Chapter
15
When Katelyn
awoke, she found herself lying on her bedroom floor, staring up at the ceiling.
She slowly sat up, and let out a moan of agony as her head began to throb. She
hauled herself to her feet and gasped when she saw a large spot of dried blood
on her blue carpet. Her hand immediately went to the back of her head and was
met with a clump of dried blood in her hair.
Katelyn slowly
walked over to the mirror on her dresser and gasped at what she saw. Her cheek
was already beginning to bruise from Janet's hard slap. She turned her head
slightly and realized there was already a large bump on the back of her head.
She knew Janet had thrown something at her, but was not sure what it was. She
realized her stomach hurt too and lifted her shirt to look at it. She gasped
when she saw her stomach. It was badly bruised. She wasn't sure how that had
even happened.
Katelyn
hobbled over to her bedroom door and locked it, then made her way to her bed
and sank down beneath the covers. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the
pillow, even though it was only six at night.
***
When Katelyn
awoke, she saw sunlight streaming through her window. She sat up and let out an
agonizing moan as pain shot through her stomach. She rubbed the back of her
head gently. It was very tender, and she could feel a big bump on the back.
Then she glanced at her clock. It read 10:04 a.m.
Wow, I
slept fourteen hours, Katelyn thought. She wondered if she had a concussion from whatever
Janet had thrown hitting her head so hard.
Katelyn ran
her hand through her tangled hair and felt the dried blood caked in it. She
climbed slowly out of bed and staggered down the hall to the bathroom. She took
a long, hot shower and washed her hair thoroughly, making sure she got all the
bloody clumps out of it. She winced as she tried to wash her face, for her
cheek was also bruised, as well as her stomach.
When Katelyn
got out of the shower, she put on a pair of flannel boxers and an old T-shirt.
She didn't care what she looked like, as long as she was comfortable. She
combed out her wet hair, being careful not to run the comb over the lump on the
back of her head. Then she wandered out to the living room and lay on the
couch. It was a Monday, so she knew her mother would be gone at work all day.
That meant Katelyn was safe for now, but what would happen that evening, when
Janet got home.
Suddenly,
Katelyn began to cry. She curled up in a ball on the couch, hugging her knees
to her chest, and sobbed, her whole body shaking. She knew she couldn't live
like this much longer. She didn't do anything to deserve this kind of life. And
she knew if she didn't do something soon, Janet would just keep hurting her
more.
***
