ERASED

Chapter Two

“This is your new dad.” She said to the me with a wide smile across her face. I stared at the man beside her, he was tall, with long beards and long dreads. I always knew my mom would get married again, I just never thought it’ll be this soon. She never seemed to like my dad, and it seemed to be the same case for him. He never seemed to like me either, so his absence didn’t make much difference to me.

“Greet him.” Her voice interrupted my thoughts. “Where are your manners?” She’s very stern with me today, but the man beside her smiles, “she’s not always like this.” She said to him, trying to soothe his ego or something.

“Hi,” I said. He looked down at me with the same weird smile on his face,

“How are you?” He asked, his hands against my face rubbing it which made me cringe and take a step back. I don’t like this man, the way he’s looking at me, at a young age, I knew. I knew he was trouble, I just didn’t know what kind of trouble. I was only six.

“He’s asking you a question! Why are you so dumb today?” She was obviously irritated but I didn’t care. I didn’t like this man and he had to go. I always had a say in her relationships, and she always listened to me, and when she didn’t, I was always proven right. As young as I was, my intuition was very strong.

“Mommy, I’m late for school. Can you drop me off please?”

~

I tried my best to forget that night. I was in my room, lying on my bed watching the power puff girls with my right hand supporting my head, when he opened my door, poking his head inside. I turned down the volume on the tablet my mom let me have to get me off her back, he still had that weird smile on his face,

“Can I come in?” He asked.

“You’re halfway in already, do I have a choice?” The man slowly walked into the room shutting the door behind him.

“Can I sit on your bed?” He asked.

“If you’re trying to replace my father, there’s no need. He was barely present in my life, so anything you do, even if it’s the bare minimum, I really can’t complain. There’s no need to try and act nice to me,”

“You’re really smart for a six year old, has anyone ever said that to you?” He said as he sat on my bed and I could feel it sink down, he’s got a lot of weight.

“Mommy says I have a smart mouth.” I answered. He stares at me for the longest of time until I get really uncomfortable,

“Why are you staring at me?”

“You’re really beautiful too, has anyone told you that?” He raised his hands to touched my face but i jerked away immediately.

“Mommy said that every time to me,” I snapped. I was young, in need of a father’s touch, why was his touch so repulsive to me?

I think every female, women and children know when a man with evil intentions gets close to them and as a kid, I knew.

He moved closer to me,

“Come, sit on my lap.”

“No, I’m watching a show and you’re interrupting me. You should wait for mommy in the living room.”

“Your mom won’t be home until late, wanna play a game?”

“What game?” I asked, the little kid in me couldn’t avoid the curiosity and he knew it.

“Come sit on my lap and we’d play the game together,” I didn’t want to to stand up, but, he’s my new daddy. I wanted him to always lift me up in his arms, spin me around and laugh with me, take me to the parks, take me on a walk with him, but all I ever got was yelling, constant reminders of how he never wanted me, how I ruined his relationship with my mother, and then she brings this man home. She never introduced them to me, she said she only would when she found the right man that I could call father, I wonder every single time, where did that woman go?

As the child that I was, I jumped out of bed and sat on his lap. He pulled me closer to himself,

“That’s a good girl.” He said.

“The game goes like this, I ask you a question, and you have to answer correctly, but if you fail you have to take your shirt off.”

“Take my shirt off?”

“Yes, don’t worry, it wouldn’t only be you. It’ll be me too, you can ask me whatever you want and if I fail, I will take my shirt off.” The game was going pretty okay, my shirt was off but I had a singlet on.

I enjoyed the game because they were pretty interesting questions.

He reached for the remote that controls the light in my room and turned it off, then he got up to lock the door.

“What are you doing?” I asked. By now, all suspicions had worn off,

“Nothing, we’re just playing a game while waiting for your mom to return. The bills are getting high these days and since we’re both not using it, why not turn it off to save the cost, and locking the door is just a precautionary measure to ensure we’re safe in case something were to happen,” as smart as I thought I was, I was really fooled.

He began touch me, everywhere,

“It’s getting uncomfortable, can you stop please?” I pleaded and tried to get up from him but his grip was very firm,

“You will do exactly what I say, if you get up, I will hit you and beat you up and no one will believe you!” That was when the fear began to creep in. I didn’t want him to hit me, he was supposed to be a better replacement to my absent present father.

As he leaned in closer and closer, I shut my eyes, my heart beating, my curious mind wandering what he would do next. I felt lips on me, rough and forceful, injuring my lips, and that’s when I felt the full weight of his body and my adrenaline kicked in, the fight or flight response began.

“Stop it! Stop it!!” I yelled and screamed but he put his hand over my mouth that I could only make muffled sounds that couldn’t be heard. I was wriggling and trying to set myself free but my body couldn’t fight against his, he was way too heavy for me, like a rock.

“Stop! Stop!! Please,” I cried and pleaded.

“Stop! I’m going to report you to my mom!” The anger rushed in when I realized what he was doing was wrong. I was switching between both, pleading for my freedom and demanding for it.

But my world came to a stop when I felt his hand pull my trousers down.

What’s uncle doing? I wondered amidst the flood of emotions I was experiencing at the same time. I saw him force his shorts down and could see the male body part hanging out. I shut my eyes immediately, mommy told me it’s wrong to look there.

I felt something get inside of me, painful, really really painful, I screamed for help but he didn’t seem to be bothered, at all.

The door swung open and my mom stood by the door, wide eyed, but he didn’t stop, he continued like she wasn’t there, and then she shut the door behind her, leaving me to remain helpless.