My name is Lizabeth Ann Falls and yesterday I turned 11. It is early in the morning the day after my birthday. On this very strange morning it was too quiet. In the living room my mom is sitting on the far armchair where she has been sitting since a little after three. In her hand she was holding something I couldn’t make out. Her blonde hair which is normally pulled up in a perfect bun is hanging in a mess at her shoulders. Her eyes which are the perfect shade of dark blue are staring at something that is lying on the floor in between the sofa and the coffee table. She would normally have the perfect make up to go with her perfect eyes but now she had dried mascara smeared down her cheeks and dark circles under her eyes from the night before.
She only looked up from the object when she heard the back door open and slam close. She watched as my dad walked into the room. His white t-shirt now covered in dirt and sweat. In his right hand he held a shovel. His brown eyes traveled from my mom to the object on the floor. He ran his free hand through his short brown hair. As he did this you could see the dirt that had settled there fly off. My mom’s eyes followed my dad’s.
“It’s ready,” my dad said finally breaking the silence that has filled the air since three o’clock that morning. My mom still looking at the object on the floor simply nodded. “Sun’s coming up. We gotta do this now, or we’ll never get it done.”
My mom’s eyes traveled to the shovel in my dad’s hands wondering what kind of damage he could do with it. Her eyes then to the phone sitting on the side table next to him. Figuring she would never be able to reach it without him stopping her she said “Fine,” As she stood up she watched as he leaned the shovel against the wall next to the phone. Since he put down the only weapon he had she again wondered if she could reach the phone yet knowing all along it was impossible. She knew my dad was a football player in high school and knew he could take her down if she tried anything. “This isn’t right. She’s only a little girl,” my mom whispered hoping he wouldn’t hear her and wondering what he would do to her if he did.
***
The day of my birthday started out like any other day. My dad was already at work at the factory, which means my mom had gone back to bed for a little before she had to go back to the restaurant to work another shift. My mom normally worked the evening shift so that she was home to make the house clean. However today she was working in the morning so she would be home later on to get ready for my birthday party that evening. So I was left alone to get myself ready in time to catch the bus for school. This was pretty much how every day in my life started. The mornings were always my favorite part of the day. I didn’t have to deal with the yelling and shouting that happens the rest of the day when my dad was home.
After getting myself dressed in a simple white t-shirt and a pair of light jeans which. I walked over to the mirror to do my hair. knew I would have to change out of my outfit for the party. I knew the only reason this party was planned was to make my family look as normal as possible. My family had a lot of problems and a few people who would see the bruises knew that. So they throw this party every year as a way to show everyone that we were normal. Most of the presents ended up getting returned for money my parents needed to pay off their bills and I just got whatever was left. However it’s still my favorite time of the year. My favorite thing of all is the wish I get to make when I blow out the candles each year. When I was younger I use to always wish that my dad would finally stop drinking and beating my mom. However as I got older I realized that this was never going to change so my wish began to change. First I started wishing for toys like any normal little kid would want. However right before I turned nine my grandma took my mom and me to church and ever since then I always wished that I could be an angel. That has been my wish ever since.
I looked in the mirror as I started to braid my curly blonde hair, this is how I always wear my hair, in one single braid in the back of my head, Since some of my hair is to short to be pulled back in the braid I always have a few curly lose strands hanging by my ears. My mom hates that and is always trying to pin them back because she wants everything to be perfect. My mom always wants everything to be perfect. It’s her way of hiding how messed up our life is. However no matter how hard she tries they always get lose again. My eyes were the same color as my mom’s too, but unlike my mom I do not wear makeup. My dad won’t allow it. He says I am still a little girl and I shouldn’t be in a hurry to grow up.
Once I was dressed and ready I walked out of my room, and to the kitchen to make myself breakfast before heading out to the catch bus. Whenever I walk through my house in the morning I always try my best to be as quiet as possible because I knew how hard my mom works, and I didn’t want to wake her up from the few hours of sleep she got. However it normally doesn’t matter how quiet I am when I walk by her room she always wakes up.
My mom is always on the edge when she is trying to catch a few extra hours of sleep. She is always afraid that my dad might come home and see that she is sleeping. Which is something he would not allow. “Izzy, is that you” my mom called as she looked up from under the blankets Izzy is my nickname everyone but my dad calls me it.
When my mom saw me she just laid her head back down. I don’t talk much anymore. When I was younger I talked all the time it always upset my dad. As I got older I just stopped talking. This way my dad doesn’t get upset and I don’t spill any of out family secrets
I stand there and wait to see if my mom to say anything more, but when she didn’t for a while I figure she went back to sleep. So I turned and started to walk to the stairs. That’s when I heard it “Happy birthday Izzy,” my mom said is such a whisper that I almost missed it. This was the first sign that today wasn’t going to be just a normal day. I just simply smiled and kept walking. I knew if I stayed much longer I wouldn’t have time to pack my lunch and would end up going with out lunch today. I never get money to buy lunch so if I don’t pack I go hungry.
When I got to school I was greeted with a few happy birthdays from my classmates. I don’t really have any friends at school. I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk to them much about myself and I wouldn’t be able to do anything with them so I pretty much just kept to myself. Also my family moves a lot so it makes it easier then when we have to move. My classmates are the kids my parents invited to the party. So I knew all the people who are saying happy birthday to me only know about it because of the. So I just smiled at them and kept walking until I got to my seat. There are 24 students in my class it’s about even between the boys and girls. My seat is in the back which makes keeping to myself even easier.
I kept thinking about what my mom had said to me that morning. My mom and Dad never wished me happy birthday. I know they didn’t want to have me. My mom ended up dropping out of high school because of me. I know she wonders what her life would be like if she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant so young. I know my mom loves me, but I also know she thinks life about how life would have been without me. As for my dad, he never wanted me. I remember late at night when my parents would fight my dad would sometimes say “You should have killed her when you had the chance. Now I’m stuck with you and that kid for the rest of this damn life.” Soon after that I would hear the sound of his hand going across my moms face, or maybe the sound of her crashing into something because he pushed her. My dad played football star in high school and had always wanted to see if he could go pro. However because of the pregnancy he had to get a job as soon as he got out of high school, and football wasn’t an option. A few weeks after my mom gave birth my parents got married. My mom thought she loved my dad and that he was the perfect man. As the years went by, and my dad started drinking my mom realized my dad wasn’t perfect after all.
Right before lunch my teacher, Miss Acts said, “Okay class before we go to lunch you are going to pick your partners with whom you are going to be working with on the science project with,”
Great, I thought. No one ever wants to work with me and I’m normally left either working by myself or working with whoever was left.
“Hey, Izzy, um would you like to work with me?” asked the girl who sits a few rows up from me. It was very strange I actually took a second to look behind me and make sure she was really talking to me. When I realized she was talking to me I simply smiled and nodded. “My name’s Katie in case you couldn’t remember,” she said smiling. She continued talking to me all the way to lunch. She did all of the talking I would smile a lot and even laugh. Then to top off this strange morning she sat with me at lunch just like a real friend would. It was at that point I had the feeling that this day would be the day the changes my life forever.
When I got home from school that day my dad’s truck was already in the drive way. It surprised me and scared me even though I knew he would be coming home early to help get ready for my birthday party. By help I mean make sure my mom and I are doing what we are suppose to.
When I got to the front door I could already hear my dad yelling. “Are you stupid!? This is suppose to be clean!? You stupid bitch! Just get thus fuckin house cleaned!” then came the same old smacking sound. Each time I hear that sound it still makes me jump. I was hoping I would be able to sneak upstairs, and change into the white dress my dad had gotten for me to wear today but as soon as I opened the door his attention was on me. “What the hell are you wearing!?” he screamed. He walked over to me grabbed me by my arm and started pulling me toward the stairs. “Get your ass upstairs and change into that dress. NOW!”
As soon as he let go I went up stairs to my room as fast as I was allowed. My dad hates when people run in his house. When I got to my room I closed the door and was quickly in the white dress. I looked down at my arm which was still red from where my dad grabbed me. I covered that part of my arm with my hand and prayed that it wouldn’t bruise. That’s when I heard my dad yelling my name again. “Lizabeth Ann get down here!” I quickly left my room and went down stairs. When my dad saw me he said, “Stacey! Take your kid and do something with that mess she calls hair! Then get your ass to the kitchen and stay there. People will be here soon!” My mom then gently took my hand and we rushed up stairs.
When we got to my room I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my face. “Aww, come on now, Izzy, it’ll be ok. You know your dad gets worse this time of year,” my mom said as she wiped the tears away. It was true my dad always got worse on my birthday, or as he calls it the worse day of he’s life because the day I was born was they day his life was ruined forever. It’s hard on me, but I try not to let it ruin the only day I look forward to. My mom then turn me toward the mirror and started to work on pinning my hair having trouble as always. Soon after we heard the door bell ring. With out saying a word my mom gave me a quick hug and ran off to the kitchen where she would stay the rest of the night due to the bruises on her face. Once she was gone I wait for my cue from my dad.
A few minutes later I got it “Lizabeth, your friends are here for your party you should come down now,” my dad called in a sweet fatherly voice from the bottom of the stairs. In my house you never do anything unless my dad told you to. So at that I left my room and slowly walked down the stairs to greet my classmates all along thinking about my wish I would make when I blew out the candles.
The party, I thought, went pretty well. Once everyone left my dad told me to go upstairs to my room. As soon as I closed my door the yelling started. My parents were arguing about the night and how everything went. My dad didn’t think the cake was good enough and everyone was looking at the dirt that she missed in the corner. Then came the smacking sound, and a thud. My dad had pushed my mom. Following the thud was a scream and I soon heard someone running through the house. I knew something was really wrong because my dad doesn’t allow running. Next I heard the sound of cabinets being opened and closed. My mom was looking for something. This wasn’t their normally fighting and I really started to get scared so I turned to the only thing I could trust. I sat down on my floor with the lights still turned off crossed my legs and bowed my head and prayed. I prayed that God would keep my mom and me safe. I prayed that God would come and finally take me and mom from this hell and take us somewhere that we will be safe and away from my dad.
There was more screaming from down stairs this time it was my mom. She had found what she was looking for. Then I heard my dad laugh. My mom was in trouble and I had to do something. I quickly finished my prayer and asked God for strength. Then I ran downstairs and found my mom and dad. My mom was closest to me standing in front of the far armchair holding the gun my dad kept hidden in the cabinet in the living room. My dad stood on the other side of the coffee table. When he saw me and smiled “come here Izzy,” he said. This really made me scared my dad never called me Izzy. “NOW!” I started to slowly walk over to my dad. My mom looked at me and I could see the tears running down her face along with her perfect makeup she had put on earlier that night. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 3 in the morning. When I reached my dad I was standing in between the coffee table and the sofa. “Now, Stacey, are you sure you wanna do that. With your daughter standing right here right in front of me. And how good is your aim are you sure you’ll hit me or maybe you’ll miss and it will hit her,” as my dad spoke he slowly made his way over to my mom. My mom was shaking but she kept her eyes on me. “But then again maybe that is what you want. You have always wondered what your life would be like with out her,”
“No,” was all my mom could get out between the tears.
Before she knew it my dad was in front of her. “give me the gun Stacey,” my mom hesitated and my dad went for the gun.
My mom was to much in a daze to realized what he was doing, her eyes still on me. I knew what would happen if my dad got a hold of that gun. One or both of us would be dead. “mommy,” was all I said. This got her attention and she looked at my dad. They fought over the gun for a little then a shot was fired at exactly 3 am.
“This isn’t right. She is only a little girl,” my mom whispered about three hours later. My dad had walked over to the object on the floor. Getting ready to pick it up and then get rid of it. It was at this point my mom realized she still had the gun in her hand. She knew she had to act fast or my dad would figure out what she was planning on doing. My mom quickly raised the gun just as my dad looked up.
***
My name is Lizabeth Ann Falls and yesterday I turned 11. Yesterday I made my first friend. Yesterday I wished to become an angel and yesterday I prayed to God. Today, the day after my 11th birthday at 3 in the morning I was shot accidentally by my mom who was fighting with my dad for the gun she was going to use for protection. The trigger was accidentally pulled in the fight and the bullet went right through my head killing me instantly. About three hours after my death my mom died, but not before she called the police and let them know what happened. She told them she accidentally shot me in a fight to save us both from my dad. She said that my dad was just going to burry me in the backyard and then just pick up and leave. She also told them she had then shot him in his leg and had managed to get to the phone but wasn’t sure how much longer she would be safe. Soon after she said this the line went dead. When the police finally got to my house the first thing they saw was my body laying in between the coffee table and the sofa. Next they saw my mom’s body laying next to the phone. My dad was no where to be found. The police did find a trail of blood leading from by my body to the backyard. Since they knew my dad had been shot in the leg they knew he couldn’t have gotten far.
When they got to the backyard they found the hole that my dad had spent almost three hours digging. The hole where he had planned on just throwing my body in. The police started searching for my dad right away. They didn’t find him that day. They didn’t even find him that week. Who knows if they will ever find him. Mommy says that isn’t what is important now. She says what is important is that God finally took us away from the monster and that we could finally be a happy family. She also says that my wish of being an angel has finally come true. I wonder sometimes if they’ll find my dad and make him pay for all that he did to me and my mom over the past years. However I think with the help of a certain angel they won’t have to much trouble
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