Responsiblity

Chapter 1

    ~I would rather have someone else's life instead of mine~

    It hurts it really does when you know your not loved by anyone or 

anything. My father yells at me and says things like, I'm sick of you 

and your worthless. He is always mad and rude to everyone. Where my 

mom is drunk, asleep, or yelling all the time. I'm the oldest and have 

to watch out for my younger siblings. It's not fair and hard to 

tolerate sometimes.

    The day begins at four thirty am when I have to get up go 

downstairs and make everyone breakfast. Then after I cook breakfast I 

go and wake up my sisters and get them ready to go to school and make 

them go downstairs to eat. After I accomplish that I go to the couch 

and wake up my mother who is passed out so she can go to bed or go 

eat. I get everyones' shoes on them and everyones' bookbag then go 

outside so we can walk to school. We walk about eight blocks to go to 

school because mom is too drunk to drive and we don't want to wake up 

dad because, one we want him to die in his sleep and two if we wake 

him he will yell and beat us, so we let them sleep.

    At school I talk about other peoples problems so I don't have to 

talk about my own. I also cover things up about myself by being quiet 

or joking around. I need someone to stop me and ask what's wrong, but 

nobody cares like  that much. After school I walk home to an empty 

house that I'm in charge of. Which pretty much means starting supper 

and helping my sisters with their homework.

    During supper everyone is crowded around the television scarfing 

down their food like wild animals. That leaves me all alone at the 

table, which sometimes is how I like it, no one around me at all. That 

is untill I get interupted by them yelling they need more food or I 

need to get their dirty dishes. It gets annoying but it is just what I 

do now. Once everyone is done I clean up and then get my sisters ready 

and in bed. I have to bathe them, get them dressed, brush their hair 

and teeth, tuck them into bed and kiss them goodnight. I have to do 

all of that while my father is yelling at me and my mom is making me 

pour her shots. When they finally go to bed between eight o'clock and 

eleven o'clock I can finally start homework of my own. Since they 

really don't care about me I can stay up as long as I want to, but I 

do wake up at four thirty so I don't stay up too long.

    Weekends are better. I always have plans on friday either hanging 

with friends or a boyfriend, babysitting, or going shopping. Then I 

spend the whole weekend at my aunts' house where i'm their "step 

daughter" and I actually have "step brothers" who actually love and 

care about me. Without them and my friends I have nothing with no 

reason to live.



Chapter 2

    Today being a Wednesday I walk home alone beacuse my sisters have 

after school activities. So since it's only me, I walk slower than 

normal to have some time to think, which I like  to do without being 

bothered. Today though, I felt as if I was being watched but thought 

nothing of it. I was just being paranoid because nobody was with me. 

When all of a sudden a shiny black Charger pulls out of a long 

driveway beside a brick house and crashes into me. The driver a tall, 

white man runs out of the car with a smile on his face and picks me 

up. As he does I feel an intence pain coming from my legs. Everything 

starts spinning and he shoves something down my throat then everything 

goes black and I'm scared.

    Now I'm in a place it's all black and there's nothing around me. I 

can't walk and I can't talk in the distance I see a pin hole sized 

light and I want to go over to it but I can't. The light slowly comes 

closer to me, I try to get up again but I fail. The light gets 

brighter and swallows me.

    I open my eyes and see my mother by the bed crying. I look around 

and relize that I'm in the hospital. To the left are my sisters and 

the right are my parents. I can't speak or move my legs. A sharp pain 

rushes through me and I yell in pain. My mom rubs my arm and tells me 

to relax. I look at her wondering what happened. She shakes her head 

and with a frown sadly announces that no one saw what happened nor 

does anyone know excatly what happened. I nod and give a small smile 

so my mom can relax a little bit. Just as she relaxes a short, blonde 

hair, blue eyed, young nurse walks in the room. She looks quite tired 

and worn out as she checks my vitals and tells my parents I will be 

able to talk as soon as the shock of waking up wears off. My parents 

thank her then tell me they have to go and they'll see me  tomorrow. 

When they all leave I remember the man and how he shoved something 

down my throat. I try to speak but it burns, it feels as if something 

is still in my throat. I want to cough it up but again nothing happens 

when I try. I know I should tell someone this but I physically can't, 

nothing comes out. So I just lay there and slowly drift to sleep.

    I awaken to a nurse checking my vitals, this one a brunette with 

green eyes, also young but happy and full of life. I watch her for a 

while untill something catches the cornor of my eye. I look over to 

see three big balloons that say get well on them, tied to a small, 

white square box. I try to ask the nurse about them but like yesterday 

no words come out of my mouth. So I just try to reach for them knowing 

I wouldn't be able to reach them but hopeing the nurse would see me 

and get them for me. As she begins to leave she sees me trying to get 

the ballons and gets them for me, then walks out. I look at the box 

and see nothing is on it except the letters A-S-H-L-Y-N-N, my name 

spelled clearly and correctly and under that are the words I love you. 

Knowing it is not from my family I hold it not wanting to open the 

box, wondering, hoping it isn't from the guy who ran me over. I take 

a deep breath and slowly open it when I hear a knock on my door so I 

quickly close the box not seeing the content of it and place it on a 

tray beside me. My family walks in and I enjoy seeing them, alive. I 

would think by now the parents would have killed my sisters, but 

thankfully they haven't, yet. They all crowd around my bed and stare 

at me. It is kind of unconfortable untill they relax and start talking 

to me. I try to respond and again I have no voice just pain. Tears 

start running down my face. My father takes my sisters out of the room 

and leaves my mom there to comfort me. A tear runs down her face as 

she asks me if I know what happened. I turn away from her and close my 

eyes. Mom puts her hand on my cheek moving it slowly down my face to 

come to it's final resting place on my chin. "Do you remember 

anything" she asks. I nod my head and then more tears fall from my 

eyes, but still no sound comes from my mouth. Then mom says she must 

go now and that she will be back. I try to stop the tears and finally 

do as she leaves the room wiping her eyes with a tissue she took. I 

look back over to the small box and grab it. I open it this time to 

find a 24 kt. gold heart shaped locket with a single dimond on the top 

right side. I gradually lift it out of the box and the piece of foam 

comes out and in its place is a small folded piece of notebook paper. 

I lift the paper out of the box and see my name on it, I begin to 

unfold it and get it completely open. It was a guys writing for sure, 

in blue ink to be exact. It read...

    •I'm sorry I ran you over, I've been watching you for sometime 

and I wanted to hold you in my arms, don't worry I didn't do anything 

to hurt you, I love you too much to hurt you. I will see you soon; 

your love, Dan•

I read the note over and over, feeling dirtier with every word I read. 

I relize this wasn't an accident, someone was crazy... crazy about me. 

I read it once more and fold it up placing it on the table beside me. 

I lay back and close my eyes, thinking, wondering, hopeing, it was all 

just a dream.

    I start to feel a sharp pain in my leg and I cry out for a nurse, 

but she can't hear me so I push the page button. At that moment I 

relized this was real, it all really happened. I have a phycho 

following me, watching me. I can't even say anything, literally, so I 

cry. The nurse walks in and sees me crying and gives me some pain 

medicane. She leaves and the tears stop falling. My mouth gets really 

dry and my eyes burn. I close my eyes and mouth trying to get them to 

feel better. Finally the pain medicane starts to work and I fall asleep.

    Wake up, I hear a voice say as I get hit in the side. I open my 

eyes to see my mom and dad sitting beside me. They look very worn out 

and tried but I can still see they are full of evil. I look around the 

pale pink, boring hospital room but I don't see my sisters anywhere so 

I look at them with wonder on my face. They say that my sisters are at 

home safe and sound. I roll my eyes and look straight ahead. An angry 

expression appears on my face so my mom starts rubbing my leg. I pull 

my leg away from her. She looks at me, calls me a devil child and then 

storms out of the room. My father as always tells me goodbye then 

follows her out like a dog following its master. I lay there all alone 

so i grab the locket and the note, just holding it tighter and 

tighter. A brown hair, brown eyed, young, adorable doctor then walks 

in and starts moving my leg around and checking it. He looks at me 

with a smile and tells me I could possibly go home tomorrow if I'm 

talking or not. He also said when I do go home I have to use cruches 

for a while then I may have to do theropy. I look at him and nod, then 

he leaves. I put the locket and note on the table then I start to cry. 

Finally I cry myself to sleep but I'm pretty much use to doing that.

    I wake up to the gorgous doctor talking to my parents about me 

going home which brings me to panic mode. I really would like to go 

home but it'll be like going to prison, with a broken leg. On top of 

that I still can't talk and I have that crazy guy watching everything 

I do. It would be torture pure torture and I wouldn't be able to do 

anything about it.



Chapter 3

    The doctor signs the release forms and I'm free to go home, the 

good thing is I'm begining to be able to talk.

    As the nurse wheels me down the bleek hallway and out the glass 

sliding doors to the old beat up car I see my parents. My dad is in 

the driver seat waiting impatiently and my mom already in the 

passenger seat watching me. Nobody helps me in the car and right at 

that moment I relize i'll have to do everything all by myself again. 

Within a few minutes I get myself and the cruches in the car and we 

drive home.

    A few days after I get home I get a letter in the mail. It was 

from Dan and this time it reads...

    •Dear beautiful,

I see you finally got to come home, I miss seeing you everyday and 

can't wait untill you start walking to and from school again. I miss 

watching you, but don't worry I'm still watching you now. I love you, 

Dan

P.S. Did you love your locket, maybe you should wear it around your 

neck. •

I start freaking out, I don't know if I should worry or be scared or 

what. So I call my best friend, Grace, and tell her about everything, 

which really I don't like doing but that's another story... anyway we 

talk for quite a while and she helps, a little bit I guess. She was 

also glad I told her and she said she would help to the best of her 

ability. When we hang up I get another phone call and answer it 

thinking it could be Grace calling me for something. It wasn't it was 

Dan, so I hurry up and call Grace back I told her, she said I should 

try to trace the number. I hang up with her and I do try to trace it, 

but he used a payphone so it wouldn't help me anymore. I start paceing 

in my room back and forth, I knew right there what I had to do. Decide 

either to tell my parents or keep it a secert.

    Just as I almost come to a conclusion my sisters walk in my room 

and see me paceing and ask what's wrong. I tell them to get out of my 

room and never come back in, then for some reason I start crying so 

they leave. I know it was mean but I don't care right now I can 

apologize later, I just wanted to be alone. I go and lay on my bed 

slowly drifting to sleep.

    I wake up and it's dark in my room. I roll over and look at my 

digital alarm clock and in bright red glowing block numbers it says 

10:28. I turn back over and feel someone beside me, believing it's my 

little sister who usually sneaks into my bed at night I just turn on 

the light beside my bed, it's a very dim glow but enough I can see my 

whole room with. I get up and go over to the other side to pick her up 

and take her to her own bedroom. But it wasn't her it was a person 

dressed in black from head to toe. I can't see his or her face but I 

know who it is, Dan. I scream and he sits up putting his hand over my 

mouth, I close my eyes tightly and pray that this is just a dream. I 

open my eyes and see a mask, a voice, his voice telling me to calm 

down, and how he won't hurt me. He loves me way too much to do that. I 

stop fighting and screaming and hear his beautiful voice, the voice of 

an angel. I just sit there and listen to his angelic voice saying he 

won't hurt me and he loves me. I smile as I start believing him. He 

brushes the hair away from my face and chills go down my spine when he 

touches me. He grabs the necklace and puts it around my neck then says 

"I must go now my beautiful, wear your necklace for me." Then he 

climbs out my window and runs across the yard. I go back to my bed and 

go to sleep very easily.

    In the morning I wake up and get dressed when I relize what 

happened that night. I was such an idiot, what was I thinking I can't 

like my stocker. I take the locket off quickly and throw it on the 

bedroom floor. I then see my window is still open so I go over there 

to close it as a paper ball flies into the room. I picked it up, close 

and lock the window, then I slowly unfold the ball looking for words. 

I see there are words and I know who it is from, it was from dan, the 

note read...

      •Sweet Darling of Mine,

Why did you take the locket off I gave you, you really should wear it 

to show everyone what your boyfriend gave you. I love you and will see 

you tomorrow on the way to school. kiss kiss, love your man, Dan.•

What have I done I have this creepy guy who thinks I'm dating him, and 

to top it all off he stocks me. I can't even go to school, he'll be 

there watching me and I'll be puting my siblings in danger. I don't 

know what to do, I'm so scared now. I need help from someone I don't 

think I can handle this by myself, but I have anybody to ask, not my 

parents, not my family, no one at school, unfortunatly not my best 

friend either (as I've said before) they wouldn't understand.



Chapter 4

    As I walk to school with my sisters I know i'm being watched, for 

the third day in a row. I see him, in an abanded parking lot, in 

somebody's driveway, he's everywhere I go. But I can't say anything or 

do anything because of my sisters. We finally make it to school which 

is kind of like a vacation I'm away from home and the chores and 

stress of it and now I'm also away from the creeper, Dan. Here at 

school I can breath and not worry what's going to happen next.

    Untill yesterday in bio we were taking our test over unit three 

when in the cornor of my eye through the dirty little window in the 

classroom I saw him. It was Dan watching me at school. I hurried and 

looked at my test trying to focus but not being able to knowing he's 

there watching. As the bell rings telling us it's time to go to the 

next class, usually it's a wonderful sound I can't wait to hear but 

today I look down at my test seeing only a few questions answered it 

is the worst sound in the world. I walk slowly to the teacher's desk 

and hand him the pretty much blank test then look at him with dread on 

my face, as I turn to go gather my things Mr. Filmore asks me what's 

wrong. I look at him as a tear falls down my pale, I just saw a ghost 

like face and cry out "nothing" as I quickly grab my books racing out 

of his classroom so I wouldn't be late for my next class.

    I stop at my locker to calm down and there is a note on the little 

shelf in my locker, I grab it and the books for my next boring class, 

history.

    I rush into the classroom as the bell rings and take my seat. I 

slowly unfold the note pretending to pay attention to Mrs. Vanderbilt. 

I open it and smooth it out on my notebook so it looks like I'm taking 

the notes. I look down and see it's from Dan, what a surprise. I look 

at the words one at a time studing each letter wondering how he 

accomplished getting it into my locker. I finally give up trying to 

figure it out and read the note...

    •Baby of mine,

I love watching you do school work you are so graceful. I was just 

writing you this note because I was thinking about you and the other 

night. I hope I didn't scare you and I saw you throw the necklace 

down, are you mad? I hope you're not I'm sorry I should have woke you 

up so we could have snuggled. Well have fun at school I'll be watching 

you. Love Dan, your only man•

    I quietly fold the note and tuck it in my sprial notebook. Waiting 

for the bell to ring I stare at a blank piece of notebook paper, deep 

in thought all the destractions around me seem to fade away.



Chapter 5

    I exhale waking up the next morning in my bed not really sure how 

I got there or what happened the other day. I'm just relived it's a 

saturday and I don't have school. After a while I deside to get up and 

start the day.