Chapter 6 - THE SPECTRUM OF THE SCENE
We pulled into the gravel driveway,
the house looked dark and forbidding,
the porch light was still burning,
casting a sickly yellow glow,
over the broken beer bottle pieces,
that Logan had dropped earlier,
mom pushed past me rudely,
she opened the front door quickly,
stepping into the quiet house,
I followed her inside slowly,
holding onto the door frame,
because my head was throbbing again,
the smell of stale alcohol hit me,
mixed with the scent of copper,
the copper smell of my own blood,
I looked at the hallway wall,
there was a dark smear there,
right where my head had hit,
the drywall was cracked slightly,
showing the force of his blow,
the family photos were crooked,
some had fallen to the carpet,
the glass from the grandmother's frame,
was scattered across the floor,
shining like tiny dangerous diamonds,
mom did not try to clean it,
she walked straight to the kitchen,
she picked up the house phone,
calling her sister in Columbus,
begging for money for the bail,
she was crying loudly again,
telling her version of the story,
saying Emily had caused a scene,
saying Logan was just defending himself,
I stood in the dark hallway,
listening to her venomous words,
feeling a cold anger grow inside,
she would never change her mind,
she would always choose him over me,
no matter how much I suffered,
no matter if he killed me next,
I walked up the wooden stairs,
each step felt like a mountain,
my bedroom was small and cold,
I locked the door behind me,
turning the small metal knob,
knowing it would not stop him,
if he came back tomorrow,
I lay down on my bed,
keeping my clothes completely on,
staring at the dark ceiling,
listening to the distant muffled voice,
of my mother in the kitchen,
plotting how to save the monster,
May you like
while the victim bled upstairs,
alone in the terrifying shadows.
