TRAUMA

There was only one thing I was certain of in my life: my father was a jerk who had ruined not just our family’s lives but also his own.

I was just eight years old when I had that epiphany after seeing him arrive home and stumble about the house intoxicated. The ongoing argument he had with my mother, which led to her crying herself to sleep.

At that point, I understood how unique my family was compared to others. I listened to other students at school talk about the enjoyable activities their fathers had taken them on. All I had was my mother’s having to put up with my father’s daily beatings and arguments after he came home drunk.

Despite the fact that I was helpless to stop my mother from suffering, I felt awful for her. I was saved from his fury, as was my younger brother Aiden, who was only a year old at the time.

No matter what threat he posed, my mother always managed to shield us. He progressively got worse as the years went by. Gambling ventures led to us incurring increasing amounts of debt to the point where occasionally, dangerous men would break into our home; this situation became routine.

And what was the best course of action, in my father’s opinion?

My mother.

Without so much as batting an eye or expressing any regret, he offered her to them like some whore for them to use however they saw fit.

This continued for years, until Aiden was ten and I was seventeen. Up until one particular day, I believed that nothing could be worse than it already was. I had to stay out late since it took me a long time to do the assignment for school in the library, and mainly because I hated having to go home.

However, as night fell, I realized there was no escaping the inevitable, so I packed up my book and left for home, expecting to encounter the same commotion. However, as soon as I pulled up to my house, I realized I should be prepared for the worst.

Along with the police and two ambulances outside, there were people assembling in front of my home. When I watched them carry the first body out, I took a step back and fell. The fact that there was clothing covering the body indicated that whoever was lying there had passed away.

I prayed that whoever was there wasn’t my mother or brother, as so many ideas filled my head and made it difficult for me to breathe.

When another body was brought out with an oxygen mask placed around the lips, I recall attempting to run closer to the medic to get a better look at the body’s face, but being stopped by the cops.

When I watched my brother’s wounded body, as he bleed and fight for his life as they passed by, tears welled up in my eyes.

Later that evening, I learned that my mother had passed away from a blunt head injury sustained after being viciously raped multiple times. She was with my brother at the time, and he also suffered a head injury.

The culprit had been one of the men my father had been in debt to. He had arrived at my house, knowing for a fact that only my mother and brother were present. When she resisted his advances and his attempt to take advantage of her, he became enraged and began punching her.

Aiden must have entered at that moment, hoping to save our mother and having experienced the same faith as she did. The man thought it was a fantastic chance to obtain what he wanted and decided to rape her while she was still alive after beating them until they were gasping for air.

In spite of the perpetrator’s admission of all the crimes, the case was classified as an attempted robbery that resulted in rape, murder, and attempted murder.

There was no mention of my father’s name anywhere. Even when I had the guts to speak the truth about his prior transgressions, they were all conveniently ignored.

Like my mother’s passing was unimportant, and my brother’s being in a coma was of no consequence.

What exactly did I hope for? They couldn’t even really arrest their boss. Considering that he was their precinct’s captain at the time, it was easy to get away with a lot of things.

I automatically became my mother’s substitute without her protection. Someone to use as his next target and leverage to get out of debt.

He gave the men free reign to act however they pleased, so long as they didn’t go too far. I was unsure of why he consented to retain some of my virtue. But it didn’t take away from the agony I felt when they touched and tore into my body.

Even if I hadn’t been sexually assaulted, I had been molested for years and had served as an escort for those who required one. There were occasions when I had to see them experience their sexual needs while I stood naked in front of them.

After years of this, thanks to Nova and her family, I was finally able to free myself from his control. They could see through the anguish and threatened to bring him to court as well as inform the public if he didn’t release me.

Now that I was finally able to start again, making a life for myself and trying to gather money for Aiden’s surgery, he was back to ruin it.

I took a long breath and attempted to steady my trembling hands before gathering the strength to speak, my voice coming out bolder than I had anticipated.

“What do you want?” I violently spat it out.

“That is not an appropriate way to talk to your father, young girl.” He answers with a snare.

I laughed inconsolably. “That’s weird because I don’t remember ever having a father. I consider you dead to me.”

“I see you have grown bold now that you believe you are free,” he says, sounding menacing.

“You no longer terrify me.” Despite sounding tough, my hands were trembling as I spoke. “I’d like it if you never called me again.” I said, getting ready to end the call.

“It’s about your brother.” He hastily said this, halting my action.

“What about Aiden?”

“Why don’t you come over and let’s discuss it face-to-face?”