Page 10 of Claiming What's Mine

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It was pitch blackoutside, and the moon was just high enough in the sky for me to see shadows and shapes. I could make out the tall spears of cornstalks as they shot up to the clouds, each leaf hanging out into the dark lane like a ghostly hand. A fine mist of fog floated over the long streams of moonlight, dusting the leaves in a soft silver powder.

If life was kinder, maybe I would have been able to find beauty in those little things, but I didn't. I ignored the sweet and only tasted the sour.

Tears streamed down my face, my jaw pulsing with pain, my left eye swelling more and more every second, to the point it was almost closed.

Taking refuge in the cornfield, I could hear my father fire off a shot into the sky, the gun blast echoing around me like an explosion.

I didn't think he would actually ever shoot me, but he was drunk as shit, I wasn't too sure how much I really trusted his drunken, trigger finger.

Pushing the tall stalks out of my way, the tears bubbled over my eyes, making everything a hazy black blur. I could feel my lungs as they struggled to take in air and my ribs crack with every inhale.

I hated the alcoholic who considered himself my superior. I hated that he was supposed to be the one to guide me, the one I was supposed to look up to. He was just a useless waste of human life. He couldn't go one day without hitting the bottle hard.

And I always paid for it.

My sister Bethany, she never got it as bad as I did, but that was mostly because he acted like she didn't exist. Once in awhile my father might slap her if she got in the way, but it was never really on the same level. My sister didn't hate him for the same reasons I did, then again, she spent most of her days with Mrs. Grayson, our neighbor across the street.

But Beth was still the cute little kid, the poor girl with no mother and no one to help her. Mrs. Grayson was her guardian angel, and I was happy she had her. There was no doubt in my mind that woman saved my sister in so many ways.

My father had no mercy. He claimed it would make me tougher, that I would be stronger, that I should be grateful he was building me up the way he was.

So what was I running for? Why had he laid his hands on me and turned my face to mush?

There was a very simple answer to that—it was all fornothing.It was always for nothing.

My father stormed into the room, arms waving, his words slurred and barely making sense. He started with his hands, grabbing me by the collar and hitting me across the cheek.

There was no reason for him to be so angry with me. I couldn't understand what he was actually saying, only hearing single words here and there as he hit me again and again.

But the more he struck me, the more angry he got. He wasn't unleashing his anger and settling down with each blow, the toxic gas that was building inside him was only suffocating him more.

I did my best to protect my face, scurrying away when he lost his footing and fell back into the wall. I ran like I always did, it was the only thing that ever worked, the one thing that seemed to make it better.

So there we were, my father shooting off live rounds into the air, as I tried like hell to just disappear.

The field opened, and I stopped, bending over and grabbing my knees. I hurt all over, there wasn't one piece of my body that didn't ache.

“Jayden, is that you?” Her familiar voice hit my ears, causing me to snap my back straight and wipe the water off my eyes.

No crying, Henry's don't cry.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.” My voice broke a little as I tried to calm down and act normal.

“You didn't scare me, I don't get scared.”

Yeah, okay, like I'm going to believe that. Everyone gets scared.

Even me.

“What are you doing outside this late?” I asked, clearing my throat with a cough. “It's really dark out here.”

“I'm catching fireflies.” Jiggling a glass jar, she patted over to me barefoot, wearing an ankle length, nightgown. The front was decorated with tiny purple flowers, the bottom fitted with a purple ruffle. “You want to help? We can put them in here.”

Another shot rang out in the distance, causing my shoulders to shoot up to my ears. Looking out into the field, I could feel my pupils as they expanded, trying to see in the darkness, searching for him in the stalks.

Blue followed my gaze, watching the night with me in silence for a few moments. The single shot echoed around us until it disappeared into thin air.

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