"Grace get over here!" David yelled from the kitchen.

Grace dropped her backpack in the closet and glanced at Cassidy. "Daddy?" She called, uncertain as to what she had done and terrified of what he would do.

"Come here!" He yelled.

She went back to the kitchen and stopped at the doorway, ready to try and run if necessary.

"Come here," he repeated.

"What...what did I do?"

"Just get over here, Grace."

"Why?"

"Because I told you to!"

"But I didn't do anything!" She cried.

"I told you to come here!"

Grace didn't move from the doorway. "Please don't hit me."

"You do what you're told!" And with that, he grabbed her and dragged her outside.

"No...please!" Grace tried to wrench herself away.

His hold on her was too firm, however, and he brought her into the shed.

"Daddy, I didn't do anything!" Grace tried to escape again.

"You do what you're told," he repeated, slapping her across the face.

Grace let out a small cry.

David removed his belt and proceeded to beat the child with it.

"Daddy! Stop! Please!"

But he didn't stop. "Go on inside," he ordered when he was finished, opening the door.

Grace moved as quickly as she could back to the house and up the stairs, barely reaching her bed before she collapsed.

Cassidy tucked her sister in, careful not to hurt her any more than she was already hurting.

"I didn't do anything, Cassidy." Grace whimpered.

"That doesn't ever matter," Cassidy said sadly.

"He wasn't even drunk. He knew he was hitting me."

"Mommy's never drunk either," Cassidy pointed out.

Grace turned her head slightly. "I hope he dies."

Cassidy stepped back from the bed, suddenly angry. "Don't *say* that!"

"Why not? He doesn't love me."

"Well nobody loves me, so I hope the whole world dies," Cassidy shot.

"That's not true." Grace replied.

"Yes it is."

"I love you, you hope I die?"

"One person in the whole world, Grace."

"One person more than nobody." Grace replied.

"Still not much."

"It's something. I hate him."

"I hate Mom, so we're even."

"Why'd you get so angry?"

"You don't say that about people, no matter *what* you think," Cassidy warned.

"Fine." Grace replied. "He deserves to, though. He's a bad man."

"And Mom's a bad woman."

"Daddy's worse."

"That's what *you* think." Cassidy got up and headed for the door.

"Cassidy!" Grace called, sighing. How her sister could feel anything other than loathing and fear for their father was beyond her.

How could Grace *like* their mother? Cassidy asked herself as she walked downstairs.

Grace eased herself out of bed when she heard Dylan crying. She went into the next room and picked up the baby. "Daddy's a bad man, Dylan..." Grace sighed.

Dylan looked at her with wide green eyes.

Grace kissed his forehead.

After a couple minutes, Grace put baby Dylan back into his crib and left the room. Emily was standing in the hallway. "Mo… mommy." Grace stammered.

"What happened to you?" Emily asked as Grace walked slowly back into her own room.

"Daddy beat me when we got home from school." Grace said as she crawled back onto the bed.

Emily fixed Grace's blanket and marched downstairs. "CASSIDY!"

"What?" Cassidy yelled.

"You've been home this entire time?" Emily demanded.

"I was upstairs doing homework..."

"So when you heard your sister crying, you assumed *what*, exactly?"

"I don't know..."

Emily grabbed Cassidy's short hair. "You wanted your sister to get beaten then?"

"No!"

Emily punched the girl in the face. "Little bitch. He could've killed her, and you would have let him! And then he would have gone after your brother too!"

"I didn't *know* what he was doing, I didn't hear Grace!"

"You heard him yell at her, didn't you?"

"I heard him call for her, but he doesn't hit me every time he calls me!"

"No but I do." Emily punched her again.

Cassidy tried as hard as she could to pull away.

Emily dug her nails into Cassidy's arm. "Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

"Let go of me!" Cassidy yelled.

"Don't bother yelling, like anyone'll help you." Emily slapped her.

"Let me go!" Cassidy yelled, trying to pull away again.

Emily grabbed her and pulled her towards the cellar door.

Cassidy kicked her mother as hard as she could manage. "You let me go!"

Emily kicked back, sending Cassidy into a wall. "I'm not quite finished yet."

"Get away from me!" Cassidy demanded, getting up stubbornly.

Emily smirked. "Going to cry, little one?"

"No!"

"Good." Emily slapped her a few more times.

Cassidy kicked back and tried to fight her mother off as best she could.

Emily grabbed the phone and hit Cassidy across the face with it.

Cassidy tried to kick her mother's knee.

Emily moved out of the way. "Go to your room. And if I *ever* find out you let him beat your sister again, I'll kill you."

Cassidy tried to strike her mother, to somehow cause pain as her mother had done to her.

Emily threw her to the floor hard. "Get upstairs!"

Cassidy winced as she heard something crack, but she was able to get to her feet.

"Are you deaf, girl? I told you to get upstairs!"

"You broke something!"

"Tough."

Cassidy went upstairs.

A few minutes later, Emily was at the bottom of the stairs. "CASSIDY!"

Cassidy peered around corner at the top of the stairs. "Now what?"

"Get in the car."

Cassidy did so.

Emily drove them to a small, private doctor's clinic. "You fell down the stairs." She told her daughter, practically pulling her out of the car.

Cassidy winced. Her mother'd taken hold of the bad arm.

"Behave." Emily muttered as she pushed the door open. She led Cassidy to a nearby waiting area and sat her down.

Cassidy tried to support the broken arm with her other one.

Emily walked over to the receptionist. "Excuse me."

"Yes ma'am?" The receptionist said.

"My daughter fell down the stairs, and I think she broke her arm. Is there anyway we can see the doctor?" Emily smiled sweetly; her experience for the IMF always came in handy.

"Of course... oh the poor dear," The receptionist said, glancing toward Cassidy. "She's a lovely girl... you go right on in."

"Thank you." Emily smiled again and took Cassidy's arm. "Come on."

Cassidy was mostly dragged by her mother.

They entered a small, white room a few feet down the hall and told to wait for the doctor.

Emily sat Cassidy up on the examining table. "Don't do anything stupid."

Cassidy looked her mother over.

The doctor entered the room a minute later. "Good afternoon ladies, what seems to be the problem?" He asked, approaching Cassidy.

"I fell," Cassidy said, not looking at the man.

"Let me see your arm." The doctor said, pressing on it gently. "Seems you've got a broken bone. I'm going to set you up in a cast." He told her.

She nodded.

He proceeded to set her arm in the cast. "Now, you'll have to wear this for about four weeks, and then come back and I'll see how you're doing, okay?"

She nodded again. "Thank you."

"I'll see you in four weeks." He said, leaving the room.

Cassidy got to her feet.

"Let's go." Emily said, grabbing hold of Cassidy's other hand and going back to the main waiting area.

The receptionist handed Cassidy a lollipop before Emily could drag her by the desk. "We'll see you in a few weeks, darling."

Emily smiled tightly and put Cassidy in the car before getting in herself. "Happy now? You got a lollipop from the nice lady." She said sarcastically.

"People who don't know me are nicer than you are," Cassidy snapped.

"That's because they don't know what a conniving little bitch you are."

"You're the bitch."

Emily glared at her daughter as she drove. "You're lucky I'm driving, or you'd have more than just a broken arm to worry about."

"It's true. I don't know why Daddy ever married you."

"He married me because I was pregnant with you." She said snidely.

"I wish you'd never met him."

"I wish he'd never raped me."

"I wish he'd killed you."

"Well you can't always get what you want...you're here, aren't you?"

"Wish I wasn't."

"That makes two of us." Emily said, pulling into their driveway.

Cassidy leapt from the car.

Emily slammed her door and followed the girl into the house.

Cassidy ran upstairs.

Grace looked up. "Where did you go?"

"Doctor's."

"You alright?" Grace asked from her bed.

"No. Mom broke my arm."

"Oh."

"Remember that next time you think she's soooo much better than Dad." Cassidy threw herself onto the bed to pretend to sleep.

"At least she doesn't use the Daddy's tools when she beats you." Grace replied.

"Yeah, she does. Night."

"Night."

Next Chapter