When You Were Young

She touched the cheek where Becky had slapped her. It's too late for a simple apology now. Becky was too angry with her. She needed to get help and come back. Then they might be able to work things out.

First she had to get out of this man's grip. Punching and kicking didn't work. There had to be another way. She saw the base of the man's neck between his hair and collar. She shifted her body enough in his grasp to bite down on that spot of flesh.

The man howled, his grip loosening enough for Samantha to squirt free. She fell to the ground, picking herself up and running towards the trees. As she reached the edge of the road, she was lifted into the air and spun around to face the man.

"You aren't getting away that easily," David said. He rubbed the back of his neck and then smiled. "Those baby teeth of yours don't do much."

"Wet me go!" she shouted, kicking at the air.

"As you wish." He threw her a good ten feet through the air. She landed face-first on the path, skidding a few more feet. When she came to a stop, she tried to stand, but couldn't. "Well, go ahead. Get up."

Blood seeped from scrapes running the length of her arms and legs, staining the white nightgown red. Again she began to sob the mournful wail of a baby seeking her mother. She didn't try to fight it this time. What was the use? She was a baby with a baby's tolerance for pain.

"You're pathetic," he said. "Look at you blubbering because of a skinned knee. Not so big now, are you?"

As she lay on the ground, he came over and wrenched one arm behind her back. She howled even louder at this fresh pain. He seized her by the hair, forcing her head down into the dirt. "How does that feel? I've been waiting seven years for this. Come on, now, say it. Say it and I'll let you go."

Dirt filled her mouth and nose, cutting off air to her lungs. Her vision started to dim. I'm going to die, she thought. Good. Better to die now than to go on this way. Better to be dead than to let Joseph see her like this, so fat she couldn't get out of a crib and so weak she bawled at the sight of blood. Better for him to remember her as a grown-up, as the woman who had loved him.

Then David raised her head enough for her to cough out the dirt in her mouth. "Go on and say it," he said.