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Bleeding Rose
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Old 09-22-2007, 03:55 AM

Ok so this story started out as a paragraph for my Fundamentals of Writing class. I liked it so much, I expaned it into a story. It's pretty good so far (i think) But I'm at a stand-still. I know how it's going to end but I just can't figure out how to get there... ideas and critiques are wanted and loved! :D

Bleeding Rose
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Old 09-22-2007, 03:57 AM

Chapter 1
Ignoring my father’s yelling, I walked out the front door and slammed it shut. As I made my way down the dark streets, hot tears dripped down my face. When I reached his house, I rang the doorbell. His mom answered and looked me up and down. I was wearing my pajama pants, slippers and a tank top and my cheeks were stained with tears. Stepping aside, she motioned to the den where I assumed Lex was. I ran down the stairs, to find him sitting on the couch in his boxers. When he saw me and my face, he ran towards me and held me in his arms. We stood like that, me crying and him comforting me, for a while. When I had finally finished crying he brought me over to the couch and asked me what’s wrong. I sniffled and began to speak but couldn’t. So, instead I lifted up my tank top a little to show him the bruise that had begun to form there. Instantly, he understood. Without saying anything, he gave me a quick kiss and then put his arm around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder, falling asleep slowly.
He started drinking when my mother got sick. It was his was of remaining calm, drinking late into the night after each chemotherapy session. He tried to hide it at first, but as the cancer got worse, so did he. After a long, arduous battle, my mother finally died. We all reacted differently and my dad took to drinking all the time. Needless to say, I was scared. He was transforming right before my eyes, from the gentle father I knew and loved to a vicious beast. It was that beast that I ran from, afraid of what he was doing to me.

Chapter 2
I woke the next morning in a strange bed, my head throbbing. As I rubbed my eyes and looked around the room, I noticed that it too was unfamiliar. It wasn’t until the memory of last night came flooding to me that I remembered where I was. But how did I end up in the guest room? I fell asleep on the couch, I thought. Then I remembered being half asleep and Lex carrying me up here saying that I needed to sleep in a proper bed. I peeled the covers off me and swung my legs off the side of the bed. Just as I was getting up, there was a knock at my door.
“Come in,” I croaked, my voice hoarse.
Lex opened the door tentatively and peered inside. “How are you? Are you hungry?” I nodded. “Good. Mom made waffles.” He smiled and came over to give me his hand. I took it gratefully and followed him downstairs.
The smell of warm blueberry waffles wafted through the air, waking me completely. My stomach grumbled and I hurried into the kitchen where the waffles were piled high on a plate. Settling into a seat across from Lex, I placed two large waffles on my plate and doused them in maple syrup. I used my knife as a fork and cut a corner off and popped it in my mouth, savoring the sweet taste. It seemed like I hadn’t had waffles in forever, especially Mrs. Ryder’s. Halfway through breakfast, I realized that the only thing I had to wear was what I was wearing at that moment and I let out a gasp.
“What’s wrong?” asked Lex and Mrs. Ryder simultaneously.
I laughed at their unnecessary concern. “It’s nothing, I just realized that I have nothing to wear but this.” I said looking down and my pajamas and scowling.
Mrs. Ryder was silent for a moment, thinking, but Lex spoke before she could. “What time does He go to work?”
I could tell from the way he said “he”, he meant my father. “Oh, um.... 11:30, I think.” I wasn’t really sure what Lex was planing but I had a pretty good idea. “I don’t have my keys, by the way.” The smile that had begun to form on Lex’s face disappeared. “Sorry,” I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders.
Silence filled the kitchen for a while as I finished eating. Lex and his mom had gone into the living room and were talking in hushed tones. I scraped the remaining syrup to the side of the plate then got up to take it to the sink. A familiar pair of hands reached around me and grabbed it from me. Lex stood beside me, rinsing the syrup off my plate.
“You’re going back-“ he started.
“No, I can’t!”
He sighed. “Don’t worry... It’s not permanent.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Mom’s going to take you back. Wait until He leaves, then start packing. Get as much as possible. I’ll be around to pick you up at noon.”
I nodded. “Ok, sounds good to me.”

Chapter 3
Ten minutes later, I was standing on my front walk, composing myself before knocking on the door. My baby brother opened the door, tears streaming down his face. Behind him I could hear Him screaming. I took Jason’s hand and led him to my room.
“What happened?” I asked, wiping his face with the hem of the shirt I borrowed from Lex.
“He can’t find his keys.” Jason gasped, his chest heaving. I pulled him into a hug. Over his shoulder, my clock read 11:25.
“Stay here.” I whispered. I carefully went downstairs and approached my raging father. He was circling the kitchen, looking in every last hiding spot. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the keys hanging on the key hook. I removed them from their hiding spot and jingled them loudly.
He turned to face me and for a moment I saw my father again. The real one. “Thanks,” he grumbled then left through the front door, slamming it.
As soon as I heard his car race away, I clamored up the stairs and into my room. Jason lay in a heap on my bed, his sobs turning into sniffles. It killed me to leave him but I knew He wouldn’t do anything to him. I pulled a duffel bag out of the closet and began stuffing clothes in. In the side pockets I stuffed my toothbrush and underwear. I made sure to pack something nice, just in case. Glancing at my clock, I saw it was 11:50. I scribbled a note for Jason and left it by his sleeping head.

Chapter 4
I spent the afternoon in Lex’s basement, crying. Millions of thoughts were running through my head. What will happen to Jason and Miranda? Will they be safe? How long can I hide from Him? Thoughts like these circled in my mind for hours. Lex was at work most of the day and Mrs. Ryder didn’t bother me much.
I finally got bored of the quiet and turned on the TV. I channel surfed for a while until I found FX. A “That 70’s Show” marathon was playing. Making myself comfortable, I settled in for hours of my favorite show.
When Lex came home, I was already asleep. Gently, he shook my shoulder to wake me up. “Hey, how are you doing?”
I shrugged. “Hanging in there.” I rested my head on his shoulder. For some reason, this reminded me of the night Lex had asked me to be his girlfriend. We had been seeing each other for a while but we hadn’t really gone on any official dates. That morning I found a note in my locker written in his scrawling, sloppy handwriting. It said, “I owe you dinner and a movie. Meet me at my house at 7:00. –Lex” I spent hours getting ready, picking out the perfect outfit, a red sundress with silver flip flops. Lex had made dinner and we watched Casablanca over spaghetti. At the end of the movie, he took me in his arms, looking right into my eyes, and asked me. That was almost a year ago, and Lex still amazes me.

Chapter 5
The days before the phone call flew by in a blur, yet they seemed to drag on endlessly. I wasn’t sure how many days had passed, or what time it was. I knew He was at work because he sounded sober.
“Hello?” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.
“Come home.” It was supposed to be a threat but sounded more like a plea.
My respond was firm, “No.”
“Fine. Let me talk to Erin.”
I handed the phone to Mrs. Ryder and went to take a shower. The hot water felt nice, relaxing. Talking to him, even that briefly, left me unnerved. I closed my eyes and concentrated on feeling each individual drop of water hitting my bare body. When my nerves settled, I lathered up, rinsed, and got out.
Downstairs, Mrs. Ryder was talking to Lex. They saw me and fell silent instantly.
“What’s wrong? What did he say?” My voice quavered as I said this.
No one said anything for a while, and I began to get nervous. I walked tentatively over to the table where they were seated and joined them. I could hear Lex take a deep breath, sucking it in through his teeth. It was Mrs. Ryder who spoke.
“Your father is going to sue if you don’t come home. He has a lawyer and since your are underage, he is going to sue me for kidnapping you.” I could hear the fear in her voice, and beside me, Lex looked like he was going to cry.
My voice remained calm. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised. “Fine.”
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