Reawaken

6.

dedicated to @blackberries_02 because she's the biggest supporter for this story

     We arrived back at the Mayfair Motel a twenty grueling minutes later, and Miss Eloise 'bout had a heart attack when she saw the state I was in. After her and Norris helped me up the flights of stairs to my room, I settled on the bed as they began fussing over me. Miss Eloise started filling an old rag with ice and having me hold it against my bruised cheek while Norris began rummaging through a first-aid kit.

     Norris carefully rolled the pants leg of my dungarees up to my knee, taking a cotton ball soaked in peroxide and gliding it against the bruises on my skin. I didn't even flinch from the burning sensation I was met with next. I felt hollow and numb from the experience. Something I felt many times after Clay's tyranny. I hated how familiar this was all to me.

     Norris began wrapping the gauze bandage around my swollen ankle, in a motion so tender and firm that it reminded me of all the times Daddy had to bandage me up after falling out of trees or scraping my knees and hands doing cartwheels. I had aided myself so many times after Clay's rage. Miss Eloise and Norris looking after me did something different to my spirit, and quickly the air in the room got heavy.

     "Lord, child," I heard Miss Eloise speak, her fingers smoothing the flyaway strands of my hair,      "That man sholl put a beating on ya."

     "Ain't my first time being beat," I gave in a whisper, feeling Norris' hands halt. I meet his gaze. Heavy, hot tears began streaming down my cheeks. The same look of caution and worry meets his orbs, and he drops his eyes, tearing the gauze and dropping my foot back on the ground.

     "Celia still down at the market with Slick and his boy," Norris spoke, rising to his feet, staring back down at me. I felt him move my hand where I rested the ice, observing the burning bruise on my face.

     "You betta not get into no more trouble, ya hear?" Was all he said before walking towards the door.

     "I'm gone check on ya later, get some rest now," Miss Eloise told me, a tender smile on her lips. I gave a soft thank you.

     As I heard the click of the door shut, a sob escaped my lips. Years of Clay's torment seemed to race through my mind all at once, and all the times I had to handle things on my own.

     With a shaking hand, I took out the picture of my Daddy feeling every bit of shame.

     This was not the life he wanted for me.

❀❀❀❀❀

     I woke to the crackle of thunder. The sky outside my balcony window was jet, other than the flints of lightning that lit up the dark sky. The shadows of the raindrops danced on the wallpaper of my bedroom. The clock on the wall told me it was early evening, only a few minutes after eight.

     I was always terrified of rainstorms. When I was a little girl, I remember a windstorm so bad it nearly tore the roof off our little house; the branch of a tree falling right through our living room window. We had made it out alright, but I still couldn't shake the fact that God was doing some work, maybe angry at us all. Staring out at this storm, I only hoped that God was washing away any bad luck I had brought to this good place.

     Rising out of bed, my body felt stiff as my bones and resting muscles came back to life. The lamp was on in my room, and I noticed a note taped to the lampshade, in Miss Eloise's scribbled cursive:

Came to check on you, left ointment in the lobby behind the desk

- Eloise Mayfair