Wysteria

The alarm clock blares, waking me from my slumber and I hit the snooze button. I sigh to myself, climbing out of bed. My entire body aching from the abuse I took last night. I walk to my bathroom, closing the door behind me, and stare at myself in the mirror. My eyes, which once shone like precious gems, were now dim and lifeless. My hair with its cascading curls falling gently down my back and ending just below my knees seems to be losing its color as if it's just a mere ember of the fire it used to be, left untended as if to allow it to be put out by the wind. New bruises cover my body as old ones fade slowly. "WYSTERIA!" a voice roars "GET DOWN HERE, NOW!" A chill runs down my spine. I hurried out of my room and down the stairs, wishing not to anger him even more. The moment I reach the bottom of the steps, I was thrown across the room, my back slamming into the wall and I cried out. In less than a second, there was a hand gripping me by my neck as I'm lifted from the ground and slammed into the wall again. I barely manage to open my eyes and my breath caught.. staring back at me were the pitch-black eyes of my father. "You worthless little b***h" he growls "didn't I tell you to clean this pigsty?" I nodded, not uttering a word. He sets me on the floor and drags me down the hall into the living room which I had cleaned yesterday. The room was covered in beer bottles, open bags of chips, empty wrappers, and a pizza box. the couch was covered in vomit, and the table had mud from someone's boot on it. Once the smell hit my nose, it took everything I had not to gag. The smell was putrid. "what's this?" he asked coldly "i-its f-filth" I reply in a low voice "and why is it here?" he asks I knew that he came home and got drunk, he destroyed the living room before coming to my room last night. I knew all of this, but I won't say it. If I do say it, the beating he gives me will only be worse. "I-I'm S-S-Sorry," I say "D-Dad" He throws me to the ground causing pain to shoot throughout my body. I force myself into a kneeling position, fighting back the cries that desperately claw to be released. "Clean this mess up.. then make me breakfast," He says " Oh, and you're not going to school today... today, your mine" With that, he left the room. I proceeded to clean as fast as I could, knowing all too well what awaited me. * 2 hours later* after the living room was done, he made me re-do the entire house. I'm about to finish up his bedroom when suddenly I hear the click of the door closing. I whirled around to see my father turn the lock on the door before he turned to face me, a wicked grin on his face. He started to undo his buckle as he grew closer to me. I back away from him but he just keeps coming closer until my back hits a wall. there's nowhere to go...I'm trapped. He stops right in front of me, staring down at me. I advert my head to the side only to have him put his fingers under my chin and force my head forward. " Please, no," I say " please" I could smell the alcohol on him, he reeked of the stuff. I tried to get out of his hold but it was no use, his grip tightened. " Fighting is pointless, you can't escape me," he says " so why don't you be a good little human and accept your role" I squirm, trying to free myself only to hear him chuckle. My heart began to race, pounding against my chest. In a matter of seconds, he has me pinned to his bed. Once I realized I couldn't escape, my will gave out. I turned my head away, closing my eyes, and let myself be transported to somewhere else in the depth of my mind, hoping to survive what he's doing to me. * the next morning* I awoke to the alarm clock, my body in severe pain from the day before. Like always, I climb out of bed and head to the bathroom. I ended up not taking a shower yesterday so feeling this hot water running down my body felt amazing. I poured some shampoo into my hand and started massaging it into my hair. The sound of the water keeping my focus, calming me as I imagine being somewhere with a waterfall. I'm knocked out of my thoughts when my timer goes off forcing me to shut off the water and get out. once I had dried my face and wrapped the towel around me, I proceeded to do my make up wanting to cover any bruises on my face. once that was done I returned to my room and went to my closet. I decided on torn black jeans, a black tank top, a red turtle neck, and my black suede boots. Then I braided my hair before putting it up in a bun, a single lock of hair left loose by my face, now I'm ready. Despite his abuse, my father insists that we appear normal around other people, and for that reason, he makes sure I have good clothes and plenty of them. Though today is a Saturday, I'm dressing up because we have a very important guest coming over. I don't know who it is or what makes him important, but I know my father wants to impress him so I was told to be presentable. "Wysteria" my father calls. My father was outside my door. I hurry over and open the door revealing my father, he's dressed in a suit. My father looks me over and nods, passing the outfit check. "very good." he says "you should start dinner, the guest will be here shortly." "yes, Dad." I say I make my way downstairs and into the kitchen, putting my apron on as I walk to the stove. A few minutes later I heard the doorbell. Somehow I could hear them greet each other before my father proposed going to his office. I kept myself busy in the kitchen until about half an hour later. As I was taught by my father, I set up a service tray with 2 cups, a pot of hot tea, a container of sugar, a pitcher of cream, a spoon, and a plate of freshly baked croissants. I picked up this tray and headed to the office. I knock lightly on the door. "Who is it?" My dad asks "It's me" I reply "Enter." he says As I had been trained, I opened the door and entered the room. My father sat at his desk and the man sat across from him. The man wore a traditional suit, a watch on his left wrist and his black hair combed back neatly. His eyes never left me. "I thought you might like some refreshments," I say " dinner still has a while before it's done." "How thoughtful of you." the man says "Ah, yes. Allow me to introduce you" My father says He stands from his seat and gestures me to come over. I smile and go stand next to him, grabbing the man's attention. "Mr. Lorrel," my father says " This is my daughter, Wysteria." "Hello." I say the man stood, a look of realization on his face. He smiles. "You are prettier than your father described," he says "It's a pleasure to meet you, milady." I look at my father a little confused, why would he describe me to this man?. seeing my questioning look, my father smiled. An evil glint in his eyes. " Mr. Lorrel is here to discuss," he says "your marriage" Time stopped and everything seemed frozen in place, I looked back to the man smiling at me from across the desk. My father is going to marry me off.. to him.