Protecting Cecilia

Behind Closed Doors

Song: Another Empty Bottle By Katy McAllister

He shuts the door when she is completely gone. "You should go to your room," he tells me. His voice irate and eerie.

I'm not down the hallway yet and his boot kicks my backside. I go tumbling forward. I try to catch myself from falling on my face.

"Get up!" He yells.

I stand back up and he kicks me again harder this time. I fall against the wall.

He continues to yell, "Come on let's go- get now."

I'm apparently not fast enough so he grabs me by the head of my hair and tugs hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. "What the fuck did you tell her?"

I trip over my words, stuttering..."Nothing...I swear."

His hand comes right across my face, "You're lying, always lying to me just like your damn mother." He hits me again.

I cover my face for the next blow that comes. The side of my head throbs in pain. I fall completely to the floor. Something or should I say someone lies on top of me and the next three kicks to the side, I don't feel. And I know who is trying to protect me, Weston.

My dad uses his last bit of energy and then turns to walk out the door. I hear him lock it on the other side. I am a prisoner in my own home.

I lay there till almost midnight. I have to pee so bad that my stomach is cramping and I don't know how much longer I can hold it.

Weston whispers to me, "I'll be right back."

Within minutes he comes back. "He is sleeping. I unlocked the door so you can go to the bathroom."

I tip-toe over to the door and turn the knob quite as possible and when the door creeks open I cringe. Weston holds out a finger telling me to wait. I watch as he looks in their room and motions for me to go one. "Coast is clear."

I go to the bathroom to relieve myself. I debate on whether I should flush the toilet or not. I decide to throw the toilet paper in the trash can so maybe they won't notice that I used the bathroom. Besides my door is locked so how could it be me anyway.

I make my way back to my room and close the door; I hear Weston locking the door back. Then he is beside me again. We sit in silence for a while.

He finally breaks the awkwardness. "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?" He asks.

"That's easy, anywhere but here." I whisper.

"I know that but where would you go?"

"Maybe to the beach. I've never been and it looks so soothing." I try to smile just thinking about it.

"It is...my parents use to take us on vacations to Florida." He looks sad remembering back.

"I can only imagine the warmth from the sun beating down on my bare skin and the sand between my toes and the water pulling me in..." I think of the photos on Mrs. Banks walls. I imagine being the girl with her playing in the sand, laughing with no worries.

He reaches over and touches my arm. "When I get you out of here that's where I'm taking you." He smiles and his eyes light up.

I look over at him. "You can take me anywhere as long as it's far away from here."

"I promise you I will find a way."

"Weston, where would you go if you could?" I ask him.

"At the moment, my body." He laughs and then gets serious. "Okay..We use to go to this lake up near the mountains. It's far from everyone and everything. It's so quite that you can actually hear the trees growing and the wind blows right through and you can hear every sound in nature. I love being surround by what God created not all this man made stuff. You would love it."

"Sounds nice."

"Yeah it is...one day I will take you there too." He continues to hold my hand and I lean my body into his, my head resting on his shoulder.

Before I know it morning comes and I hear my door unlocking. My dad stands in the doorway.

"Get your sweet ass up; you're mom and I are starving."

I get up and walk to the kitchen. I cook them scrambled eggs and sausage with toast. They sit at the table watching me as if I'm going to poison them which does come across my mind every now and then but knowing my luck I would do something wrong and they would force me to eat it.

"Your mom and I talked. You can stay after school with that teacher. However if you start slacking around here so help me."

I look at my mom who stares down at her plate not saying a word as usual. She is so scared to talk when he is around of course I don't blame her she has seen his hand about as much as I have. I look over at him and say, "thank you sir."

"And you tell that teacher to mind her own damn business if she gets out of her car again I will tear your hide so bad you'll wish you were never born do you understand me?" He picks up his fork and starts shoveling food in like he hasn't ate in days so freaking gross the way he eats with his mouth open. Dear lord no one has ever taught him how to chew. If that was me doing that I would be out in the floor.

All I can say to him is, "Yes sir."

"Now for the shit yesterday you are grounded for the weekend. I want you to stay in your room. If you need to come out you knock and your mom or I will come get you."

"Yes sir." I scoot my chair away from the table and wash the dishes and then head to my room. Once the door is shut he locks it on the other side.

Weston has been quite this whole time till now. "Today is Saturday Cecilia. I thought we were going to the nursing home?"

"We will. We can leave through the window." I smile at him. "We just have to wait till he leaves."

About an hour later sure enough he leaves. I know my mom will not come to my room. Hell even if I was to knock I know she will not come so why bother. We wait a good ten minutes before sneaking out the bedroom window.