17 October 2012
Everything was silent but I knew where everyone was. My mum was in bed, she was sleeping, and my dad was asleep at his desk. He had been sleeping there a lot lately and it scared me but mum didn't seem to notice because he always got into bed before my mum woke up. She had been so busy lately that she didn't even seem to notice that he couldn't look her in the eye, or me for that matter. He had been acting strange lately. I was sitting in my room and this time something was different. My mum was asleep, she was snoring quietly, but I could hear my dad. He was moving around downstairs and then I heard the front door open, two people speaking in hushed voices and then the door closed again. Two sets of footsteps came up the stairs. If dad caught me sitting at my desk then he would kill me. But then my door creaked open and my dad stepped in with a man who looked like a younger version of him. They were both tall, both had dark brown hair, in the same style too. The only difference was that my dad had green eyes and this other guy had grey and my dad had more laugh lines.
"Hiya, Joanna" My dad whispered.
I nodded then went back to reading my book.
"Joanna, can you get your stuff ready?" He asked.
I turned to look at him, it was twelve at night. I was wearing a cow pyjama onesie and he wanted me to get my stuff ready. What stuff?
"Why?" I replied.
He grinned, it was one I had never seen before. It was sharp and menacing. "Fine, get up" He hissed at me.
"Dad, what's going on?" I asked.
He grabbed hold of my arm, pulled me to my feet and threw me at the other man. He grabbed hold of me, his hold lighter, to stop me from falling.
That's when I realised what was going on. When my dad was packing a bag of most of my clothes and the contents of my bedside table. He had sold me, my own father, and I was going somewhere I had never been before.
"I'm sorry" He growled as he threw the bag into my chest. I caught it. He was being off, aggressive with me, and I knew he had been drinking.
"Joanna, we need to go" The man whispered in my ear.
I was too busy watching dad. "Does mum know?" Was the only question I could ask. He avoided looking at me. I took that as a no but then he said something that I found I would never forget.
"Yes, she does. We both arranged this deal" He said.
I went with the other man, didn't put up a struggle, I just followed him to his car. He put my case into the boot while I got into the passenger seat.
"I'm sorry." He said as he started up the car and he seemed to genuinely mean it. He seemed to mean it more than my own dad did. "He knew this was the only think he could do. Soon you won't be able to control yourself but that isn't something you'll be able to handle there. With us you will be able to control yourself."
"Who's us?" I asked. "Control myself?"
He was making me sound like a monster but, in truth, my parents had just sold me to him.
Sold • Opuss № I