Set Her Free

Carol lay sprawled motionless on the floor
Crippled in pain
Breathing heavily
Face flushed red with fear
Salty tears leaking from the corners of her deep blue eyes
Black and blue bruises etched on her pale skin
Her left leg broken
She lay silent in the dark listening
Footsteps
They were coming closer
Carol's heart quickened
As she thought to herself,
"Oh please let this end,"
Only one person knew she was abused
Steven
Her neighbor
Her friend
Her only friend
The only person that would talk to her
The only person that loved her
She could only see him at school
And late at night
Carol would talk to him through her window
How she always looked forward to seeing him
His sweet smile
His beautiful worried eyes
How he ran his fingers through his hair
He was always worried about her
From his room
He could hear her screaming
Her father cursing at her
As he beat her
Kicked her
Punched her
She was always trapped inside the hell she called home
Freedom
Was all she wanted
Steven wanted to help her
Tell someone
But Carol refused
Even though her father beat her
And her mother never spoke a word
She still loved them dearly
She wanted to protect them
Carol missed the old days
When her father and mother still loved her
And each other
What had changed this
The footsteps had reached to an end
Voices
Her mother's soft murmur drowned out
By her father's bellows
The door creaked open slowly
Light leaked in
Her mother walked cautiously over to her
She stroked Carol's thick blonde hair
That had hints of blood in it
Like she did when Carol was little
It always felt calming to her
Her mother bent down closer to her
And whispered quietly into her ear,
"I'm sorry,"
Carol froze
She slowly turned her gaze to her father
His face was bright red
And he was breathing heavily
She could smell the alcohol on his breath
But something else made her stomach lurch
In his tight grip
Was a large rusty wrench
She could feel the color drain from her face
As she thought to herself,
"No, not this. Please not this,"
Carol turned back to her mother for reassurance
But her back was turned against her
And she began to slowly walk out of the room
It felt like the atmosphere had shifted
She felt scared
Empty
Cold
Alone
Carol knew it was over
She could hear her mother crying silently in the background
Her drunk father began to walk over to her clumsily
"It's all your fault you little bitch! This is why our family is falling apart!"
His harsh words were all slurred together
She tried to drag herself away from him
But found herself trapped in a corner
Her father stood over her
She cowered in his large shadow
His cold dark eyes
His expressionless face
"Carol, you've been a very bad girl,"
He swung the wrench
A bloodcurdling crunch could be heard throughout the house
Carol's spine had snapped in halfSteven's window was open at the time
He heard it loud and clear
He hurried anxiously over to her house
To find Carol's father passed out beside Carol's petite frame
That was twisted at an awkward angle
"No. No. Please no. Not her. This can't be happening,"
He knelt down to her crumpled body
"Please Carol. I love you. Please don't leave me,"
He pleaded
As tears rolled down his cheeks
He cautiously lifted her into his arms
Carol slowly lifted her hand and rested it upon his
"Steven, I love you too. But now, I'm free,"
She passed away
Warm
Safe
Loved
In his arms