Later that day, Roni was in her room listening to the radio. She had
the curtains shut, in an attempt to make her room as dark as
possible, to match her mood. Those same memories were still playing
through her mind like a broken record. Only she wasn't flipping out
this time. Instead, she just laid in her bed crying into her pillow.
Zoey opened the door. She has been standing outside knocking for the
longest time. She went over to the radio, and turned the volume way
down. She then proceeded to pull a chair away from one of the walls
and brought it to the right side of the bed, where she sat down.
Roni, acutely aware of Zoey's presence, said nothing. In fact, she
even stopped crying.
Zoey, finally couldn't take the silence, she just had to speak. "So
I told dad about your little episode earlier." Zoey waited for a
reply out of Roni, but Roni kept silent. "He's very concerned about
you. I am too, even if I never showed it before. He loves you Roni.
Mom loves you. And I guess I even love you. We are not going to go
away and leave you alone. That may be what you claim to want, but we
know better. I know a cry for help when I hear one, and earlier,
that was definitely a cry for help. So what is it? What's on your
mind Roni?"
Finally, Zoey got a response from Roni, "Go away."
"Well at least you're talking now." With that, Roni was silent
again. "I'm not going away. I can be very persistent. In fact, I'm
willing to bet I can quietly sit here as long, if not longer, than
you can quietly lay there."
It was minutes before Roni finally spoke up again, merely repeating
herself from earlier. "Go away."
"Nope, can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Cause you haven't told me what's wrong yet."
"If I tell you, you promise to go away as soon as I'm done?"
"Nope. Cause depending on what it is, we might just have to sit here
talking about it for a long time."
"Go away. Leave me alone."
"You'd think you'd realize that I'm not going anywhere yet."
"Fine, you want to know. I'll tell you. I've been thinking about my
life, my life before. I've been recalling all of the times in the
past when I was abused. I've been reliving every painful moment,
feeling the pain all over again, as the belt would touch my skin.
I'm remembering that last night that I lived with them. I never told
anyone. In fact, I've managed to always change the subject when it
comes up. He tried to kill me that night, Zoey. When I fought back,
that's when he kicked me out, and I ran. I ran away from there as
far as I could run. But lately, I've been wondering just how far I
really got away. There, I told you, now go away."
"I'm sorry, I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because I can't."
"That's the best you can do? I told you what was going through my
head earlier, what I'm thinking about now. What more do you want
from me? Just go away."
"We're family, whether you like it or not. We are sisters. Now from
where I'm from, sisters stick together, through think and thin, good
and bad. I'm not leaving you now, not when you're like this. I
can't."
"Why?"
"For one, I'd get in trouble with mom and dad. Plus, you look like
you could use a friend right about now."
A few minutes passed, neither girl saying a word. They just sat
there, like two lumps on a log.
"Zoey?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Of the past, and of the future."
"Then you should know that we, this family, we will be here for you
in the future. We will help you deal with the past, and we will help
you get rid of your fears. But you're gonna have to let us help you.
Deal?"
"Why would you want to help me? You don't even like me, you've said
so millions of times."
"Because I am your sister. Because I love you, we love you. Because
we weren't there to save you all those years ago. Because that's the
kind of family this is. Take your pick." Zoey told Roni, as they sat
in silence yet again.