Her Fight

Chapter One

   I woke up from the feeling of my nose and throat burning like I was sitting in a cloud of smoke. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness but when they did, I quickly noticed I wasn't in the bed that I had fallen asleep in. I was in the back of a car that I had never seen before. I could feel my heart racing from the fear of not knowing where I was and who I was with. I stayed in the position I woke up in, which was laying in the back seat because I felt like I needed to asses the situation before moving and becoming noticed.

   Quickly, I took in my surroundings and could smell the leather of the seat beneath me and the cloud of cigarette smoke and possibly some other smoke I had never smelled before all around me. It burned my nose, throat, eyes and lungs with every breath I took. I tried to take smaller breathes hoping that that would help but it didn't. I let my eyes dart around for a moment then lifted my head a bit to look out of the small window that was just above me. I noticed it was raining and super dark outside and it was almost pitch black all around. Not many street lights were around so all I could see was darkness for miles.

   As I lay my head back down I focused on the front seats. There were two men sucking down cigarettes, the light of each puff illuminating their faces allowed me to see their features. One man I quickly recognized as my dad Jim. His angry face told me everything I needed to know about my situation. He took me. Again..

   The other man I didn't recognize, but I figured he was a friend or possibly family member of Jims. See, for a while my parents had taken me back and forth. As I recall it I was kidnapped from on side to the next. I would fall asleep with my mom and her family then wake up with Jim and his family. I knew I was being what I called 'kidnapped' because when I was taken back by each of them it was in secret or in stealth also resulting in screaming matches/ fights or the police being called.

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   One time I remember playing in an apartment complex that my mom lived in, with some of my siblings and the neighborhood kids and one of my dads friends came waltzing in the courtyard. I immediately recognized him and ran to him. I asked if he was with my dad and he'd said "yes he's right over here". He picked me up and quickly took me to the car that my dad was in. His hasty footsteps told me this was wrong. I could hear the other kids screaming for me as he put me in my dads car. I'm sure it was scary for them as well since they didn't know who this stranger was.

   I knew who he was but it felt wrong. It was one of my first memories of being taken from my mom by my dad. As soon as he sat me in the backseat my dad looked back at me and smile but to me his smile was always so sinister. As his friend jumped in the front seat I could hear my mom coming out screaming. She ran towards the car as he yelled "fuck you, bitch" and sped off with me. From then on I was taken back and forth for what felt like years.

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The other man started to talk and it made me tense up. I could feel my body ache with tension as every muscle constricted in my tiny body. I heard the stranger say "let me hit it one more time. C'mon" and my dad replied with something along the lines of  "shut the fuck up before you wake her!"

   I knew they were taking about me but for some odd reason I didn't want to believe it. This time of being taken had felt different. The atmosphere was thick and deluded. I tried to calm myself down but my heart wouldn't stop racing. My mind felt rushed into every though that was running through my mind. Suddenly I felt awake. Almost like a snap of my fingers and I shot  straight up, eyes wide, mind racing and lungs on fire.

   As I sat up I could see them trying to hide a lighter and what looked to be a glass instrument. My eyes were shooting back and forth so fast that I thought they would pop out of my head. All of the sudden my focus was tip top. I almost felt invincible.

"Hey there sleepy head" my dad started.
"Oh you're up?" the other man followed with.
"This is your uncle Don." Jim said.

   I knew they were just arguing but were putting on an act because I was now awake. I felt like I needed to keep the atmosphere calm so I smiled and hid my terror in as best as I could. I took another look around a noticed we were sitting in an empty parking lot but it still seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

"Do you like country music?" Jim asked
"Yes" was all I could muster.

   Honestly at the time I didn't know what kind of music I liked. I was so young and unfocused on such things. That might sound weird but the way I grew up I focused on how to live, not how to be a kid and find things I liked or enjoyed.

   I had asked for the window to be rolled down so I could get some fresh air but Jim only cracked it. The tiny bit of air seeping through the crack was my only escape from this hell that I woke up in. I could slightly smell the rain over the strong smoke but it was short lived since the window was quickly rolled back up.

   I feel as if I had blacked out and was suddenly at my grandma Sue's house (Jim's mom). I remember her in her nightgown smiling at me as if she felt bad. I was on her couch curled into a little ball. She gave me a blanket and the grownups walked off into another part of the house, I'm assuming to talk so I drifted off into darkness. Either from sleep or my mind blocked anything from that point on.

Authors note:
Hi, thank you for reading. I'm sorry if this chapter bounces around. It's mostly for background on my situation of the back and forth with my parents. Please let me know if you have any questions. I would love to answer them. Also, I know this is NOTHING like my other stories but this book shows my true story with true events and  how I remember them.
Always, Stephanie