The coffee mug between her hands was hot, the liquid within warming the painted ceramic. Evie's fingers were curled around the mug. It was another typical Saturday morning, her father was still asleep in his room and Janie was seated at the kitchen table opposite her sister.
"You look tired." Commented Janie conversationally as she sipped her own coffee.
"Yeah- I had that nightmare again last night."
"The thunderstorm one?" Janie's question was answered only by a confirming nod.
"Well... I'd better get a start on these dishes- dad won't be happy if they aren't clean when he wakes up." Evie changed the subject,
"I'll help!" Janie offered,
"Oh no I've got it- really." she responded,
"No I insist. It's quicker with both of us." Janie made it clear there was to be no question- she was going to help Evie whether she liked it or not. Evie ran the sink and began scrubbing, stacking the clean plates and glasses upon the drying rack on the side of the sink, where Janie picked them up one by one and rubbed them dry with a tea towel. Fifteen minutes and they had finished.
"What now?" Janie questioned,
"I don't know... whatever I guess... are there any more chores?" Evie replied,
"Well if I go put a load of washing in then I think the rest of the house is fine." Stated Janie.
"Okay, we'll do that." So the girls made their way to the laundry to put a load of clothing into the washing machine. Once this task was finished, they prepared themselves and made for the streets. They roamed about a little and went to a few parks. They were walking along the footpath together with their hands in their pockets, Janie was kicking an empty aluminium can as she went. Suddenly, the sound of skateboard wheels on concrete were heard and they each stepped aside off the path for the skater to ride by, but he came to a stop. Evie's eyes had been downcast when she heard the scrape as whoever it was stopped, and she glanced up as her senses were invaded with the smell of cigarettes. There stood Michael, clad in his denim jacket and a pair of light blue skinny jeans. He wore his black canvas shoes and there was a joint nailed to his lip. His long bleach blonde hair was mussed and teased as ever as he gazed down at her.
"Hey princess." It was only yesterday they had seen each other, but Evie could never fail to be surprised by his velvety, deep voice. It brought a smile to her lips to see such a familiar face.
"Hey Michael!" She smiled widely. He scooped up his skateboard from the ground and began to walk, as did the girls,
"Morning Janie." He smiled in a friendly way at her.
"Hey." She smiled back,
"Connor asked after you. He wondered how you're feeling." Michael smirked knowingly.
"Well next you see him you can tell him that he won't find an answer to that question until he asks me himself." Janie smiled still, completely serious but seeming to find it all quite amusing.
"Connor seems to be feeling a little nervous." Michael said,
"What is there to be afraid of? Besides, those who get cold feet and turn back before the journey has even started never win the bounty of any adventure, do they?" Janie asked rhetorically.
"Weird way to put it but I guess you have a point there." Michael nodded, then drew in a breath of his cigarette, exhaled the smoke and flicked the tiny stub that was what was left of the cigarette away.
"You comin' to the party tonight, Evie?" Michael turned to his girlfriend.
"Um- yeah- I'm gonna try to, but I may be a little late. Gotta be sure dad's asleep before I climb out the window." Evie replied, and Michael bobbed his head, agreeing.
"Take as much time as you need to. Don't get fuckin' caught." He advised. They had come to their door, and Michael leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before mounting his skateboard once again and pushing himself into motion.
It was soon dark and Evie had to prepare dinner, eat it, shower and then go to bed. That day she had done everything she was told to exceptionally quickly. Her father was soon passed out on the couch, the sound of his rumbling snores reverberating through the walls to where Evie lay in her bed. She made for her bedroom window. It was already open and she was dressed ready to go. She wore a pair of light blue skinny jeans, a t shirt and neatly tied shoes. Slowly she edged towards the drop off. She swung her leg over, feet dangling together over nothingness for a second before she pushed off and landed softly on her feet on the grass below her window.
Evie stayed close to the wall of the house. Pausing a moment to listen for any disturbances within the house. She could hear the toilet flush and then her father's bedroom light, which had been turned on since she checked five minutes ago, flicked off. Her breath came out in short puffs. There was movement in his window and Evie held her breath until he slammed it shut. She was in the shadow of the house, so he shouldn't have seen her. She crept along as silently as she could, keeping very close to the house. She placed her feet carefully as she went and she was almost at the edge of the yard when a sharp 'crack' broke the silence of the night and the next door neighbor's dog began to bark loudly. Evie had stepped on a dry stick.
"Fuck." She whispered. Her father's light came back on and he threw open the window. She was still in the shadows, so she kept deadly still. For about a minute she stood very still, petrified, until the window shut once again. This time the light did not go off. Evie's heart was in her throat, beating fast. What next? There was the sound of the key scraping in the lock of the front door and Evie's blood curdled. Her father was coming out to check the yard for trespassers! She made for the fenceline and balled up in the corner on the ground. The fence was made of thick wire and where she curled up her back was flush against it. The neighbour's dog sniffed at her form as she sat very still, and she pushed away his muzzle.
"Go away!" She whispered quietly. The dog let out a whine. Her father was roving at the other side of the yard. The dog licked her and she instinctively shoved it away, quite hard. It barked. 'Fuck'. Evie thought as her father turned towards her. She held her breath. He came ever closer, and as he approached his voice called out her name,
"Evie Starr!" And she knew she was a goner. "Where do you think you're going?" He sounded quite angry.
"Umm- nowhere?!"
"That's right. You're not, are you?" Bruce Starr roughly grabbed her by the front of her shirt and began to drag her towards the house. Evie didn't resist much because she didn't want to make him angry, but he was going at a rather fast pace and she was having a little trouble keeping up because of the way he'd twisted her shirt in his fist.
He led her into the house and slammed the front door behind them. "You're not going fucking anywhere." His tone was icy and sent a terrible shiver down her spine. Her father dragged her to a door off the dining room, which led down to the cellar via a flight of concrete stairs. She felt herself begin to fall as he released her and only just managed to catch herself on the rail.
"Go!" He growled and gave her a rough shove, almost sending her flying. She latched onto the rail and began to decend into the very dark and dusty cellar. Once she reached the concrete floor, her father told her to stop and face him. There was a lump in her throat and she was afraid of what he would do next.
"Take off your shoes." He said. She wasn't willing to argue with him. She was too afraid. She immediately stooped down and untied her laces.
"Socks too." He spoke his next command. The concrete floor was like ice on her now bare feet. "Your shirt and pants too, please. Leave your undies and bra on." Evie obeyed. It was quite cold down in the cellar and she was only becoming aware of it now.
"Hand me your clothing." Bruce Starr held out his hand. Evie did it without question, and then her father turned and walked back up the stairs. When he got to the top, he slammed the door shut and she soon heard a key in the lock. The 'click' told her that she was now trapped down here. She had no food or drink for the moment and she began to feel extremely cold. For a minute she stood still in the pitch darkness, then she got down on all fours and crawled towards the place she knew the stairs were. She stopped and sat up as she got to the bottom step. She was unsure how long he was going to leave her down here, but she did know that tonight was going to be a long night.