VIRAGO

paraesthesia

paraesthesia - tingling sensation of the skin

They arrived back in Harbor Beach around ten that night, and with no practice tomorrow, everyone was in no rush to head home that evening. George's parents were out of town, so he was throwing a party for the team. Samantha had wanted to go, but she figured she should better head home so she would not be in any more trouble with her father than she already was. They piled off the bus, Samantha being one of the last ones off. She had her two backpacks in her hand and her car keys in the other on her lanyard.

"Reed you comin' to George's?" Ryan asked as they walked towards the parking lot.

"Rain check you guys. My dad probably wants to see me." She answered as she unlocked her car.

"Well it'll probably go most the night, feel free to pull up." George said, and she smiled at them and gave a wave as she threw her stuff in the back seat and headed home. Her jaw was aching and her body hurt from the last couple days of playing practically nonstop soccer. She was excited to just go and lay in her own bed. She pulled into the driveway and saw the kitchen light on in the back, which made her stomach do a flip. She grabbed her bags, only bringing her soccer bag in so she could wash her uniforms. She unlocked the front door and closed it behind her.

"Dad? I'm home!" She called slowly into the house. She heard a grunt come from the kitchen, and she walked through the house, entering the kitchen and finding her father sitting at the kitchen counter with an open bottle of whiskey that was almost empty in his hand. "Hey dad." She greeted when she entered, going to the freezer to find an ice pack.

"How was Lansing?" He asked with a stammer.

"Got to see Jason, we won the whole thing." She told him as she put the ice pack against her cheek. "I fractured my jaw."

"Great, another bill I gotta pay. When the hell are you gonna learn to pay for your own shit?" He asked her, disregarding anything else she said.

"I used the insurance card. Plus, Jason was there, he took care of it." She answered as she turned to face him. Suddenly the whiskey bottle whizzed by her head, and she ducked and shielded her eyes as it shattered against the wall. She quickly looked up as her father stumbled towards her.

"You're a smartass just like your mother! You know, you expect the world to fall into your lap and don't work for a single thing. I wish you were more like your brother. He at least knows what he's gonna do with his life instead of run around and chase a ball all damn day. You should be ashamed to be so obsessed with the damn sport to be playing with a bunch of guys. I've had enough of it all!" He screamed at her as he slammed his hand next to her head on the wall behind her. She did not scare easily, but right now she was terrified of her fathers' drunken, aggressive state.

"Dad I-" She started, but a punch to the gut shut her up quickly. He stumbled past her as she hunched down trying to catch her breath. Her father had been verbally abusing her since her mother passed, but tonight was the second time he had ever laid a hand on her. Tears welled in her eyes and she was utterly confused, but she knew she had to get out of the house for the night.

George's party.

She pulled herself up off the floor using the handle of the fridge, still clutching her stomach. The blow was hard, and she still felt as if she was struggling to breathe, but once she got standing it was a little better. Her stomach was aching and tight, and she was sure it was going to bruise greatly. She picked her backpack up off the floor and put it onto her shoulder. She still had her shoes on and her keys nearby, so she snuck out the side door to head over to the party. She hoped there was alcohol so she could numb all the pain she was in, physically and emotionally. That way she would also have an excuse not to come back home.