Philosophy of the Dark
Chapter 44
-Screams in Vain
She woke up early the following morning. She had a pounding headache and felt stiff all over. She was supposed to be going to school today, but like every other day she knew she would skip it. Her parents didn’t care after all, school was almost over.
Jamie was downstairs pouring a cup of coffee when she heard the squeak
of rubber on linoleum.
“Jamie.” His voice was deep and gruff. More raspy than she remembered
and with a slight lisp to it.
Jamie’s hand began to shake. Coffee spilled onto the counter and the pot
rattled as she put it back on the counter.
“Look at me,” Richard said forcefully. Jamie put her hands on the counter
to hide the fact that they were shaking, Richard got power from fear. The
last thing she needed was Richard with power. She hung her head, letting
her hair fall in a tangled curtain around her face.
She heard the chair get closer to her until he was right next to her, his head
at her shoulder. She didn’t move, didn’t even breathe. She could feel him
there, burning his eyes into her. The air was so thick Jamie found that she
couldn’t move even if she wanted to.
“I got your card.” A white envelope slid into her sight. “And I have to say,
it’s a pity you didn’t get what you deserve.”
Jamie didn’t react to the words. She stood, her shaking arms holding her
up, her hair giving her a small piece of darkness that she could hold onto.
“I wouldn’t have visited you,” Richard said simply, “I don’t think you
deserve for me to forgive you. You’re no better than…than…” his voice
trailed off, searching for the right word.
“Than you,” Jamie said.
With a jolt Richard rammed into Jamie with his chair, not hard enough to
hurt her, but to show her that he still could. Her arms on the counter were
the only thing keeping her from falling.
“Don’t ever say that,” Richard said, his voice a dangerous whisper. “I never
did anything wrong, and if you try to tell anybody otherwise, I’ll send you to
hell where you belong.”
Jamie felt an anger rising in her, one similar to yesterday when she hit
Amber. She tried to push it down, fear growing in her as she recognized the
anger.
No, she thought, I’m not like him.
No matter what she did the anger got worse and worse until she was
gripping the counter so hard that her knuckles had turned white with strain.
She was shaking again, but for a very different reason.
“Leave me alone,” Jamie said through tightly clenched teeth. She closed
her eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten.
One…two…three…
“Don’t talk to me like that,” Richard nearly yelled.
Four…five…six…
“You’ve done enough damage as it is.”
Seven…eight…nine…
“I don’t want to have to put up with your shit anymore!”
Jamie screamed and pushed herself away from the counter. She hit the wall
behind hard, all of the air leaving her body.
“Leave me alone!” She screamed, covering her face with her hands and
screaming as long as she had the breath to and then some.
“What’s your problem?” Richard asked, wheeling over to her, pushing his
chair into her legs.
“Mom!” Jamie called.
“She’s at work,” Richard answered, “It’s just you and me today.”
Jamie pushed Richard away from her, he caught the wheels of his chair and
stopped. Jamie ran out of the room and toward the stairs, stopping halfway
up and turning around.
Richard was stopped at the bottom of the stairs, staring at them with an
odd expression on his face.
Jamie left him there and ran the rest of the way up the stairs. She changed
quickly and climbed out the window and walked to her car. She glanced in
the window, Richard hadn’t moved from the same spot, only know his head
was hanging down and his shoulders were shaking in a way that said he was
crying again. When he cried it was hard for Jamie to hate him.
With a twinge of guilt, Jamie got in her car and drove to the next worse
place; school.
_____________
Next:
Chapter 45
-Some Things Never Change
Sorry, I just love that new smiley! 
