Chapter Three

Screams of pain awoke Camie the next day, followed by pleas for mercy. A harsh laugh echoed shortly after. For a moment Camie thought it was her step-father, and rushed downstairs to her mother's aid. She stopped at the foot of the stairs. Her father leaned over her mother, who had tears still running down her face. Camie swore her heart stopped as she looked over the two. When had this started? She leaned against a wall, brow furrowed as the tall man walked towards his daughter, smiling and hugging her.

"Did you sleep well honey?" he asked, a completely different person. Camie nodded idly, her mind elsewhere. Behind her, her mother collected herself quickly, "Breakfast?"

"About time," Camie's father muttered. Camie ignored it and sat at the table.

"How's school been going?"

"It's been okay," she said, taking a drink from a glass of orange juice. Her father nodded and smiled widely, "I'm glad to hear that. Still getting all A's?" Camie nodded. He shot a small smile at Camie's mother when she placed a full plate of bacon, sausages, pancakes, and hash browns in front of him. She placed the same in front of Camie only quickly, forcefully. A bit of food fell of, which the woman put back soon after. Her father hadn't noticed, too busy cutting his pancakes and putting butter on top. Camie was munching on a piece of bacon when her step-father's face came into her head.

"Mom, where's Stephan?" she asked curiously. Her father stopped eating and turned to face his wife.

"Stephan?"

Her mother looked away and concentrated on the dishes. He sent a glare her way before turning to his daughter, "Who's Stephan, Camie?"

"My step-father . . . wait, didn't you two get divorced?" She stared at the two. CRASH!

Several of the plates had fallen from her mother's hands and shattered on the ground. Camie's father jumped up and shouted, "Good God, are you trying to give me a heart attack!?" She mumbled a soft apology as she swept the broken pieces into a dust pan and finally into the trash. "So who's this Stephan?"

"He was . . ." Camie started but stopped as she thought it over. She mumbled, "Never mind," and shut her mouth. Her father looked from her to her mother, but he said nothing. Instead he chose to focus on his food again. The memory of her step-father's death made tears sting her eyes. Her father watched her, concerned and confused.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded and excused herself, running up the stairs two at a time and collapsing in her room. Behind her the door shut by itself.

From the main level she could hear her father yelling multiple swear words and negative phrases at her mother, which made her begin to cry.

"I wish . . ." she blubbered through her tears, "I wish I'd never been born. Please, make it painless," She pleaded to whoever was listening. A swift numbing sensation spread from her fingers, up her shoulders and stopped. It passed her heart, stopping it, and stopped her lungs from inflating. She choked, trying to grab for her throat but unable to move her upper body. Black spots began to cover her vision, and she was dead in a matter of minutes. Her body began to fade away slowly as time ad life reordered itself.