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She glared at him but didn’t say anything. In fact, she found the more times she was silent, the more pissed-off he became. Staring down at her piece of paper, she picked up the crayon and began to draw.
“What are you doing?”
“The work. I know what I’m going to be and I know what you’re going to be as well.”
“You’re going to be one of those food-eating contestants.”
This time, Prudence smiled. “And you’re going to be a sad man with no friends and no one.” She didn’t know why she kept talking to him or even entertaining him with words. Drake never listened to her and he always did what he wanted to do. He was a cruel boy.
No matter what anyone said, they didn’t know the truth. The teachers always pretended to look the other way and Sean, well, he couldn’t fight Drake.
She wasn’t afraid of him.
Bullies were cowards, or at least, most of the time, they were. Drake never picked on anyone else. She hadn’t seen him hurt anyone or treat anyone the way he did her.
“I won’t be alone. You’re going to be my pet for life. Trash like you only need money and I’ve got a whole lot of it. You’ll belong to me.”
When he kicked her this time, she held on to the table as her chair jerked. Pain sliced up her leg and she tried not to let him see how much hurt he’d caused her. Revealing any kind of weakness in front of him wasn’t good.
“Why do you hate me so much? I’ve never done anything to you.” From the first day until now, Drake had hated her. Whenever he saw her, he made sure his revulsion of her was clear. Even his friends hated her, and if he wasn’t around, they made sure she knew he wasn’t too far. They were all ready to do his bidding.
Her mother never listened and her father was always working. The teachers told her he was just playing rough. She knew only one thing. Every single person she had told was afraid of him and she didn’t understand why.
****
Pushing her feet back, she held on to the metal chains of the swing and looked out across the park. Mountain Peak Valley had one of the best children’s parks around and Sean was supposed to meet her here any minute. They were going to head off and explore the woods. He wanted to see if he could accurately pick the right mushrooms to eat. Not that they would actually eat them. They were way too dangerous, but Sean liked to think he could do anything. At ten years old, he already thought he knew more than most adults.
There was no challenge he couldn’t meet.
Gripping the chains, she let go of her feet and started to swing. After lifting her legs up, she brushed them down, then drew them back up before going back down. Higher and higher, she soared, staring up at the sky. Blocking out everything, including the memory of her parents’ latest argument.
Her father was furious because her mother had bought too much alcohol for the party. They were always fighting about money. It was their favorite hobby. She missed their time in the city when everything seemed to be going so well. Her parents hadn’t fought half as much. Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the twisting in her gut but knew deep down it was no use. There was no getting away from the terror that clawed at her.
Her mother had screamed divorce and Prudence knew what that meant. She only hoped they would figure out what their problems were before they gave up on each other. She didn’t want to have to live with both of her parents in different houses.
“What are you fucking doing here?”
She lifted her head, opening her eyes to see Drake at the park. He wasn’t alone either. He had his friends with him. They smirked at her, standing at his back.
“You own the park now?”
“When are you going to learn that I own everything around here?”
Staring at him, she began to swing again. This wasn’t his park. It wasn’t anyone’s park. Everyone and anyone could come here and have some fun. She wasn’t going to be controlled by his bullying ways. This park was free.
When Sean got here, they were going to head out anyway.
One of Drake’s friends, Carl Long, sniggered. “She’s asking for it, Drake.”
In response to the taunting, Drake moved forward. She tensed up, not really knowing what to do as he suddenly grabbed her leg and pulled hard. His move was dangerous and she let out a scream, seeing no choice but to let go of the swing. They both collapsed on the dirt. She hit her head and reached out to rub the suddenly sore spot.
