Page 1 of Lost
Prologue
NOVA
I’m curled up in a corner, trying to stay as small as possible as my father rages at my mother. I’m hiding under the piano, trying to ignore the fact that I know he’s looking for me.
Maybe he shouldn’t have hit me across the face this morning if he wanted to have a conversation with me. You know, just a thought. I can feel my cheek, swollen and angry, as I think about it.
It’s probably bruising already, something he’s sure to blame me for too.
Not for the first time, I wish I had never been born.
“I thought I taught her better than to hide from me,” he growls at my mother.
No, you taught me to run in the opposite direction.
Shivering on the ground, I squish my body further into my hiding place. At thirteen, I’m having a crisis with my gangly body, constantly tripping over my own feet. At least my long, pretty dresses hide my body. I don’t like how my father looks atme, it reminds me of how he comes into my room at night, and how much it hurts.
Closing my eyes, I let the hot, angry tears fall. Not for the first time, I ask the universe why it hates me. Why couldn’t I have been born to parents who don’t hurt me?
“I’ll find her,” Mom whispers. I can only imagine from here how much she’s shaking. I’m having a hard time caring since she’s planning to use me as her shield.
Who does that? I’m her daughter! When do I get chosen as the one who is protected?
My hiding places differ each time, and with the size of this house, it’s easy to find new ones. This piano is even new. My father has decided that I need to learn so that he can show me off to his business partners.
I hate when he does things like this because the pressure to be perfect is soul crushing.
His business partners also tend to stare too long, and more recently, refuse to keep their hands to themselves.
Don’t think about it.
My teeth are chattering, a surefire way to get caught. Clenching my jaw, I remain quiet as I listen to my mother pleading with my father.
I hate them.It's a growing anger that exists because I know there’s no one to save me. I’m all alone, and need to find my own way out. I just have to bide my time.
“You’d better find her, Louise. I don’t have time for her ungrateful attitude. I told my boss that my daughter was learning to play piano, and he asked to hear her,” he grumbles.
If he said that I could fly, would I have to prove that I could?
My father is constantly doing things like this. He talks too much, and I’m certain his boss is doing this to embarrass him. Except, the pressure is going to fall entirely on me.
My mother takes a long, shaky breath, and I can just imagine her nodding. I’m going to be punished either way. Her way simply leaves less bruises.
“I promise, John,” she whispers. “Don’t hurt her. I’ll take care of it. If you break her fingers, she won’t be able to play.”
Looking down at the pinky that is still a little crooked from the time that he broke it when I was five, I swallow hard. My heart is pounding so fast, I’m sure that my body is vibrating from it and my parents will be sure to hear it.
“Get your daughter under control,” my father growls.
The unspoken words “or else” run loud in my mind, and I crawl out from under the piano as soon as my mother comes into the room.
An electrified baton is immediately shoved into my side, and I crumble to the ground as I twitch and soundlessly cry at her feet.
“Get your shit together,” she hisses. “Your teacher will be here in the next five minutes.”
I can’t say a word as my body bows so hard my bones creak from the pain. There won’t be a single bruise, but the pain will ensure that I won’t be outwardly rebellious for a while.
I’ve been playing this song and dance with them my entire life. I know the score, cadence, and rhythm of it. They all speak of endless pain.
