POD 44- All in Vain

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