First Bad Memory

by Summer Jaynes

I'm at my father's house with my two half-sisters. I'm four, they are a few years older. It's night time. My dad is drunk, I can tell by the way he's slurring his words and talking mean to my step-mother. My dad is 6'2'', 200 pounds, black hair and eyes. My step-mother is bleach-blond, 300 pounds, 5'7''. He's yelling at her, she's crying. The house smells like old bear and cigars, me and my sisters are hiding in my room. We hear them fighting. Now I hear thumps on the wall and she's screaming. I open the door and see my father's angry eyes full of hate. He's dragging her by the hair to his room. She has blood all over her shirt and is screaming, "No Bobby please!" I shut the door and start crying. My sisters are crying also. There's more thumps and screaming from behind the closed door. After a while it's dead quiet. I think it's been hours now, maybe they are asleep. We come out of the bedroom and start picking up the ash trays and other things that was knocked over in the living room. We put a movie on and make a palit*. I go use the bathroom and I see my step-mother crying at the sink. I walk around her and use the bathroom. She's washing her face, there's dried blood. "Come here, Summer." I come and she holds me and just cries. She then goes to her room and shuts the door. I run down the hall and get under the covers and watch the movie with my sisters. Later we all fall asleep. I wake up scared. I think I see someone in the window, it's the monster or the devil. I don't want to wake daddy and I know my sisters can't help. I run to the phone, I only know one phone number, my Grandma's. I call her, she's hoarse, you can tell I woke her. I cry into the phone and tell her the devil is outside, I see him poking in the window. I'm crying hysterically now, trying to be quiet so I don't wake no one. My Grandma tries to soothe me. She tells me to get a Bible and open it to any page. I do also get a pillow so I can lay by the phone. She talks to me and calms me down, telling me no one can hurt me. I must fall asleep like this because I wake up in the morning to the phone buzzing.