NEVER AGAIN

He�s drunk again, it�s time to fight
She must have done something wrong tonight
The living room becomes a boxing ring
It�s time to run when you see him clenching his hands
She�s just a woman�never again

Damia sighed. Her so-called father was drunk, again. Luckily, Lily, her step-mom, had hidden Damia and her younger sister, Willow, under the kitchen sink before their father looked for someone to beat on. She cringed as she heard an empty beer bottle shatter and a cry of pain from Lily. she thought angrily. She held Willow close and whispered soothing words in her ear. Shortly after, both girls were asleep.

The next morning, Lily shaking her vigorously awakened Damia. She grimaced when she saw the nasty looking cut that was surrounded by a purple bruise, adorning Lily�s cheek. Climbing out from under the sink, she carefully brushed aside Lily�s hair. She looked around, saw Willow and smiled.

�Willow, can you go get me the first-aid kit please?� Damia asked sweetly. Willow smiled and nodded, than scampered off, looking for the �magic box�.

A few minutes later, her younger sister came back, proudly holding the first-aid kit. She thanked her, told her to quietly get ready for school, and then returned her attention back to her injured stepmother, silently cursing the passed-out drunk that occupied the couch.

It was 3pm and the two sisters had returned from school. Walking into their small bedroom, Damia sat on the edge of her bed, and patted the spot beside her. Willow awkwardly clambered up next to her sister.

�Will, I�ve been thinking�� Damia started.

�Yes, Mia?� the eleven-year-old asked innocently.

�Well�I think it�s time we told somebody about Chuck.� She continued.

�But, we can�t! Chuck will hurt us!�

See, they had determined long ago that Chuck didn�t deserve the title of father. They referred to their step-mom as Lily because �Mom� wasn�t easy for them. Their real mother, Rachael, had died from cancer when Damia was four, leaving her to take care of one-year-old Willow. Chuck married Lily when Damia was five, so Lily had been their step-mom for nine years.

Chuck�s problem started three years after the wedding. It started as an occasional drink during the weekend, which turned into countless nights at the local pubs with some �friends�. His problem soon turned into a serious addiction to alcohol, which led to drinking every night and abusing whoever got in his way.

Sometimes, the sisters came to school with black eyes, cuts and bruises. Friends, teachers and counselors started to ask questions, which were answered by very believable lies. Finally, the questions stopped, which was a relief for Damia and Willow because they were running out of explanations. Nowadays, Lily was at the receiving end of all of Chuck�s drunken anger.

�I don�t care anymore! I can�t stand to have Lily get hurt anymore!� Damia cried, �it�s not fair and it�s not right!�

�Forget it, Mia!� Life�s not fair! Get over it! I don�t want Chuck to hurt Lily either!� Willow shouted. 'Thank God, Drunk Chuck is out...'Possed to be at work, though he�s probably out drinking...'

�Then let�s do something about it!� Mia hissed.

�There�s nothing we can do.� Willow stated.

�That�s where you�re wrong, little sis.� Mia replied.

I hear her scream from down the hall
Amazing she can even talk at all
She cries to me��Go back to bed.�
I�m terrified that she�ll wind up dead in his hands
She�s just a woman�never again

Been there before but not like this
Seen it before but not like this
Never before have I ever seen it this bad
She�s just a woman�never again

It was 7pm. Chuck was chugging his fifth beer. Willow and Damia were locked in their bedroom, or so Lily thought. Chuck was in a drunken rage five minutes later. Who knows why, God, he was only watching Survivor! Maybe he didn�t like the homosexual, or maybe he thought it was unfair on how one guy won immunity when he believed that someone else should have gotten it. Whatever it was, he was furious.

He slowly got out of his ancient armchair and lumbered over to where Lily sat, quietly working away on the latest TV Guide crossword. He grabbed her by her long, beautiful black hair, heaving her out of the chair. Lily screamed and started to kick him, but he seemed to be immune to the pain.

Lifting his humongous arm, he threw her against the wall. Damia shook with anger as she took in the almost unreal scene. she thought, standing up, putting herself between Chuck, the drunk grizzly bear, and Lily, the wounded hunting dog.

�Get out of my way�� Chuck snarled.

�No,� Damia replied coldly.

�Mia, honey, go back to bed,� Lily pleaded.

�Yeah, listen to her, foolish girl,� Chuck added.

�No. Damn it, no! You can do what you want, but I won�t let you hurt Lily!� Damia spat out.

�You stupid child,� Chuck said, raising his hand. Next moment, Damia felt his beefy fist making contact with her face. She cried out, falling into a heap on the floor, a black mist clouding her vision.

Just tell the nurse you slipped and fell
It starts to sting as it starts to swell
She looks at you...she wants the truth
It�s right out there in the waiting room with those hands
Lookin� just as sweet as he can...never again

Seen it before but not like this
Been there before but not like this
Never before have I ever seen it this bad
She�s just a woman...never again

Damia woke up, finding herself in a pale yellow room. She slowly sat up, looking around. 'Great, I�m in the hospital,' she thought, sighing. Lily was asleep in a comfy-looking chair next to the bed; Chuck and Willow were nowhere to be seen. Lying back down, Damia closed her eyes, drifting back to sleep.

Two hours later, Damia was being shook awake. 'I really need an alarm clock,' she complained silently, as she cautiously opened her eyes. Willow�s bright green eyes slowly came into focus.

�Good, you�re awake.�

�Yeah, after rudely being shaken like that, who wouldn�t be?� Mia retorted, rubbing her eyes.

After Willow filled her in on everything, she finally asked the question that haunted her thoughts.

�Where the hell is Chuck?�

�Out in the waiting room...�

�Hi Mia,� a new voice said uncertainly. Mia�s head snapped around to face the door. There stood a man with flowers in hand. His hair was neatly combed, and his clothes were obviously clean. 'That can�t be Chuck...' Damia thought.

The man walked into the room, and set the flowers carefully in a pretty blue vase on Mia�s beside table. �Look Damia, I�m really sorry. I didn�t mean to hurt you or Lily. I promise, I�ll get help.�

�That�s what you said last time,� Mia snapped. Chuck recoiled like a child being scolded. �Get out,� she continued. 'No way am I going to forgive him! He broke my leg for God�s sake!' she thought angrily, clenching her fists under her sheets.

�Mia�� Chuck whispered. All she dignified him with was an icy glare. He sighed, and walked out of the hospital room, his shoulders slumped.

�Mia, you were really harsh,� Willow whirled on her sister.

�I don�t care. He�s going to go drown his sorrows in another beer. He�ll never change, Will. Never.�

Father�s a name you haven�t earned yet
You�re just a child with a temper
Haven�t you heard, �Don�t hit a lady�?
Kickin� you�re ass would be a pleasure

Three days later, Damia returned to her �normal� life. She was forced to hobble around on crutches until her right leg finished healing. When she came home, she was amazed to see Chuck reading a book, and still looking decent. She almost passed out when she found out Chuck had dumped all his beer down the sink, and hadn�t had a drop of alcohol since that night he beat Damia and Lily. 'Maybe he was telling me the truth�Oh and I treated his like shit...' she thought, wincing.

Things were really looking up for Damia and her family. For weeks, Chuck avoided beer and he even joined a support group. He brought home a decent paycheck and helped Damia and Willow with their homework.

One night, when he was tucking in her youngest, Damia called him to her bedside. She gave Chuck a big hug and told him how proud she was of him. He smiled, thanked her, bid her goodnight, and went to bed himself, tears of joy soaking his pillow.

�And they all lived happily ever after. The End.� Ha! If only�

He�s drunk again, it�s time to fight
Same ol� shit, just on a different night
She grabs the gun, she�s had enough
Tonight she�ll find out how fucking tough is this man
Pulls the trigger fast as she can...never again

A week after that fateful night, Chuck was fired. He came home at 6pm, just in time for dinner, drunk. Lily broke into tears; Willow got down on her knees and began to pray. Damia calmly walked into the living room and took out one of the bricks next to the TV. Hiding behind it was what she�d hidden long ago. She grabbed the pistol and shoved it in the waistband of her jeans, after checking that the safety was on.

Strolling back into the dining room, Damia sat down at the table. She began to eat her hot dog and ham sandwich. Minutes passed, and Chuck did nothing. He just stood there. Willow and Lily cautiously returned to the table and began eating their sandwiches.

Chuck slowly sank to the floor and stared longingly at Damia�s ice cream sundae. She stood and walked to the fridge. While Damia rummaged through the fridge for the ice cream and such, Lily, unsuspectingly, asked an innocent question.

�How was work Chuck?� Like a bomb going off, Chuck�s roar shattered the silence. He charged at Lily, his fist raised.

�Stop! Don�t move, unless you like being dead,� Damia threaten, the gun in her hands. Chuck froze and slowly turned to face Damia, her sights fixed on him.

�Come on sweetie. Put down the gun.� He slurred. She just stood there, staring at him.

�You don�t want to...� he coaxed.

�Try me,� Damia deadpanned, her fingers flipping off the safety lock. They all stood in a frozen stalemate for several minutes.

Suddenly, Chuck lunged for Damia in a vain attempt to save his life. Damia stepped out of reach, and that�s when she pulled the trigger. �I�m sorry...Dad,� she whispered, as he fell dead at her feet.

The next few hours went by in a blur. The police came�they asked questions�then they left. People from the morgue came by and picked up Chuck�s body.

Two days later, in a small graveyard, Damia, Willow, and Lily watched as Chuck�s casket was lowered into the ground, six feet under. The priest finished his speech, �Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.�

�It�s been a year since I killed Chuck. Lily remarried, to a very fine man if I might add. His name is Dant�e and he just gave me this diary. He said it was because he loved me, and I believe him. He�s such a cool step-dad. I call him �Dad� and Lily is now �Mom�. To everyone, they�re my real parents. I�ll never forget Chuck or Rachael. Well, Diary, sorry this so short, but Willow and I are going to go visit Chuck�s grave.

Rest in Peace, Chuck.

Love, Damia�

Damia smiled as she closed her diary. Hiding it under her pillow, she grabbed her sweatshirt and ran out of her room to accompany Willow to visit Chuck.

Seen it before but not like this
Been there before but not like this
Never before have I ever seen it this bad
She�s just a woman...never again
Never again...

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