Handcuffed

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She was shaking harder every minute that passed and the front door didn't open. I wanted to laugh at that. It's what she deserved. Hopefully, her husband would divorce her once he finds out that she has a daughter. A crazy daughter that was already 17 years old. I was shaking as well at the thought of him getting here and finding me. Not shaking out of fear like my mother. Shaking out of excitement to see what he would do about it. My guess: leave the bitch.

Then again, if he stayed, I was somewhat certain she wouldn't beat on me like she usually did. Now that there was someone else here in the house, she might be a little more cautious with her actions despite the fact that she told me she would hurt me later.

But after thinking about it, I would much rather have the dude leave her. Even if it meant a much worse beating for me. It would be worth having Clare be beyond pissed if he left her.... She would be crushed and if her heart was broken, it was worth a beating to know she was suffering. Besides, it didn't matter. I would be out of here by tomorrow night.

Though it was a shitty day for obvious reasons, it was turning out to be a great night as I watched my mother sit on the couch, shaking and thinking of what to do or say to him. It was a beautiful sight. She said nothing to me in those minutes and it was the first time I saw her on edge like this. And since she wasn't beating me at the moment, I decided to take that time and look around my house. Or rather, what was my house remodeled.

Walking through the door, the first thing I noticed were that the floors were wooden instead of the bright ugly orange carpet we use to have in our living room. There was new furniture. Leather black couches with a comfortable looking leather chair that was set up around a pretty glass coffee table, facing a large screen TV. Behind where the furniture was set up in the room was the familiar staircase that came down into the living room. That was left the same but really, what could have been changed or redone about the staircase. Removing it or replacing it? Maybe taking down the railing?

The walls in the room were a pale blue color with pictures along the walls of beautiful landscapes, framed in black that matched the couches and chair. From where my mother sat on that couch, I scoffed lightly and moved off to the left where I knew the kitchen was.

The kitchen had new... well, everything. Instead of wood in here like the other rooms, the floor was a white pearly tile. And sitting on this tile, along the farthest wall, there was a new refrigerator. Counter tops, cupboards, and a stove too - which shocked me because Clare is too lazy to cook to even bother buying a new stove. And if her husband was anything like her - which he probably was - he wouldn't make anything to eat on that foreign looking machine. I frowned at the long knives that were in the block next to the microwave and cringed, bringing memories to the surface of my mind.

Since the kitchen was rather large, we usually just had our kitchen table in here and so was also our dinning room - whenever we actually did eat in here. Usually, I would just cook for her and take her food to her in the living room while I would either eat in my room or occasionally at the table quietly. Except back then, we had the smallest wooden table you could imagine. Now, there was a long dark brown wooden table with four chairs set around it, the window behind it lighting up the room. The only thing the same was that it still had the semi-decent paint of a light yellow around the kitchen.

Oh yes, I have a conclusion already: step-daddy was rich or had enough to at least impress Clare. Yeah figures; I knew she didn't marry out of love. She had none to give. Money was an obvious big factor.

Leaving the kitchen and back into the living room where my poor poor mommy sat, I turned and went down the familiar hall. Where the same pale blue paint as the living room lined these walls too in a colorful contrast to the kitchen. Walking down the hall, I noticed at the end was the small bathroom that I noticed was left untouched. Probably the only spot in the house based on what I saw thus far. There was still the same ugly vinyl floor that was peeling along the edges where it met the wall. The old sink was still there, the drain black with mold. The bathtub needed to be replaced as well but I figured that by now, gullible new husband ran out of money with how much was already spent on fixing up the house. Either that or they just didn't get to it yet. After all, I was only gone for a year. They must have been married and moved in together for only a few months. And in those few months, it's obvious a lot has been done already. There might be more to come.