Badly Burned

1. Genisis

Some kids grow up with two loving parents. Some with only one. Others may not know who their parents are at all. I call these kids the lucky ones. They don't know what it's like to have a father who despises you or your brother. Hell, he even despises my mother. Some might, but not to this degree. Most of our misery started before I was born. My father, at least he was supposed to be, was abusive to my mother and brother. Mom got tired of it all and left him for a short while. One night while out, she met a man named Jonathan Rayner......

~~

A woman stands on the street, looking through a shop window. The window has dresses within them. Some are wedding dresses, others are dresses for bridesmaids, or for girls for dances of the sort. She smiles a little at the window, remembering her highschool days. "Hello miss," a man says. He was speaking to a woman who couldn't have been no more in her early twenties. She looked at him, a little confused to see if he was talking to her. "May I ask your name?" She stared at him, surprised he actually was talking to her, let alone be interested in her.

"M-me?" she questioned, looking around. The street they stood on was almost completely empty, whereas it was almost midnight. The man chuckled and nodded.

"I do believe I'm talking to you." Her face flushes in embarrassment. He had to have been talking to her. She was the only person there, besides him. He waits patiently as she decides what to tell him.

"My name is Peyton S-," She stops, unsure of what last name to use. Her married name, or her maiden name? "Peyton Smith," the woman finally replies, pushing her hair behind her left ear, looking at the ground. The man smiles warmly at her, holding out his hand to her.

"Jonathan. Jonathan Rayner," he says. Peyton looks at him, then his hand, paralyzed. Her body begins to tremble in fear as memories she tried so desperately to forget come rushing back to haunt her. He notices her sudden paralysis and retracts the offending limb. "Previous relationship?" She nods slightly, now paying more attention to his hands. Peyton takes a step back, looking behind her.

"S-sorry. I-I should leave m-" she starts, turning to flee.

"Wait," he pleads, grabbing her arm gently. "Don't go. I haven't talked to another person in a long time. And you're....the first woman I've talked to in a few weeks who hasn't immediately turned me down. Can I buy you a drink or dinner?" She stares at him, speechless. For a few years now, her husband has told her over and over that she wasn't worth it, that he regretted marrying her. Told that she was nothing without him, or if he hadn't "rescued" her, she would be on the streets as a prostitute. She was called derogatory names on the regular.

"You actually expect me to believe that you want to go with me?" she asks in a hurt and quiet voice. A look or shock crosses over Jonathan's face before confusion hits. 'Why would such a lovely woman say such a thing?'

"What makes you not believe it? All I want is to see you again. Over and over. Wake up to you, sleep next to you. I would give anything and everything if I could just call you mine," he replies, taking slow steps towards her. She blinks at him and starts shaking again, fear coursing through her veins. 'He's gonna hit me. He's gonna hit me,' she thinks. Squeezing her eyes shut, she braces for a blow to her body. Anywhere to be quite honest. Her breath stops in her lungs, dread and panic make her heart beat faster. She anxiously waits for him to hurt her, but he never does. Reluctantly, she opens her eyes to see him looking at her. "What? I'm not going to hit you if that's what you think."

"R-really?" He nods and she relaxes, little by little. "S-sorry."

"No need to apologize. Blame whoever hurt you." He smiles kindly at her. His hand goes to hers and stops, clutching her gently.