Page 16 of Give Me Perfect Love

I push with my other hand against his chest as hard as I can. Drunk, he stumbles back a little but not without taking some of my hair. It’s forced from my scalp, causing blood to surface and I see it on my fingers when I touch my head.

“You bitch,” he sneers.

My eyes narrow, and my heart beats erratically.

My pulse pounds, and blood rushes through the veins on my neck. My hands shake violently as he smiles and brings the whiskey bottle in his hand to his lips.

My eyes dart to the door and my legs and mind think alike. I bolt, but he grabs me by my waist and body slams me. Air is yanked from my lungs, and throbbing pain from the back of my head causes me to see spots. He’s on top of me now.

I shake my head and blink my eyes, trying to get control of this situation.

Breathe in, I tell myself.

I gasp and gasp harder.

My lungs are struggling, and my head is foggy.

I hear something pouring out… It sounds like liquid from a bottle. He must have dropped the whiskey bottle. I hear a belt rattle and then the sound of a grunt.

“You’re old enough now,” he says.

What?

I feel his hand on the top of my jeans.

No, no, no.

I shake my body and tell my mind to focus.

Fight, Kat. Goddammit, fight!

But I’m heavy and he’s heavier. I try to push him off. I try to wiggle, but he has me pinned.

Coldness brushes against my now exposed flesh and he touches me.

“Kathrine,” Mama says, causing my eyes to jump to her. My muscles relax and I realize I’m hugging myself. A shiver runs down my spine and I shake off the horrific memory.

Jesus. Fuck.

After he took me, I gave up looking for her. I closed off my heart and my mind. I hid inside myself and let him have the shell I occupied.

He could touch my body, and I would put up a fight every time, making sure he knew I was there just as much as I knew he was.

But he wouldnevertouch my soul.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” I say. I grab my keys from my pocket in a rush.

“Where are you going?” she asks me. I ignore her and open my car door just as she says, “I was planning on coming back for you.” I freeze and tighten my grip on the doorframe. I turn to look at the woman who brought me into this world.

“And why didn’t you?” I ask, tilting my head.

Her eyes skim over nothing and she slightly shakes her head. “I don’t know.”

The feeling of being punched in the gut seems so real, I literally jerk back. Sadness rivers down my cheeks. Sleet twirls in the air, webbing with a colder truth.

She didn’t love me enough, and that’s all there is.

“Goodbye,” I say before getting into my car and starting it. I back out of the driveway and I don’t look in my rearview mirror as I head down the road, choking on tears and pure disgust.

---