Wild Ride

That was the first time

Things changed for me that day. I was never the same after they lowered my mother into the ground. I started partying more and I didn’t try to hide it. I still had straight A’s so my dad couldn’t even say anything. Not that he would. He buried his sorrows at the bottom of a bottle. He didn’t care where I was or what I did as long as I didn’t ask about his life. He brought home random women and I stayed out all night. I had a fake ID so I’d go out and get wasted. I started getting a reputation at school for hooking up with random guys but it was a lie. No matter how much I partied I never slept around. I promised my mom I would wait until I was sure I loved someone. And I couldn’t love anyone anymore. The only person I loved after mom died is myself. I didn’t let her lessons go. I didn’t let anyone get close enough to me to feel something for them. I had friends, I was popular, but I was lonely. I was dead inside. 

I came home drunk one night. I was dressed in my hoochie clothes and f me heels. I was giggling with my best friend Christina. I didn’t notice dad’s car or we would have gone to her house. The lights flicked on and there he was, reeking of booze and looking like s**t.

“Where the f**k have you been Diana?” he asks.

“Maybe you should go to your house girl. This is going to get ugly,” I say to Chris.

“Yeah, okay,” she kisses my cheek and goes to her car. When she’s gone I turn back to my dad.

“Don’t act like you care where I was,” I say.

“You live in my house I have a right to know where you’ve been,” he yells.

“I barely live here anymore. I spend most of my time with Chris anyway,” I say.

“You’re not going out anymore Diana,” he says.

“Oh and you’re going to stop me? You’re a drunk,” I say.

Before I can say anything else I’m on the floor and my face is burning. He slapped me. He pulls me up by my hair and starts dragging me down the hallway into the bathroom. He throws me into the shower and turns on the water.

“What the f**k!” I yell, “Are you f*****g insane. You hit me.”

“And I’ll keep hitting you until you stop acting like a w***e!” He yells.

“I haven’t done anything that you haven’t been doing,” I yell.

“So you admit you’ve been whoring yourself around town,” he says.

“I’ve been drinking and partying. I haven’t slept with anyone,” I say trying to get out of the shower. “Is that what you’ve been doing? Cheating on mom?”

“Your mother is dead!” He punches me in the stomach. “She’d be ashamed of her w***e daughter!”

That was the first time my father beat me. He left me on the bathroom floor bruised and bleeding. I dragged myself into my room and locked the door. I couldn’t even climb onto my bed. I pulled the blanket down and fell asleep on the floor.

I woke up in the morning in more pain than I’ve ever felt in my life. I listen to see if I can hear where he is but I can’t hear anything. I look out my window and his car is gone. I Stumble into my bathroom and look at the damage. 

My cheek is red and slightly bruised. Thankfully he didn’t punch my face. I can cover this with make-up. The worst of it in my back and body, some on my legs but everyone knows I’m clumsy and bump into things. I take a shower and do my make-up to cover the bruise on my face. Thankfully it’s winter so I wear a baggy sweater and leggings. I grab my bag and swing it over my shoulder. I wince when my bag hits the bruise on my back. I go outside where I see Chris waiting for me just like everyday. I climb in the car and try to act normal.