Winning her back

6. The Aftermath

I put on my red cherry lipstick and covered my revealing attire with a trench coat. Hopefully, I'll be able to sneak out without them noticing. I slowly tip toed down the stairs, stopping at every squeak I made. I had almost made it. Almost. Then, the lights turned on and I was met with a figure which belonged to my mother. I groaned and immediately turned away from her l, to make my way back upstairs.

"Lisa!", I heard her call before I could make my escape.

I froze on the spot. "What", I said, not turning around to face her.

"Where did you think you were going?"

"Nowhere", I said under my breath.

"Look at me when I speak to you Lisa".

Reluctantly, I turned around, keeping my head down.

"Dear lord, what have you done to your face".

"It's just make up mum", I said, rolling my eyes.

She walked towards me. Grabbing my chin gently, she lifted my face.

"What is a fourteen year old girl doing wearing make up?", she whispered with worried eyes.

"Everyone wears make up at this age. Everyone except for me".

She sat me down and started praying to God, to forgive me for my sins. Here we go again.

"Christians your age do not wear make up Lisa. Why hide the beautiful face that God gifted you".

I remained silent, knowing that there was no arguing with her when she mentioned God. In such situations, living with Christian parents was a nightmare.

"What would your father have said if  he would have caught you instead of me". No doubt, I would have been grounded for months and would be visiting the church to confess my sins more often.

Being a pastor, my dad wanted to make sure I was the perfect Christian daughter. I tried to be for the most part. I went to church every Sunday, I barely went out with my friends since my parents had both said that they were a temptation for sin, and boys were out of the equation. Tonight though, was my best friend, Megan's birthday. We were only going to the cinema. It was hot outside, so I chose clothes which didn't necessarily cover up everything. Not that it mattered now anyway.

"What's going on with you Lisa", she continued when I didn't respond. "Have you deserted God?".

"Of course not", I began. "I just wanted to celebrate Megan's birthday. You wouldn't have let me go if I asked."

"Oh Lisa. Can't you see how bad those girls are for you. They've deserted God and lost their way".

"Not everything is about God", I wanted to say, but I didn't dare.

"Honey, all that make up will attract the wrong attention. Male attention." She wiped a few tears which had just started forming in her eyes. "You don't know how cruel the world can be".

I do now mum.

Waking up in a hospital room was not how I expected my Saturday to start. My body felt numb but drained. Probably from all the morphine that I was on. It took me a while to remember what had happened, but once I did, I wish I hadn't. I felt dirty and weak. My mother's words kept ringing in my ears.

"You're awake", I heard someone from my right say.

I slowly turned my face towards to voice.

"Addison?"

"Shh baby girl. Take it easy", she said as she patted my hair.

"Addison, I ... I ..", I couldn't bring myself to say it. How do you even begin to tell someone you've been raped ?

"I know hunny. I know".

"Did ... did they catch him ?".

She swallowed and bit her lip before saying, "He was long gone when they found you".

I took in a breath and stared at the edge of the bed. My mind drifted elsewhere. Panicked, I looked at Addison again. As if she knew my thoughts, she grinned at me and removed a hair which was in the way.

"Don't worry", she begun, "I put you on the morning after pill".

Our conversation ended there. Well, at least for me it did. I had stopped listening to what she was saying. Maybe if I blocked it all out, it would get better ... easier.

All of my mother's warnings and preachings started flashing trough my mind. Maybe if I would have listened to her, I wouldn't be here right now.

If I would have listened to her when she said this town was bad for me, I might have not gone through all this. Or maybe when she said that the heat is unbearable, then I wouldn't have worn revealing clothes and wouldn't have provoked anybody.

Or maybe, just maybe, if I would have listened to her when she told me not to marry Ben, I wouldn't be in this position in the first place.