You'll Only Need One
so yea, i havent written a short story in ages, so here's one. enjoy, or dont, either way.\
You'll Only Need One
So many nights she would just sit her in her room and think of what she had done wrong. Why did she deserve such horrible treatment? She had no idea. But there she sat, alone in a dark corner, crying.
It all started when she was a child; when he came into her life. No not really hers, but her mother’s. Yes, that was it. At first she did nothing but blame her mother, but it was many years ago when she had stopped trying to place the blame on just one person. This wasn’t the fault of her mother.
It was not always like this. From the moment she began to have memories until her father’s unexpected death, she had had a “normal” life. She had a complete family, if that’s what you call it; great parents and a younger brother, who, even though they didn’t really get along, she loved unconditionally.
The “incident”, which they had begun to call it, hit her mother hard. She would stay in her room for weeks at a time, taking a break occasionally to run to the grocery store, or the post office, or what have you. But, for the most part, she would sit in her room, on her bed, lifeless. And, even though she was only eleven, Liz knew that this was unhealthy. She worried about her mother, not just for her sake, but for her brother’s, who was only eight, and didn’t quite grasp the situation at the time.
Their grandmother had come to live with them, to help out as only a grandmother can. Eventually, their mother “snapped” out of her loneliness and horrible feelings of pain, and re-joined the conscious world. She went back to her old job, her old office. They got back into their daily routine, but life was never quite “normal” again. Their mother, Joan, was never quite herself again, no matter how much she said she was. “Fine” is never a good sign, and Liz learned this quickly.
Then, Joan began to date again, and that is when Liz met David. She had a bad feeling about him from the start, but kept her mouth shut because she hadn’t seen her mother smile this much in a long time. When Liz heard the news of their engagement she congratulated them, still never mentioning her true feelings to her mother. Why would she want to hear about a stupid 15 year old’s worries? So, again, she kept her mouth shut, and they got married.
About a year into it, she noticed that her mother wasn’t quite as happy anymore. She asked her if everything was O.K between her and David but her mother just laughed it off and said she was simply being stressed at work. So Liz left it at that; until one day when she and her mother were shopping. Her mother was trying to lift something off a shelf when her sleeves rolled up to give Liz a brief view of the bruises. She confronted her mother right then and there, and her mother confessed the whole thing.
It had started about a month ago at one of their weekly dinners. David had been angry the whole evening, yelling at their waitress and saying his food was too dry. She had never seen him like this and asked him what was wrong? He simply shrugged it off and said he thought they should go home.
The house was empty, as it always was on Friday night. Everyone off doing their own thing, the way David said it should be. Adults should have their time alone, away from bratty little children, like Liz and her brother. Joan suggested they watch a movie, which angered David even more. He yelled that all they ever did was go to dinner, come home and watch a movie. He threw the movie in Joan’s face and laughed when she fell to the ground, her cheek bleeding. He yelled at her to get up, to stop her crying, and to take what he gave her like a man. When she remained on the floor, he grabbed her by the wrists and with all his strength threw her on the couch, and walked away. When she could hear the sounds of his snores in their bedroom, she got up and went to the bathroom. She fixed up the cut on her face and surveyed the rest of the damage on her body. She figured that she would just wear a long sleeved shirt for a few days until the bruises went away. She then proceeded to put the living room back to normal so no one would know what had happened, and joined David in bed.
She prayed to God that this would be the only night something like that would happen, but it was to no avail. Every Friday was the same. This continued for weeks, even after her talk with Liz. Liz could not watch her mother endure this pain anymore, so she took her own action.
She planned to spend the night at her friend’s house, who lived across the street. She would wait for her mother to come home and watch. The minute she saw any signs of foul play, she would call the cops. And she did; only the cops couldn’t do anything. They said that this was a domestic dispute, since there had been no hitting involved to that point.
Needless to say, David was livid. As soon as the cops were out of sight he grabbed Liz by the hair and dragged her into the kitchen where he proceeded to beat her with a spatula. Liz could hear her mother crying from a far distance, but that was the last thing she could remember. She woke up the next morning in the hospital, bandaged and bruised. She was dumbfounded when she saw David there, as she was sure he would have been arrested by now.
“Some fall you took off your bike there, huh Kiddo?” he said smiling at her.
“What?” was all she could sputter out.
“Yeah, you fell pretty hard when you hit that pothole last night. I am sure glad you’re O.K. You gave us all quite a scare you know.”
She looked at her mother standing next to that horrible man just smiling at her. That was when she realized this meant war.
A few months passed, and every Friday was the same. Liz began to take a self defense class that was offered at her school. She also started dating this guy, Josh, who was 18. She trusted him with all her secrets, including David. Josh freaked out when she told him. He said he had to go do something important and sped out of the driveway. The next day she met up with him and he said he had something for her. He handed her a small, brown box and told her to open it when she was alone. When she got home she went to her room and opened the box. She was shocked when she saw a derringer in the box with two bullets and a note, from Josh.
“Here’s two, but I’m sure you’ll only need one. Use this the next time that bastard touches you.”
She shuddered to think that she would ever have to use this horrible object and shoved it in a drawer; pushed it out of her mind.
That week she went away to camp, like she did every summer. She couldn’t help but feel horribly guilty for leaving her mother alone with that man. Within a week, the guilt had eaten away at her and she requested that she be given a ride home. Only, she didn’t call her mom; she didn’t want her to know she was watching her. She decided it would be best if she stayed with Josh and his parents, and to casually check in on her mom without her noticing.
Then, one day on her daily check up, she heard it. A gunshot; coming from her house. She ran inside without thinking and saw her mother lying on the floor bleeding, with David standing over her, like he was God, or something. When he saw her he screamed and shot at her. She ran upstairs to her room, just as a bullet grazed her leg. She fought through the pain and found her gun. She ran back downstairs to find her brother lying next to their mother crying. She knew that she was dead. David was too focused on her brother to notice that she had returned. Just as he was about to take a shot at him, she yelled. David turned around and focused his attention on her. He raised his gun, but was faster. She shot him right in the chest. He fell to the ground in pain. Liz yelled at her brother to call the police as she grabbed the gun from David’s hand. She watched him yelp in pain for a while. And then, it finally hit her; what she had done. And she just sat, alone, in a dark corner crying.
You'll Only Need One
So many nights she would just sit her in her room and think of what she had done wrong. Why did she deserve such horrible treatment? She had no idea. But there she sat, alone in a dark corner, crying.
It all started when she was a child; when he came into her life. No not really hers, but her mother’s. Yes, that was it. At first she did nothing but blame her mother, but it was many years ago when she had stopped trying to place the blame on just one person. This wasn’t the fault of her mother.
It was not always like this. From the moment she began to have memories until her father’s unexpected death, she had had a “normal” life. She had a complete family, if that’s what you call it; great parents and a younger brother, who, even though they didn’t really get along, she loved unconditionally.
The “incident”, which they had begun to call it, hit her mother hard. She would stay in her room for weeks at a time, taking a break occasionally to run to the grocery store, or the post office, or what have you. But, for the most part, she would sit in her room, on her bed, lifeless. And, even though she was only eleven, Liz knew that this was unhealthy. She worried about her mother, not just for her sake, but for her brother’s, who was only eight, and didn’t quite grasp the situation at the time.
Their grandmother had come to live with them, to help out as only a grandmother can. Eventually, their mother “snapped” out of her loneliness and horrible feelings of pain, and re-joined the conscious world. She went back to her old job, her old office. They got back into their daily routine, but life was never quite “normal” again. Their mother, Joan, was never quite herself again, no matter how much she said she was. “Fine” is never a good sign, and Liz learned this quickly.
Then, Joan began to date again, and that is when Liz met David. She had a bad feeling about him from the start, but kept her mouth shut because she hadn’t seen her mother smile this much in a long time. When Liz heard the news of their engagement she congratulated them, still never mentioning her true feelings to her mother. Why would she want to hear about a stupid 15 year old’s worries? So, again, she kept her mouth shut, and they got married.
About a year into it, she noticed that her mother wasn’t quite as happy anymore. She asked her if everything was O.K between her and David but her mother just laughed it off and said she was simply being stressed at work. So Liz left it at that; until one day when she and her mother were shopping. Her mother was trying to lift something off a shelf when her sleeves rolled up to give Liz a brief view of the bruises. She confronted her mother right then and there, and her mother confessed the whole thing.
It had started about a month ago at one of their weekly dinners. David had been angry the whole evening, yelling at their waitress and saying his food was too dry. She had never seen him like this and asked him what was wrong? He simply shrugged it off and said he thought they should go home.
The house was empty, as it always was on Friday night. Everyone off doing their own thing, the way David said it should be. Adults should have their time alone, away from bratty little children, like Liz and her brother. Joan suggested they watch a movie, which angered David even more. He yelled that all they ever did was go to dinner, come home and watch a movie. He threw the movie in Joan’s face and laughed when she fell to the ground, her cheek bleeding. He yelled at her to get up, to stop her crying, and to take what he gave her like a man. When she remained on the floor, he grabbed her by the wrists and with all his strength threw her on the couch, and walked away. When she could hear the sounds of his snores in their bedroom, she got up and went to the bathroom. She fixed up the cut on her face and surveyed the rest of the damage on her body. She figured that she would just wear a long sleeved shirt for a few days until the bruises went away. She then proceeded to put the living room back to normal so no one would know what had happened, and joined David in bed.
She prayed to God that this would be the only night something like that would happen, but it was to no avail. Every Friday was the same. This continued for weeks, even after her talk with Liz. Liz could not watch her mother endure this pain anymore, so she took her own action.
She planned to spend the night at her friend’s house, who lived across the street. She would wait for her mother to come home and watch. The minute she saw any signs of foul play, she would call the cops. And she did; only the cops couldn’t do anything. They said that this was a domestic dispute, since there had been no hitting involved to that point.
Needless to say, David was livid. As soon as the cops were out of sight he grabbed Liz by the hair and dragged her into the kitchen where he proceeded to beat her with a spatula. Liz could hear her mother crying from a far distance, but that was the last thing she could remember. She woke up the next morning in the hospital, bandaged and bruised. She was dumbfounded when she saw David there, as she was sure he would have been arrested by now.
“Some fall you took off your bike there, huh Kiddo?” he said smiling at her.
“What?” was all she could sputter out.
“Yeah, you fell pretty hard when you hit that pothole last night. I am sure glad you’re O.K. You gave us all quite a scare you know.”
She looked at her mother standing next to that horrible man just smiling at her. That was when she realized this meant war.
A few months passed, and every Friday was the same. Liz began to take a self defense class that was offered at her school. She also started dating this guy, Josh, who was 18. She trusted him with all her secrets, including David. Josh freaked out when she told him. He said he had to go do something important and sped out of the driveway. The next day she met up with him and he said he had something for her. He handed her a small, brown box and told her to open it when she was alone. When she got home she went to her room and opened the box. She was shocked when she saw a derringer in the box with two bullets and a note, from Josh.
“Here’s two, but I’m sure you’ll only need one. Use this the next time that bastard touches you.”
She shuddered to think that she would ever have to use this horrible object and shoved it in a drawer; pushed it out of her mind.
That week she went away to camp, like she did every summer. She couldn’t help but feel horribly guilty for leaving her mother alone with that man. Within a week, the guilt had eaten away at her and she requested that she be given a ride home. Only, she didn’t call her mom; she didn’t want her to know she was watching her. She decided it would be best if she stayed with Josh and his parents, and to casually check in on her mom without her noticing.
Then, one day on her daily check up, she heard it. A gunshot; coming from her house. She ran inside without thinking and saw her mother lying on the floor bleeding, with David standing over her, like he was God, or something. When he saw her he screamed and shot at her. She ran upstairs to her room, just as a bullet grazed her leg. She fought through the pain and found her gun. She ran back downstairs to find her brother lying next to their mother crying. She knew that she was dead. David was too focused on her brother to notice that she had returned. Just as he was about to take a shot at him, she yelled. David turned around and focused his attention on her. He raised his gun, but was faster. She shot him right in the chest. He fell to the ground in pain. Liz yelled at her brother to call the police as she grabbed the gun from David’s hand. She watched him yelp in pain for a while. And then, it finally hit her; what she had done. And she just sat, alone, in a dark corner crying.