What Do You Want From Me?
Welcome to the Family
“Smile,” A hissed voice spoke into the crescent spring air.
In an instant, the red lips of one Jessica Flaherty stretched about five inches up her face, and she smiled cheerfully. A hand reached up and rested itself on her shoulder, and immediately it could be seen that a grimace etched it's way in, as well.
“Okay, this time, Jeffrey I want you to put your hand on the other side of the trophy, and Jess just keep your hand where it is.”
Jessica nodded blankly at the woman holding the camera, who was waving her hand at the two waiting awkwardly for this situation to just be over and done with. The woman, who held the title of ‘Mom’ in Jessica's eyes, was smiling excitedly at the new set of images she was going to be able to take and frame around the house and most likely send to other relatives and show off to her book club friends.
“Marlene, is this really necessary? I’m sure we’ve taken enough pictures with this piece of metal as it is. Do we really need a hundred more?” The man standing next to Jessica groaned out.
“Ahem, well, for one honey, trophies are made of plastic. And two, your daughter just won first place in her Science fair. How many pictures are really enough?”
“You’re only saying that because you already got your pictures with her. But if you must continue, then fine, keep snapping away.”
His grip on Jessica’s shoulder tightened in obvious displeasure, and the girl winced slightly, but masked it over with another smile. His hand attached itself to the other side of the new trophy, slightly grazing against his daughters, and the faint sound of a whimper left Jessica’s lips as she fought to control the urge not to turn to the man and spit in his face. The camera flashed abruptly for the umpteenth time, and by then she was ready to just pass out from the overdone light that kept shining in her worn out retinas.
“Okay, just one more, and then we’ll be done,” Marlene said, glancing at Jeffrey and Jessica and looking for a new uncomfortable position to place them in. The younger girl just wanted this to be over with so she could go inside and get away from her abrasive elders. “Jeffrey, you take the trophy this time and Jess you wrap your arms around his middle in a nice hug. That’ll look really good.”
Jessica’s eyes widened considerably, and an almost unreadable growl formed in her throat.
“What? Marlene, this is getting out of hand now. We have enough pictures. I’m going in the house, and I want my dinner to be ready within the hour so I suggest you get in there and start it before I get angry,” Jeffrey croaked, quickly removing his hand from his daughter’s shoulder and stomping back into the house, slamming the door behind him.
Jessica sighed in relief and brushed the hair out of her eyes. Her heart was pounding still, though, at the thoughts running through her tainted mind. It was all she could do to not scream at her mom for the situation she was about to put her in.
“I can’t believe you, Jess. You can never take things seriously and be civil about anything, can you? Even after all these years that things have changed, and you still can’t even look at your father or let alone touch him without having that disgusting look on your face. It’s a surprise to me that you’ve gotten this far in life,” Marlene said to Jessica as she walked over to her daughter. She took the trophy out of Jessica’s hands and followed Jeffery’s footsteps into the house.
Jessica groaned loudly, her fingernails digging into her palms in an effort to hold back the ear splitting scream she wanted to let escape her vocal chords.
“God, I fucking hate my family…” She whispered to herself, before letting herself turn and walk back into the hellhole she was forced to call home.
In an instant, the red lips of one Jessica Flaherty stretched about five inches up her face, and she smiled cheerfully. A hand reached up and rested itself on her shoulder, and immediately it could be seen that a grimace etched it's way in, as well.
“Okay, this time, Jeffrey I want you to put your hand on the other side of the trophy, and Jess just keep your hand where it is.”
Jessica nodded blankly at the woman holding the camera, who was waving her hand at the two waiting awkwardly for this situation to just be over and done with. The woman, who held the title of ‘Mom’ in Jessica's eyes, was smiling excitedly at the new set of images she was going to be able to take and frame around the house and most likely send to other relatives and show off to her book club friends.
“Marlene, is this really necessary? I’m sure we’ve taken enough pictures with this piece of metal as it is. Do we really need a hundred more?” The man standing next to Jessica groaned out.
“Ahem, well, for one honey, trophies are made of plastic. And two, your daughter just won first place in her Science fair. How many pictures are really enough?”
“You’re only saying that because you already got your pictures with her. But if you must continue, then fine, keep snapping away.”
His grip on Jessica’s shoulder tightened in obvious displeasure, and the girl winced slightly, but masked it over with another smile. His hand attached itself to the other side of the new trophy, slightly grazing against his daughters, and the faint sound of a whimper left Jessica’s lips as she fought to control the urge not to turn to the man and spit in his face. The camera flashed abruptly for the umpteenth time, and by then she was ready to just pass out from the overdone light that kept shining in her worn out retinas.
“Okay, just one more, and then we’ll be done,” Marlene said, glancing at Jeffrey and Jessica and looking for a new uncomfortable position to place them in. The younger girl just wanted this to be over with so she could go inside and get away from her abrasive elders. “Jeffrey, you take the trophy this time and Jess you wrap your arms around his middle in a nice hug. That’ll look really good.”
Jessica’s eyes widened considerably, and an almost unreadable growl formed in her throat.
“What? Marlene, this is getting out of hand now. We have enough pictures. I’m going in the house, and I want my dinner to be ready within the hour so I suggest you get in there and start it before I get angry,” Jeffrey croaked, quickly removing his hand from his daughter’s shoulder and stomping back into the house, slamming the door behind him.
Jessica sighed in relief and brushed the hair out of her eyes. Her heart was pounding still, though, at the thoughts running through her tainted mind. It was all she could do to not scream at her mom for the situation she was about to put her in.
“I can’t believe you, Jess. You can never take things seriously and be civil about anything, can you? Even after all these years that things have changed, and you still can’t even look at your father or let alone touch him without having that disgusting look on your face. It’s a surprise to me that you’ve gotten this far in life,” Marlene said to Jessica as she walked over to her daughter. She took the trophy out of Jessica’s hands and followed Jeffery’s footsteps into the house.
Jessica groaned loudly, her fingernails digging into her palms in an effort to hold back the ear splitting scream she wanted to let escape her vocal chords.
“God, I fucking hate my family…” She whispered to herself, before letting herself turn and walk back into the hellhole she was forced to call home.
This story is so good! I really hope you'll update this even though it's been a while since the last update ):
3/5/17