’t hear anyone join her until the door softly clicked shut.

  “I’m okay, Chrys, go ahead and enjoy the party,” she mumbled. Assuming her sister was checking in on her, she didn’t bother to lift her face from the pillow she cuddled closely.

  “That’s good to hear and all, but it’s just not the same without you.” She stiffened at the sound of Cole’s voice as he sat beside her. “Let me make you feel good, Hol. We’ll bring the party right here, just you and me.”

  Her jaw was tight as she ground her teeth in frustration. “Are you drunk already? I’m not interested, Cole, thanks, but I’m sure there are plenty of girls at the party who’d be happy to take you up on that offer. Why don’t you go find one?”

  “Come on, it’ll be fun.” He nuzzled her hair and started to nibble up the column of her throat. Goose bumps rose along her arms, and she tried to shake him off.

  “No, I’m not about to put myself in a situation where you have your friends ready to pop out again. I can’t believe you even did that to me to begin with.” She sat up shoved his shoulders back and held out her hand after she got up to put distance between them. “Let’s take this downstairs, okay?”

  “I guess.” He nodded but didn’t look happy about it. “But I’m not ready to give up on us yet.”

  “Let’s go.” Holly sighed and held the door open for him to leave. The plan was to walk him back to the party and then try to make another escape to her room, so
lo.

  “You sure about this? It’ll be good.”

  “Positive.” As far as she was concerned, there had never been anything between them besides the embarrassing little strip show while his asshole friends watched from the shadows. “I don’t mean to sound like a bitch, but I’m done here, okay? Enough already.”

  “Enough already? I tell you when it’s enough.” He pushed her against the wall. “I like you, Hol, we’ve got chemistry.”

  “Well, maybe I’m just not attracted to you.” Okay, that was a low blow, and a bold-faced lie, but he didn’t seem to be getting the point, and she was tired. “I also have a lot going on, and I’m not interested in forming a new relationship with anyone right now until I can pull myself together.” Not to mention I don’t have any faith in the opposite sex, and I don’t need to add a relationship with one of them to complicate things more.

  “Message received.”

  She could tell he was angry with her. He was tense and had his jaw clenched tight by the time he finally got the point. His fists tightened at his sides, and it kind of made her nervous.

  “Excuse me.” She slid by him to head back to the party. This far away from the crowd, no one had seemed to notice their argument, and there were safety in numbers. He was clearly drunk, pissed off, and he’d already pushed her into a wall, so she wasn’t going to give him the opportunity to get more violent.

  “Whatever,” he grunted, and she almost fell when he brushed past her on the way to the living room. He looked back, narrowed his gaze, and flipped her the finger before he ripped their boom box from the wall and threw it through the front window.

  Party over.

  “What the hell happened?” Chrystal rushed to her side as she shook and began to panic “We are in so much trouble.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “Get everyone out of here, and I’ll deal with Dad in a minute.”

  “We’ll do it together.” Her sister gave her hand a quick squeeze and dragged her to the couch. “I’ll be back in a sec…”