A Bitter Lesson - Original Work
Aug. 31st, 2006 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wook77Title: The Story of Alice as Told in Thirty Parts - Part 2 - A Bitter Lesson
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wook77
Rating: PG-13 due to subject matter
Warnings: Graphic description of physical child abuse
Summary: Alice learns a lesson that takes a lifetime to heal.
Theme(s): 10: Once Bitten, Twice Shy at30_memoirs
A/N: Beta'd byyodels, the amazingest and fastest beta in the world. (note, she did not beta amazingest, I did that on my own)
When Alice was a child, her daddy would read her a story and beg her not to hate him as much as her older sister did. She always answered that of course she wouldn't because he was her daddy and she loved her daddy.
The first time he smacked her across the face, Alice cried and received another slap. He came into her room that night to read her a story and Alice cried and he soothed her tears. She was a naughty child, you see, cheeky and abrasive and he'd wanted her to quiet. He begged her to not hate him as much as her older sister did. She answered that of course she wouldn't because he was her daddy and she loved her daddy.
Alice had just turned double digits when she tore down the hall leading to her bedroom, her sanctuary, as if the very Devil were at her heels. In a way, as she would come to think of it as that in years to come. She slammed the door shut and locked it before racing to her dresser to stuff as many clothes and soft things into her pants before the door crashed open and her father stormed in. As he yelled and berated, he huffed angrily, his breath gone in the face of his rage. The smell of stale beer spread throughout the room as her daddy ripped a piece of trim-- nails and all-- off her dresser. When the blows came down, she thanked whoever might have been listening that she'd had almost enough time to pad sufficiently for it. He was her daddy and she didn't quite understand what was so horrible about playing outside.
The lock wouldn't turn as Alice, with fingers shaking so very desperately, tried to hold the door closed against the onslaught of the man that outweighed her by at least double her weight. Her sister hid in the hamper as Alice leaned as heavily against the door as possible. The door thudded again and again against her, and her shoulder ached but she couldn't stop now. If she didn't hold until he lost his patience and went back to his drinking, she'd be hurting worse than ever before. She just had to hold on long enough and her daddy would give up and go back to drinking himself into oblivion.
Alice was an old twelve and her heart felt like it was going to give out as she tore through the house, jumping over a chair and a dog on her way. She flinched when she heard the dog yelp but she didn't stop her frantic race to her room. Just as the door shut and she flipped the lock, there was a crash against it. Nothing followed but Alice didn't relax. Almost an hour came and went with her propped against the door, braced for an impact that never came. Alice unlocked the door. When it swung open, she bit back a scream as the vacuum cleaner dropped to the ground in front of her. It had almost gone through the door, its handle causing an impressive hole. Her daddy had become a monster to her and she hated him more than her older sister could ever have conceived.
When Alice was fourteen, her mother's shrieks filled the house as her father swung a broomhandle over and over at her petite mother's back. Jumping on her daddy, she tried to keep him from beating her mother any more. Instead of turning on her, her daddy threw the handle down and stormed away, returning to his beer and his golf game. Her mother looked from the broom to Alice and back again. "We're leaving." Alice nodded. Daddy didn't need to know.
As the fireworks lit up the sky on the Fourth of July, Alice, her sister and her mum packed the last of the boxes into their car and drove away. As Alice took one last look back, her daddy stood alone at the top of the steps leading to the driveway. She didn't look back again.
It took her three months before she stopped shaking every time there was a knock at the door. It took her six months before she stopped flinching when a door opened unexpectedly. It took her a year before anyone was able to hug her. It took her three years before she was able to date a man. It took her fourteen years, the same amount of time she was with her daddy, to stop locking her bedroom door.
Author:
wook77Rating: PG-13 due to subject matter
Warnings: Graphic description of physical child abuse
Summary: Alice learns a lesson that takes a lifetime to heal.
Theme(s): 10: Once Bitten, Twice Shy at
30_memoirsA/N: Beta'd by
yodels, the amazingest and fastest beta in the world. (note, she did not beta amazingest, I did that on my own)When Alice was a child, her daddy would read her a story and beg her not to hate him as much as her older sister did. She always answered that of course she wouldn't because he was her daddy and she loved her daddy.
The first time he smacked her across the face, Alice cried and received another slap. He came into her room that night to read her a story and Alice cried and he soothed her tears. She was a naughty child, you see, cheeky and abrasive and he'd wanted her to quiet. He begged her to not hate him as much as her older sister did. She answered that of course she wouldn't because he was her daddy and she loved her daddy.
Alice had just turned double digits when she tore down the hall leading to her bedroom, her sanctuary, as if the very Devil were at her heels. In a way, as she would come to think of it as that in years to come. She slammed the door shut and locked it before racing to her dresser to stuff as many clothes and soft things into her pants before the door crashed open and her father stormed in. As he yelled and berated, he huffed angrily, his breath gone in the face of his rage. The smell of stale beer spread throughout the room as her daddy ripped a piece of trim-- nails and all-- off her dresser. When the blows came down, she thanked whoever might have been listening that she'd had almost enough time to pad sufficiently for it. He was her daddy and she didn't quite understand what was so horrible about playing outside.
The lock wouldn't turn as Alice, with fingers shaking so very desperately, tried to hold the door closed against the onslaught of the man that outweighed her by at least double her weight. Her sister hid in the hamper as Alice leaned as heavily against the door as possible. The door thudded again and again against her, and her shoulder ached but she couldn't stop now. If she didn't hold until he lost his patience and went back to his drinking, she'd be hurting worse than ever before. She just had to hold on long enough and her daddy would give up and go back to drinking himself into oblivion.
Alice was an old twelve and her heart felt like it was going to give out as she tore through the house, jumping over a chair and a dog on her way. She flinched when she heard the dog yelp but she didn't stop her frantic race to her room. Just as the door shut and she flipped the lock, there was a crash against it. Nothing followed but Alice didn't relax. Almost an hour came and went with her propped against the door, braced for an impact that never came. Alice unlocked the door. When it swung open, she bit back a scream as the vacuum cleaner dropped to the ground in front of her. It had almost gone through the door, its handle causing an impressive hole. Her daddy had become a monster to her and she hated him more than her older sister could ever have conceived.
When Alice was fourteen, her mother's shrieks filled the house as her father swung a broomhandle over and over at her petite mother's back. Jumping on her daddy, she tried to keep him from beating her mother any more. Instead of turning on her, her daddy threw the handle down and stormed away, returning to his beer and his golf game. Her mother looked from the broom to Alice and back again. "We're leaving." Alice nodded. Daddy didn't need to know.
As the fireworks lit up the sky on the Fourth of July, Alice, her sister and her mum packed the last of the boxes into their car and drove away. As Alice took one last look back, her daddy stood alone at the top of the steps leading to the driveway. She didn't look back again.
It took her three months before she stopped shaking every time there was a knock at the door. It took her six months before she stopped flinching when a door opened unexpectedly. It took her a year before anyone was able to hug her. It took her three years before she was able to date a man. It took her fourteen years, the same amount of time she was with her daddy, to stop locking her bedroom door.
