The Dark Place (#FrightFest2016 Gold Winner)

The Dark Place - Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

1

8:30 a.m.

It was another typical morning in the Stephens' household. Penny sat on one of the kitchen worktops eating dry cornflakes straight from the box as she listened to the latest instalment of; 'THE IDIOTS GUIDE TO BECOMING A SINGLE PARENT FAMILY', live and direct from her own front room. Both combatants knew that their daughter was only in the room at the other end of the passage, but they were both too busy to care. The battle lines had been drawn, the trenches dug and now it was all out war.

"Damn right, I was out all night." Her father's voice was bitter and angry. "I'm home now so what's the big deal?"

"I'll tell you what the big deal is." Her mother hissed. "I want to know where the hell you're coming home from."

"Oh, do you now? And what if I don't want to say?"

"Stop being such a bloody child and tell me who this cow is."

"And what makes you think that there's only one?"

"You bastard!"

Penny heard the loud slap followed by two more. The woman screamed and then there was another sound, the sound of something falling to the floor. Penny hopped up from the worktop and ran out into the passage. Before she could reach the living room door she heard another blow land, only this time it was quieter, something like a kick or a punch. She stopped dead when she saw the man walk out of the living room; dressed like some sort of mafia gangster and flexing the fingers of his right hand.

"Dad, what have you done?" Penny's voice was little more than a whisper.

He quickly turned his gaze in her direction; a look of menace mixed with shock emitted from his eyes. "You and your Mum were both cast out of the same mould, that's for sure." There was another look in his eyes now, but she didn't know how to interpret it. "You're both a couple of sad, stupid bitches. I'm off out."

"But where are you going?"

"Mind your own business." He snapped. "You bitches always stick together, don't you?"

"Yeah, that's right." Penny felt the anger pumping through her entire body. "Why don't you just get lost and leave us alone. We'd both be better off without a stupid waste of space like you hanging around."

His fist connected with her jaw with such force that she was knocked to the ground. The whole of the passageway seemed to spin and her vision blurred as she lay sprawled on the floor. He leaned over her, roughly gripping the front of her nightshirt, and almost pulled it off of her as he dragged Penny back up to her feet like a rag doll. He threw her against the wall and held her there, one hand clutching a fistful of her nightshirt, the other gripping her throat so tight that she could hardly breathe. His face was so close to hers that it almost touched and she could smell the stale alcohol on his breath.

"Now look here you silly little cow, you never talk back to me like that again, understand?"

Penny looked defiantly into the eyes of the animal that towered over a foot above her, not allowing him to see her fear. At that moment she hated him more than she'd ever hated anything in her life. She brought her knee up to connect with his crotch but she missed the target by a whisker. He removed his hand from her throat and she had just enough time to draw a deep before the full-blooded punch to her stomach forced it back out again. He let her fall to her knees and she doubled over at his feet gasping for air.

"Stupid little cow. Do you think that she loves you? He roared down at her. "She doesn't you know. She hates you as much as I do. You were nothing but a lousy accident, do you hear me?"