Everything Has Changed

Chapter One: Nightmares

The cover on the side was made by @regon23!!!

Chapter One: Nightmares

Present Day

I feel her standing over me. The baseball bat is in her hand and I'm laying on the floor. My mouth tastes metallic and I know I'm bleeding from when she kicked my head into the ground.

My ribs ache from countless kicks.

"Mom." I plead, tears gushing down my face. "Please stop drinking. Please!"

"Shut up bitch! I'm so sick of everything you put me through!"

She raises the bat and I brace myself.

But a hand shoots out and grabs the bat.

"Get the fuck off of her, Eileen!" Dad's voice roars. He rips the back from her hand, raises it over his head, and starts beating her.

I sit up, my body aching in protest, screaming for him to stop.

"Daddy! Dad, you'll kill her!"

He swings as hard as he can and I hear her skull connect with the bat, and she falls to the ground. Her eyes are open and she's bleeding tears.

Dad sets the bat down and smiles at me.

"Don't worry kiddo, everything is fine."

I sit up, crying out for him to run. My body is soaked in so much sweat that my sheets are wet.

For a moment, I'm worried I peed or something, but my pajama shorts are dry.

That's the second nightmare tonight. The first one consisted of her shouting at me for unbuckling my seatbelt to pick up my water that was spilling over the car.

She was mad that the car was beeping, so she opened my car door and threw me out.

I wake up right before I hit the ground and I wake up screaming or sobbing.

I'm done sleeping for the night. I can't do it anymore.

I look at the clock.

6:02AM.

At least the sun is up.

I walk silently downstairs, pausing on the staircase. There's a photo on the wall of me and Danny.

That photo makes me upset every time I see it.

We're in the backyard and we're each on a swing, but he reached over to hold my hand and I reached over to hold his. We're grinning and our eyes are shining.

After my Mom has raised her hand to me or choked me, it upsets me because when I'm upset, I want to talk to Danny, and I do, but I want to be with him in person and I can't.

He's in Florida and I'm in Maryland, and yes, I have a lot of money saved up because I've been saving for eight months, but that doesn't mean I can fly out there and see him.

It's mid July now, the divorce is final and my Mom is out of the house. Dad got full custody.

And even though I'm free from my Mom's abuse, I still feel upset all the time. I still have nightmares every night.

She may not be here to physically abuse me, but she still abuses me every night in my dreams.

I'm not friends with Amber anymore either, because she's a fake friend.