Then there was two

I was at school recess when my teacher called me and said I had to get my things and go to the office okay I said and ran away to get my backpack and lunchbox and ran down the hall to the office. When I got closer, I saw my daddy was there I yelled daddy an ran to him, hugging him. He pulled me away angry, and I was confused. He took my hand and dragged me to the car. He said in a mean voice, "get in the car, Natalie, and don't say another word. Your mother and brother are at the hospital because they had an accident, and we have to go now". I jumped in, pulling the seat belt to buckle it as my father took off down the road. When we arrived at the hospital he didn't say anything and got out of the car and walked inside. I ran to catch up with him. He was talking to a tall man in a white coat when I got to him, I held his finger as the Dr said," I am sorry sir, but they have both passed away. We did everything we could do for them both, but their injuries were too severe to be saved. I am so sorry for your loss". I was crying, and my father was yelling and crying, screaming loudly. Then he yanked his hand from mine and glared down at me and said,"Go to the car and don't move." The sound of his voice frightened me. I stepped back to look around the room and I turned and ran from the hospital to the car and fell to my knees outside the door and cried for my mother and brother. They were gone forever. I knew what death was I remember when granny died we had a funeral for her to lay her to rest. Is that what we have to do for mommy and Brody? I thought, and why is daddy being so mean? Doesn't he know my heart hurts too? I felt someone grab me and yank me up. The car door opened, and I was thrown on the back seat. I looked up to see my father. He was so mean and angry looking even though he had tears running down his face too. He looked so mean. I whispered," Da... Daddy." and he slapped my face hard and told me never to call him that again and that he was not my father. I was confused. What does he mean he is not my father? he is the only father I ever knew. I held my burning cheek and cried silently all the way home., confused about why my daddy would be so mean to me when my mommy and baby brother died, shouldn't he hug me and tell me it's going to be OK, but that's not what he does, he never did either in fact he reminded me every day that he was not my father he never was and he never loved me either. The day of the funeral, I was sitting in the car waiting for him to come out. I had found a small jar and had snuck some ashes from Mom's urn and Brody's urn. I was so afraid he was going to get out of the shower and catch me, so I scooped some from both urns, filling the jar up, then I replaced everything as it was and made sure he wouldn't notice. Then I hid the jar from him. I went out and sat in the car waiting for him. That day was very hard for me because in front of people he acted as if he loved his only living child. But then that was the night he beat me so badly I had to miss school for a week to heal. I later found out he lied to the school and said I was in my mother's car accident, so they didn't ask questions. Then, when I was 11, he started to beat me with his belt and it happened nightly. Whenever he came home drunk he would seek me out and beat me until he was too tired to raise the belt again, then he would leave me bruised and bloody, maybe hoping I would die. I don't know, then two years after my mother passed away, he brought home Allison and her kids. His new wife, she had 3 kids, 2 girls and a boy who he was kind to. But he still hated me, and he showed it every day he made sure everyone knew not to help me, or he would punish them the same way as he hurt me. Everyone was afraid of him, so they kept their mouth shut. And the abuse continued on year after year he beat me, cut me, burned me, whipped me, and he even sexually assaulted me with one of his friends when I turned 15, and I hated him more and more every single day. The summer I turned 15 was the worst one of my life. Even though I heard Allison and the bâstard fighting about me, I knew she couldn't help me. Even the night he and his friend raped me, she tried to help, but he beat her that night. I couldn't help her. I felt like dying myself. The next day, I told her not to interfere with me. Her kids needed her more. She cried but nodded her head, and we went on about life like nothing happened, and eventually I had found the only thing that I could do to release my anger and pain was writing in my hidden diary to express all my feelings right there on paper, so I kept a diary and made sure no one would find them. It was 7 months after my birthday when I was rescued from my own hell and I have been with the Waters family since then. They have taken care of me and my every need. I finished high school and I even got to attend college with Destiny. They all accepted me into their family. I wasn't a sibling to them, but I was Destiny's best friend, and her family loved me as if I was one of them, so I'll forever be indebted to them. They showed me what it was like to have a normal family dynamic. I would always think about how this is how it should have been, but my mom and brother died and everything changed after that. I had never understood how someone could go through life with two loving parents, then one day everything changes, and you are left hurt, broken-hearted, confused, and alone. Then realizing you can never see your mother again or hear her voice so young, It's hard to understand. I prayed every day for her to come back for a while, but I knew deep down it was not possible death meant she was gone. Eventually, I just didn't pray anymore, not until I met Destiny. She gave me my hope back. She allowed me to have faith that I could escape my personal hell one day. I just didn't know that it would be years before I could escape from my cruel, abusive father. The day I woke up in the hospital, I was scared but when I seen destiny and her mother. I felt a little safer. They both stood by my bed soothing me and taking care of me. I knew then that I was going to be OK because she helped me get free of the monster that hurt me for years.