On a horrendous, disastrous Sunday evening my mum and I were watching our favourite movie whilst eating popcorn. We were in our cosy, snug living room watching the plasma screen. Suddenly a blue and white light flicking on at off rapidly out in the street , we exchanged looks and didn’t think too much of it. There was always something going on in our not too savoury neighbourhood. Then we heard the policemen walk up our gravelled path up to our door. They knocked ‘bang...bang...bang’, I could feel the acid raising in to my mouth something was definitely very wrong. Mum and I exchanged puzzled looks. My heart beat quickened. What could they want? What have they come for? Mum let them in after they showed there ID, I came to join them, the large dominating policeman explained in a monotone voice “I am sorry to have to inform you” then I knew in my heart what he was going to say next “Mr Matthews as been involved in a road accident, and has been taken to your local hospital, he is in a very serious condition” mum jumped up and ran straight for her coat, she briskly walk to her car heading for the hospital. She left me at home, stuck with my grandma. All night I paced up and down ,waiting for news , my heart sank minute by minute, grandma had no idea of what was happening, she has been in the 1930’s for a few years now, in a happy place after her stroke. I watched TV and made tea every 10 minutes. I was so worried about dad, I felt so helpless, and I couldn’t do anything to help him. I prayed and prayed that he would be alright. I eventually fell asleep on our soft living room sofa. I woke up to mum sitting next to me, with red swollen eyes and her hair in disarray. I knew what she was going to say, I just sat up and hugged her................ we cried for what liked felt forever. We couldn’t say anything to each other, there was nothing to say. He was gone and there was nothing we could do about it.
Chapter 2
Mum was never the same again. She had lost the will to live, she started drinking a lot. She would come in from a night in the local pub, screaming and shouting sometimes on her own sometimes she had a tag along. As I walked past her bedroom I could often hear her crying, she tried to talk to her husband in heaven. She would lie on her side of the bed, looking where her husband would have been. Sometimes it would get really bad; she would make herself ill, and physically sick, crying over him. I would often have to go in her room to calm her down. Her head would be on my lap, her blood shot eyes staring up at me, I would stroke he hair and talk to her to try and ease her pain.
It took Mum the best part of a year to get her life back on track and to move on. Mum started to go out with this man that she knew from work; I thought it was probably a good thing to have a stable relationship for her. We knew no one could replace dad, but she needed someone in her life that would love her and care for her like dad did. After a couple of month he moved in, I didn’t like the idea, but as long as it made her happy. He showed his true colours soon enough, I soon found out he was a parasite, a lazy, arrogant and egotistical parasite. He scared me after he came home from the pub in a temper, shouting and demanding food no matter what time it was. Mum waited on him hand and foot. He didn’t help around the house; he never did anything Mum asked him. He always says “I will do it later” or “give me a break, woman” he treated her like scum but then when she was at her wits end he slimed up to her saying how much he loved her and needed her, scum bag. I got so annoyed, I wanted to slap him senseless “get on with it”. I hated him with every essence of my being, he was a user! He would always sit on the sofa eating like a glutinous pig. Once he finished he would expect me to take away his remnants. He would wallow all night doing nothing but watching the TV. Then I had enough and said exactly what I thought of him, “you are the laziest, sexist, idiot I have ever come across. You don’t do anything around here you fat pig,” he jumped up shouting at me “I bring money into this house, pay for the food in your stomach and the clothes on your back” I took it one step further and screamed at him. “No you don’t, you don’t do any of that Mum does. Mum earns the money......” then there was this huge uproar, he ran at me. I ran out the back door and out through the gate and down the back lane, he chased me and grabbed me around the neck and hoisted me up. I lashed out kicking and slapping. He threw me down, but a bolted up as quick as a flash. I ran. He was still following me. I looked for an escape route. Then I saw a fence that I knew I could vault. I could hear his deep breathing a couple of metres behind me. His strides were a lot bigger than mine, his feet stamping down on the pavement, his hands sweeping by my ribs. I just have to remember what we did in gymnastics, I took a run up three strides one ..........I have to make this, two..........I can’t get caught by him, three............... come on I can do it. I jumped gripped my hands on the fence and hoisted my legs clear of the fence, I vaulted the two meter fence. He did the same and caught me on the other side; he pushed me to the ground and grabbed me around the neckt. The anger roused in me as he grinned at me in his dirty, wicked, sly way. I kicked out; he fell back and howled out in pain. Like a dog howling at a full moon. The whole of the neighbour would have heard him. But a couple days later he decided to take action. He was furious after I hurt him, he never forgave me. He hated my guts. When mum was out at work and wouldn’t be back for another hour and a half. I heard him drive in to the garage. He slammed his door behind him. He shouted my name “BETHANY.....BETHANY” he ran in the house slamming doors looking for me. I knew something was wrong. I sneaked out the back door and waited. I heard him in my bedroom shouting “Bethany don’t you hide from me, once I find you....” he trailed off. He trashed my room, through in my books and papers everywhere. I waited till my mum came back. Why......why did he do it, I haven’t done anything to him.
When mum came home he denied everything “you think I would do that, I came home to this mess, that child is out of control. We need to do something” mum didn’t believe a word I said. She gave me the lecture of “If you miss dad it is alright, you can talk to me went ever you want.” I gave up she wouldn’t listen to be, she believes him more than me.
This happened nearly every day, I come home from school to a bad tempered idiot, and I would hide outside or go around my friend’s house for an hour till my mum came home. But after a while I got tired of always getting picked on always getting yelled at when I come through the door and getting blamed for stuff I didn’t do. One day I stayed in the house when he came through the door. He got me by the hair and dragged me up to the closest wall and pinned me there shouting at me “I hate you, you make my life a misery” his face was an inch away from mine. I looked in to his eyes, he was pure evil. He was like another form of the devil. He got my by the collar hosted me up, going on about I has getting in his way. I wasn’t really listening. He shuck my by the shoulders, banging my head against the wall. I collapsed to the floor, everything went black, and I woke it to find him on top of me defiling me in the worst possible way. I snapped, I had enough of been pushed around, I would face the devil. He brought his hand back ready to strike, at the same time I brought my foot back and kicked him really hard in the crotch; he doubled over and spat out in shock. He let go of me, he was on the floor doubled over. I looked around me; there was a statue that my dad got mum on their anniversary. Sorry dad, I thought, I turned to the devil still doubled over on the floor. “You ruined everything” I swung the statue over the men’s head. He flopped down head first on to the floor, unconscious. He was still breathing. I ran up stairs, got the backpack from under my bed. I threw all I could find in it, clothes, a few pictures of dad and mum, all the money I had, my mobile. I went down stairs with my pack; he was still unconscious in the middle of our living room floor. I ran out the front door, and caught the next train to London. I didn’t know what I was doing I just know that I can’t stay here anymore.
I thought there must be a better life but no...... that is how I ended down here in the cold dirty doorway.
Chapter 3
I go out around rush hour, when everyone is going to work. I wandered around the middle of the square asking people for money. “Please, some change, spare change” nearly all the time it is the same answer “no” or worse “f*** off” but an odd person would be nice and give me something. I am saving up for a violin. I used to play the violin quite well when dad was alive. I could make some money busking instead of begging. I don’t like begging, it is degrading, but then again how much could I be degraded, I am dirty. I would do the same in the afternoon, during the day then I would go around the backs of restaurants asking for any spare food, or scraps. Over the duration of my time on the streets I have learnt which are the restaurants where it is worth asking and ones that you have no chance. After, I would go outside shops and restaurants and ask people for money. But we have just got to watch out because some shop keepers move us on, or worst comes they would get security or the police on to us. This has been my daily routine for the last so many weeks, is this the rest of my life, I cannot go back, the shame. When it was the end of the day and the traffic was thinning the young where starting to come out to party and go to night club. I was in my door of the alleyway. I watched them all having a good time, the laughing and hilarity with friends. I am alone!
Chapter 4
Liz locked the door behind her, as she finished a hard day’s work. She had, had a bad day organising the shop, the accounts, helping out customers. “Does this look alright on me?”, “What do you think?” The clothes she sells are all the range at the moment, so her shop is really busy all day long even when it isn’t the children’s holidays. Liz really need the hire someone to help out. She ran down the steps.....
*
I watched the lady closing up a shop, dressed in her stylish black skirt and her expensive white blouse. She jogged down the stairs. What was she doing? She was looking at her phone as she walking into the road. There was a man in the van, paying no attention to the road. I was already running for the lady.
*
Liz walked out into the road, looking at the text she had got from my husband. “COULD YOU PICK SOMETHING UP FOR LUNCH”, he could never be bothered in make tea. Then she heard it.....she heard a bellow of a van horn. She looked around and there it was, she couldn’t move, frozen to the spot. Then she heard a voice, a girl was running at here “move, move out of the way” he was coming at speed towards her.
*
I ran towards her as fast as I could, the van didn’t slow down, he was not looking. Will I make it, the van was still moving at a speed. I bent over ready to tackle the lady out the path of the van. I ran in to the road shouting at her, I felt the impact of her thighs on my shoulder. She screamed, did I get to her in time.
Chapter 5
I looked around me, there were clubber were all around, in shock of what they just witnessed. Just ahead of me was the lady that was in the middle of the road. She had a cut to her head but otherwise unhurt. Down the road the van stopped and the driver came running over to me. Everyone was talking to me at once, everything was a blur. Someone helped me up; he was saying something to me, I couldn’t make it out. The lady came over and sat down beside me, she hugged me and whispered to me in my ear “thank you, thank you for saving my life, how could I ever repay you”. I was still in shock I tried to stand up but just flopped back down. The lady and the man from the van gave me a hand up. “Bring her to my house it is just over the road.”
The house was enormous; I looked at it in shock. I have really had enough shocks for the day. The lady just smiled at me. We went up the white marble steps up to the dark brown oak front door. They opened the door into a laminate floored hall way, with light brown walls. They took me in the living room. It was huge white walls, cream fluffy carpet, and white and cream fabric sofa. I sat down; it was so warm, I am so grateful for the warmth. I was freezing in my old, dirty doorway for a such a long time, it seemed like forever. Now I am warm and safe in a gorgeous, modern well kept house.
The lady came in with some hot tea and some biscuits. She had, had her head seen to now she had a big plaster on her forehead. Her husband came in after her, with a huge smile on his face. He came up to me and said “thank you, for saving my wife, if you weren’t there I don’t know what would have happened.” The van driver provided his apologies to the lady; she smiled, embraced him and showed him out of her house. She came back to the living room where I was gulping down my tea, she sat down next to her husband. She introduced herself. “I am Elizabeth and this is Mike, what is your name? Can we call you family or relatives?” I shook my head and whispered “my name is Bethany; I left home, I am not going back.” Elizabeth and Mike exchanged looks. They were in the mid thirties. Elizabeth is quite beautiful with brown hair and blue eyes. Mike looked a bit more official, he had an expensive suit on. I tried to stand up “I better be off, I don’t want to be a burden on you anymore” I stud up and walk to the door. “Where are you going?” Mike said as he walked up to me. “Where ever I can” I replied, they are such a nice couple, and they’re doing well in life. Then they blurted out “stay with us at least for tonight till you feel better, we don’t have anyone else living with us. We have lots of space here; we can’t let you go back out there. Please we insist you stay with us”. They smiled at each other, picked up my back pack and showed me to a spare bedroom.
Chapter 6
3 years later
Well now I am with my new family, I love them so much. They took me in from the streets; removed my shame and understood my problems. My other family didn’t look for me, they were dead to me. My new family enrolled my into school as soon as possible, gave me my own room and bought me clothes. They treat me like their daughter, a daughter they never had. I have just finished school in the centre of London called ‘All Saints’. I am walking away with 10 good GCSE’s and 2 A Levels. I worked so hard to repay Elizabeth and Mike for all the generosity and kindness, they are my new family; my new mum and dad; I love them so much. I am going to Cambridge University to study science and politics and have a part time job with my mum and here fashion shop.
My locket is still round my neck but now my real family are within my locket and close to my heart. I still love my birth father but Mike and Elizabeth are my saviours. They were not blessed with children, so they adopted me as their own.
