She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace
He walked behind her. He always walked behind her. To school, to lunch,
It was the least he could, since she wasn't safe at home. Everybody knew,
Please! Please don't hurt me!
He snorted at the thought. Mommy's and daddy's don't hurt their children.
He sighed as he followed her. She was wearing the same dress she'd worn
They'd be more visible when she got to school. She'd take off the pink
to home. As far as the little boy knew she never noticed him walking
there, ten steps behind. Ten steps. Far away enough to keep her from
knowing, close enough to keep her safe.
or at least suspected. How could they not when they could hear her
screaming and crying every night? Hear her begging for them to stop.
Begging her mommy and daddy to stop hitting her.
He might only be three years older than Katie, but he was ten. Double
digits, that was nearly grown!
yesterday. You could see the wrinkles where she'd fallen asleep in it.
And if you looked close enough you could almost see the bruises through
the pale yellow cloth.
sweater she wore and drape it across the back of her seat. Then the dark
black marks would be there for all the world to see.
The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born
Her pale hair was pulled up into neat pigtails, pink ribbons wrapped
And then the teacher walked in front of the window. She went to Katie's
Do something, ask her, please! The little boy thought to himself. She
And then the teacher shook her head.
Do something! He thought furiously. Something, anything�please.
But the teacher walked away. And as she did Katie lifted her drawing
But the little girl's figure had been scratched out with a black crayon.
around them. So sweet. So innocent. One of them slid across her
face as she leaned forward to concentrate on her coloring better.
desk and smiled at the picture. Then she frowned. Those bruises. Those
horrible bruises. She was staring at them.
was a grown-up. She could do something even if he couldn't.
and he stared. There was a house with a chimney. A tree stood next to
it. And in front of were a mommy and a daddy. And a little girl.
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
He knelt next to his bed and folded his hands.
"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if
His own mommy smiled and kissed his forehead after he crawled into his
The light flicked off and the door closed, and the little boy slid back
"Dear God, please watch over Katie and keep her safe. Please help Katie
"And please God, don't let her scream tonight. Amen."
He crawled back into bed.
I die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen."
bed. "Goodnight, sweetheart."
to his knees.
to get a new mommy and a new daddy who love her." He paused and opened
his eyes, staring up at his ceiling as if he were trying to see Heaven
above him.
Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late
The cries shook him out of the sleep he'd so recently found. It was
He was at his window in a heartbeat, staring at the shadows on her
Please, God, oh please, let someone help her this time.
But as he looked towards the street he watched porch lights flicker and
But it was too late.
The little boy turned back to Katie's window and watched as a shadow
It did not get back up.
Tears slid down his cheeks as he watched, waiting and praying for
Instead he sat there, his head bowed in grief, and wondered why.
His head was still bowed as the stretcher was rolled out. There was
Katie. She was screaming.
bedroom window. He could see someone hitting her, and Katie nearly
falling with each blow. There was yelling, not Katie's, but he couldn't
understand it. It was too far away to make out the words.
go out as the people inside ignored Katie. All but one. One stayed on.
fell. A large shadow onto her small and fragile one. And then her
shadow fell.
Katie to get back up. He didn't even notice when the sirens and
flashing lights made everyone on the street peer out their windows
and stand just outside their open doors. There were plenty of lights
now. But he never knew.
nothing to see anyway. Only a black bag with a small length inside it.
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
"Honey, say your prayers."
He smiled angelically at her. "I will, Mommy. I will."
She smiled back and closed the door behind her. The smile faded
He'd made a decision the night before, the night Katie had died. He
He wouldn't pray. Besides, he'd get better results on his own.
He'd already made his decision.
from the little boys face and he crawled into his bed, prayers unsaid.
would never say his prayers again. Not to a god who didn't listen.
A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot
They let her parents come to the funeral. He heard his daddy say
His mommy had said if someone had done something sooner Katie would
The little boy thought his mommy was right. So why hadn't she done
He supposed it was a nice funeral. He didn't really care. All he
But it was only rock. It would never be Katie.
Her name was written at the bottom of the statue, just under the
Tears stung his eyes. Six years. She should have had more. She
But, he decided silently, at least they wouldn't have any more.
They wouldn't have any more at all.
the judge was stupid, too softhearted and optimistic. Then he'd
said it was okay, because when the trial came it wouldn't matter
if they'd posted bail (whatever that was), everyone knew what they'd
done and they'd testify.
still be alive.
anything?
saw was the small white coffin, and the angel statue behind it. The
face almost looked like Katie.
feet. And so were the two dates: her birth date and the day she died.
should have had so many more.
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
It was raining as he climbed through Katie's window. He was wet
He'd never been in Katie's house but he figured her parents were
The door opened quietly and he was right. Two bulks lay under the
He was standing next to the bed staring at thee man. Katie's
She screamed, sitting up, staring at him.
"You killed Katie," he said softly.
She stared at him, her eyes wide.
He fired again.
When the police arrived he was still standing there, his hair and clothes
down to his socks. It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered
was what he had clutched in his hand and what he was about to do.
in the room with the closed door. He crept down the hallway leaving
small wet footprints as he went.
covers in the bed. He wasted no time.
daddy. He fired and dark blood sprayed across the other form.
candy coated in blood.
:: concrete angel ::
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