Parish: Killing Me Slowly

Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

One Month Later

I walk over to the window and stare out at the bright, beautiful ocean. This place is amazing. It’s so completely beautiful. I’m at peace here, something I’ve never had before.

That night my father tried to kill me has not stopped playing in my mind since. It’s like it’s stuck on replay, always there, never forgotten. Maybe, in some sick, twisted way, it’s a way to remember my father.

I hadn’t lost as much blood as I thought, but it was still a scary amount. The doctors were so worried that I wouldn’t make it, but they stitched me up and got me a blood transfusion before anything too serious happened. My father would’ve gone to jail, had he survived.

When I stabbed him with the knife, it punctured one of his lungs. He suffocated. I grimace at the thought. No matter how much I hated my father, I never would’ve thought to kill him myself. And in all honesty, it was just in self-defense. It was his fault that he ended up like that. Or, at least, that’s what the police said.

Apparently they’d gotten a call from someone earlier that day telling them about my father’s abuse on me and so they decided to check it out. When they couldn’t find me at Amanda’s, they went to Blade’s and then here. I should thank them. They were just in time to save my life.

I look around the little hotel room I’m staying in for a week or two. The walls are a light beige color and the furniture is a mix of light grey and deep red. A huge mirror rests on the wall to my left and the TV is on a stand to my right. A couch rests under the mirror and I flop down on it. There’s a little wood and glass coffee table that I prop my feet up on.

It’s not a big condo, but a good enough size for me. It has two bedrooms and a kitchen and dining room that all connect to the living room. Okay, so they can’t be classified as separate rooms, but that’s still what I call them.

After that night, I needed to get away. So I decided to go to the coast, see the ocean. It’s something I’ve never done before and it’s amazing how relaxing it is. Without thinking, I lightly run my fingers across the bright red scar on my stomach. Always there, never forgotten.

Amanda and Greg are down at the pool. When I told them I needed a vacation, they dropped everything to come with me. Greg is going back to his station soon, so he wants to spend as much time with us as possible. When he heard about what my father did to me, he raced home, telling his commanding officer there was an emergency. Surprisingly, they let him go.

It’s comforting to know that they’re here for me when I need them. They’ve always been there for me and that’s what makes them the best brother and best friend a girl could have. Without them, I’d literally be nothing. I wouldn’t have made it through all those years.

I turn on the TV and watch some NCIS and Criminal Minds for a while. They had asked me to go with them to the pool, but I decided not to. I just needed some time alone for a little while, to think. They haven’t left me alone all month, it’s only fair.

I walk over to the kitchen to grab something to eat. I get out the ingredients from the fridge for a sandwich and pull down the chips.

Warm arms wrap around me and I sigh in happiness, leaning against the guy behind me. “You okay?” he asks and I nod my head.

I turn around to look up into those beautiful, green eyes that I love so much and smile. “Yes, Blade, I’m perfectly fine.”

He chuckles and leans down to kiss me. “Good.”

Right now, in this perfect moment, it seems as if everything that’s happened in my past was a mere dream, as if nothing ever happened. And sometimes, I can believe that it didn’t, but that would be denial. I know what happened to me and I’ll never forget it, but I’m thankful I don’t have to endure it anymore.

Here, now, I can feel… happy.