Silver Stars on a Starless Night by Cheyenne M (story reading txt) 📖

Thinking back, I don’t know how we got to where we are now. It was a long journey, with so much to bring us down, so many people fighting against us. Especially ourselves, for we were the biggest enemy for both of us to overcome. Since we were young we have struggled with family life, outside life, and what is inside of ourselves. Yet, through it all. we are here, still with each other, and on the happiest days of my life, and I hope his, too. I stand there at the doors waiting for them to open, I can hear people settling as the music starts. I take a deep breath looking at my dad at my side, my sisters and brothers, my family lined in front of me. My mom makes the last adjustments on my dress and hair. She stands back to look at me, and smiles brightly. I can see her tearing up and I can feel my own tears threatening to fall because of it. I had dreamed of her being happy and proud of me, for as long as I could remember. She gave me a hug and it felt like neither of us wanted to let go.

The doors open and I look around at the people who have gathered to celebrate with me. My friends, my family, my closest of the close. I couldn't be happier than I am right now. I take one last deep breath and smile. Waiting at the end of the isle is the man of my dreams. I have been with since him my Junior year of high school and I have not wanted another since I met him.

“You look beautiful and I am so happy for you sweetheart. I love you so much.” she whispers through the tears. I am glad, for once, they are tears of happiness instead of anger and despair. I thought about it fat that moment, it made me think back. Until now, tears, for me, have meant nothing but despair and anger.

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“You aren’t my kids! You are that drug-addict’s satan children! Why don’t you go live with him huh?! I bet you would like that, since you hate me so much! You both make me sick, Get the f**k out of my house you spoiled little s***s!” I stood there in fear, crying my eyes out. I looked at my brother and he was crying, too. We weren’t that old, and we didn’t know what to do. But from that moment on I swore that I would never let my brother get hurt. I would do everything in my power to keep him safe from this monster standing in front of us.

“Why are you still standing here!” He grabbed me and my brother by the arm and dragged us out of the house and pushed us off the porch steps. We hit the dirt and looked up at this man who we were supposed to call father. I hated him so much, I wished right then, that God would kill him. That anything would happen to him to get him out of our lives.

“I don’t want you here! Go the f**k away! Go find someone else to bother, and make them give a damn about you because I don’t and I never will.” Then he stormed back inside the house. We sat in the dirt crying, and neither of us had a clue what to do.

“When will mom be back?” Justin asked me as he attempted to dry his eyes.

“I don’t know.” I was scared and wanted to just sit down and cry, but I had to try to be strong for my brother.

“We will tell her when she gets back though, right?” He stands up looking timidly at the house, then back at me. My mom had gone to the store earlier, and was supposed to be back soon.

“Of course. Right now we should go to the playhouse and wait for her.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him along. There was a shed that had been turned into like a sort of bedroom out in back on the hill behind our cabin. I figured he wouldn’t come looking for us, so we would be ok. We lived at the base of a mountain right where it met the lake. So everything behind the house was uphill.

I pulled the door open on the little shed, it had been our playroom since we moved in. It kept all of our toys out of the house, and my mom didn’t care what it looked like out here. We turned on the light and pulled the door shut behind us. I didn’t really feel like playing at that moment, but I wanted to cheer up my little brother. I had this unexplained feeling of always needing to protect him.

“What do you want to do? I think if we stay quiet we will be safe” I sat next to the toy box and opened the lid. I began shuffling through it looking for his toys, or anything he would want to play with.

“I want to go back to sleep.” He curled up in the little tent we had made in the corner. I grabbed some of our extra blankets and crawled in next to him. He was almost two years younger than me, but I wasn’t that much bigger than him. “Why did mom marry him?”

“I don’t think she knew he was a bad guy.” I thought back to how much I had liked him before they married. “We liked him before, too remember?”

“Yeah. I know we did, but why is he mean now? I thought he was happy we would be his kids. Now he says he hates us all the time” He looked upset and disappointed. I didn’t really have an explanation for it. “Do you think it’s our fault?”

“No, we didn’t do anything wrong this morning. I don’t know why he is mad at us right now” I was whispering because I was afraid he would come in and yell at us more.

“Will mommy be mad at us because we made him upset at us?”

“No. I don’t think so”

“What about when we tell her what happened? Like how he yelled at us, and pushed us, and stuff? Will she be mad at us then?”

“She should be mad at him then. It wasn’t our fault he got mad.”

“I am scared of him, he makes us get into trouble for no reason at all. I wanted a daddy and he is mean.” I was just as upset about it as he was. I had looked forward to having him become our dad. My mom had dated him for a long time, though I don’t remember exactly, since I was only five years old. We had learned to love him because my mom had loved him. I knew that Nana and Papa didn’t like, but I didn’t know why. We were told to go play whenever they all started arguing.

“Me too...” I yawned “but I don’t know if mama can change it. They already got married. Mama said that, once people are married they stay together forever because they love each other.”

“But was she married to our…” he paused looking around like someone was listening, which he could’ve been “real dad?” We weren’t EVER supposed to talk about our real dad, even though Justin was named after him. Daniel didn’t like it and my mom told us to always listen to him, though it was easier before they got married.

“I don’t know. If they were then they would still be together wouldn’t they? So I guess not. they weren’t married.” He seemed to accept the answer. In all honesty, it was something I had never thought of. I didn’t think about our real dad, partially because I was too young to understand or care, and partially because of Daniel.

“I hope we will be safe. I’m glad we have me and you. I hope the new baby is like us, too. then we can all play together.” My mom was pregnant, had been for a little while. I was excited, but scared. Even at my young age of five, I knew that if Daniel was being mean to us, that he might be mean to the new little girl or boy. On top of all of this, I had heard my mom talking about moving. I didn’t know what to think about that. I liked being around my Nana and Papa all the time. And my aunts, they used to take us out all the time, they helped raise us. I was worried we might move too far away to see them anymore.

“I am happy too, and I can’t wait to see the new baby.” I mumbled sleepily.

“I love you Autumn.”

“I love you too” Then we fell asleep waiting in fear for my mom to get home so we could talk to her.

“Wake up!” I jumped, completely startled out of a deep sleep “Get your a**es our here!”

I didn't’ know what was going on, my eyes were full of sleep and puffy from crying. I sat up rubbing them, and saw that the door was open and someone was standing in it.

“Lets!Go!” It was Daniel “You’ve got about five seconds. One.” I shook Justin awake

“Two” Pulled him to his feet

“What…?” He mumbled sleepily. I panicked that we wouldn't get out in time.

“Three!!” He was getting more impatient which was all the worse for us.

“C’mon” I pulled Justin to the door “Excuse me.” I looked up at my tormentor I already knew he wouldn’t move. That’s how he kept us in trouble, tell us to do something, then go out of his way to prevent it. He just glared at me.

“Excuse me!” I said louder, but he didn’t move.

“Four!” He just clenched his jaw and kept glaring at us. Justin was awake now and gripping me tightly.

“Please can we go?” I said

“Five” He said the last one quietly and it was worse than if he yelled. I knew what it meant, we were in trouble. “Out of time…” Those three words made my blood run cold. We were in some serious trouble and I had no way of knowing if my mom was home.

“Get the f**k out of here now!” He stepped aside and pushed us out of the play house.

Me and my brother clung to each other for safety, I looked to see if my mother’s vehicle was back, but I didn’t see. This meant that he could do what he wanted and she would not be there to stop him.

“Start running.” Just a simple command from him made all the difference.

“Where to?” I whimpered.

“Did I say you could talk?” He growled at us. I began to cry in fear.

“N-n-nooo” I cried to him. I prayed that he would feel sympathy for two little children whom he was supposed to care for, but it was useless. He fed off the power that he felt from making us cry.

“Then. Run.” Me and Justin started running towards the other