She was young, too young for this abuse. Not that abuse makes an exception with age, but she didn't deserve this. Her father looks down at her and grins. He acts happy with her, but he didn't care to be honest. She puffs out her cheeks to try and make him laugh, but his smile fades. And he walks away. She holds out her hand to him, but he doesn't see it.

"Daddy!" she yells to him, but he ignores her. "Daddy, come back!"

"Honey, you know your dad loves you." Mother says, wrapping her in a hug. She nods.

"Of course, momma. Love you mom?" she says, finding her dad's love in someone else. Mother laughs, lovingly.

"I love you most of all." Mother says, trying to gain the smile that was meant for daddy. She doesn't show it though, and Mother runs out of patience. "Look, you want to know why he gets so upset, Jackie?"

"Yes! Haha. Why?" she asks, curiously.

"Because you don't respect him, you don't obey him? You are the destructive part to this family, and you embarrass him in public." Mother attacks with no warning, hurting her with her words.

"But momma, that's not true. I don't know what he wants. When he talks to me he isn't clear. I just can't understand!" she cries through tears. Tears intended to choke her. Mother takes her hand and pulls her to her feet into another hug.

"I know. I'm aware of how you feel. I understand you. Don't worry, darling, I'm here when you need to talk." Mother says, her hard eyes turning soft.

"But momma, you just said-" she tries, but Mother cuts her off.

"I was upset, forgive me? Its your dad you should worry about. He's the one upset with you, not me Jackie, not me." Mother says. She looks at Mother with wide eyes expecting the hard eyes to come back, and for the yelling to begin again. She swings her arms, playfully, around her sides, and Mother smiles at her. She smiles back, but was she happy? Nothing made sense.

Next day

"Come here, Jackie, I want to tell you something." Daddy says, taking her hand. She looks at her hand, warily. Was today when he decided to hurt her? She, mentally, puts her mask on.

"What is it, daddy?" she asks, happily, sort of. His eyes turn hard, and he yanks her to his side.

"What did I tell you about lying to me?" he asks, out of context. Her eyes widen and tears get ready to fall.

"What?" she squeaks. He tightens his fingers around her wrist, and she chokes in surprise. When her breathing becomes normal he takes her other hand.

"Stop lying to this family! You're not happy here are you?" he asks, and she gasps. How did he know?

"Daddy, I'm fine." she says, but he shakes his head.

"Don't lie to me, Jackie!" he yells. Tears break away from her control, and she falls to her knees. Unfortunately, daddy holds her up. Her wrists pop, and she slips out of his grip onto the floor. She stays silent in fear. His eyes don't soften at her weakened form. He just walks away as she dreads her mother making a beeline for her. Her mother scoops her up and helps her to the couch. 

"What happened Jackie, what did you say? What'd he do?" Mother's questions fill her head as she tries to figure it out for herself.

"He just wanted to talk, so I talked. And he said I wasn't happy here? Then he thought I was lying." she says, informing her mother, exactly, how it happened. Mother nods her head like she usually does. Mother wraps her up in a hug following the pattern.

"I understand you, its ok." Mother assures her. She manages to stop hyperventilating.

"Thank you, momma." she says, quietly.

"But you want to know why he yells at you like this? You want to know why he knows you're lying?" Mother says. She isn't surprised.

"Momma, why won't you do anything to stop him from hurting me?" she asks, the question ripping her heart apart.

"Oh baby! He doesn't mean to hurt you, he loves you. Just forgive him, and it'll be ok. I promise." Mother says. She didn't believe her because it wasn't ok, today.

"But momma, daddy did hurt me. You just weren't there." she snaps back with an unseen emotion that had been boiling inside her. Mother's eyes turn hard at the sudden bitterness from Jackie.

"Look, he yelled at you today because it was your fault. It was all your fault, and you did deserve it. And you were lying to him now you have to stop lying to us." Mother says, wickedly.

"Momma, I'm not lying." she says.

"Oh! So, you are happy here because you don't look very happy right now?" Mother points.

"I was happy until today." she mutters. Mother gets up and moves away. She folds her, hurting, wrists in her lap. She closes her eyes and decides to pray, hoping God can hear her.