Unleash the lies

Gabriella's POV : It all happened so fast. There I was in the backseat of the car listening to my mum and dad playfully arguing about god knows what. My dad had this gleam in his eyes when he would not so discreetly sneak a glance at my mother. I distinctly remember smiling to myself, hoping that I would find a person who would look at me like that; with love and adoration.  I was quickly brought back reality when I heard a bloodcurdling scream. There my mum was with deep crimson liquid seeping through her white dress. Moments later only then did I realise it was blood. My dad was yelling something to me, I could see his lips moving but I had no idea what he was saying. All of a sudden my dad went limp. He suddenly became motionless. As his head dropped back I noticed a gaping hole in the middle of his head. My eyes were frantically moving from my mums now now red dress and the gaping hole that resided in my dads forehead. Distress signals were going off in my head my head but I was paralysed with fear. My mums weak, raspy voice broke me out of my trance.  ‘I-I love you, my baby. Take care of yourself just know tha-that we’ll always be with you.’ I was only now fully comprehending what happened. ‘ No mum don’t say that.’ I said with a noticeable tremor in my voice. ‘Everything will be ok. The doctors will be-‘ That’s when everything went dark.   I woke up in my bed kicking and screaming, sweat trickling down my forehead. The door to my bedroom swings opened revealing a disheveled Kate. She sits down on my bed and wraps me in a tight embrace and just lets me sob into her chest.  ‘Oh Riley. Was it the same one?’ She asks whilst stroking my back. I nod meekly. I hear her let out a quiet sigh. We sit there for what felt like hours but was actually minutes, in a comfortable silence. Kate finally releases me from her embrace as she looks me in my eyes. A deep frown appears on her face, which usually indicates her internal debate. She makes her decision and finally speaks up. ‘ You know what I’m going to say but I’m going to say it anyway.’ I roll my eyes getting ready to hear the same speech for the nth time.  ‘You need to get some help. This has been going on for way too long. It’s been 11 years since the incident and you still have these nightmares.’  'I don't need help.' I yell at her immediately feeling bad because I know she's right. I do need help; I'm just not ready to face my fears.  'I'm making pancakes. Do you want some?' I ask partly to stop myself from feeling guilty and to fill the uncomfortable silence. She immediately perks up at the mention of food and nods her head frantically. I let out a loud laugh at her childish behaviour. Kate is my cousin. I came to live with her and her mum in America 11 yeas ago after my parents passed away. I had never met her father; he had passed away a few years prior due to lung cancer but Kate assures me that I would have loved him. Maybe she's right but her mother- Shelia- was absolutely awful. From the moment I stepped into the house she despised me. I had no idea why though because I had never met her in my life. She used to call me horrible names, make me do all the work in her house, she used to scream at me unnecessarily but that wasn't the worst of it. I vividly remember the day she had beat me so badly that I had to be sent to the hospital. As I make my way down the stairs with the dirty laundry in my hands a sharp pain in my abdomen makes stop abruptly and wince quietly. Aunt Shelia had tripped me up and kicked me in my abdomen repeatedly for not making her breakfast right.  'Why aren't my clothes washed yet?' Aunt Sheila demands. Hearing her voice startled me and my body went rigid, the pain now almost nonexistent . I slowly turn around praying that I don't get another beating. But my wish went unheard as she makes her way to me, fuming.  'Are those my clothes?' she asks in a scarily calm voice. I look down and slowly nod my head. I already knew what was going to happen so I just stood there with my gaze on the floor waiting for the blow to come. After what felt like minutes of waiting, nothing happened.  All of a sudden I felt a stinging pain in my scalp. Aunt Sheila dragged me to the the basement with her hands gripping my hair as I frantically claw at her hand in the hopes she'd let go. She didn't, not until we reached the basement. My scalp burned when she finally did let go and it felt as though my hair had been pulled from its roots.   A sudden blow to my stomach had me doubled over on the cold, hard ground. There aunt Sheila stood with a baseball bat in hand getting ready to swing again. I curled into a ball to protect myself from the continuous blows that came my way. After what felt like hours the torture finally stopped although my head started to spin and I saw stars. Then, my surroundings started to fade as I heard the distant voice of my cousin and a few seconds later everything went black.  I woke up after what felt like days in a large hospital bed with tubes and wires surrounding me. A voice I didn't recognise startled me and a loud beeping noise filled the room.  'Calm down dear your heart rate is going crazy. I'm Doctor Thompson. Do you know where you are?' the doctor asked me to which I slowly nod my head. 'Ok, that's good. Now do you remember what happened?' she inquires. Yes, I do but if I tell her that my horrible aunt beat me in the basement I would be done for and I'd be separated from ate so I just shook my head.  Doctor Thompson squints her eyes at me as if she knows I'm lying. She just sighs quietly and changes the subject.  'So, you have four broken ribs, a deep gash on your head that we've stitched up, a broken wrist and  large bruises on your thighs and abdomen.' The doctor lists of my injuries and I wince at the severity of them.  I shake my head to get rid of the awful memories and decide that it's time to make breakfast.