Chapter Three
Niya
As I was walking home from the corner store I noticed a moving van parked on the street and a couple of kids running around screaming, I watched as the movers carried furniture into the house and I slowed my pace watching but trying not to be nosy when I walked straight into a woman
“Shit I'm so sorry” I said to her
“It’s ok” she looks me up and down and I feel the instant cringe, I always feel embarrassed when people look especially with all the bruises I had, I knew exactly what she's thinking yep I look like a homeless person not dirty or smelly but with clothes at least four sizes too big and bruises that made me look scary
“I wasn't watching where I was going sorry” I told her
“No problem, are you ok?” she asked me and I nod
“Yeah I'm good”
“Are you sure?” she asks and I know the bruises look horrible and I pull my shirt up
“I'm good honestly”
“Do you live close?” I nod
“Just a few blocks up” I nod my head in the direction of the house and she looks up, she sticks out her hand “Mary”
“Sorry”
“My names Mary” she says smiling
“Oh, I'm Niya”
“Niya what a beautiful name what does it mean?”
“It means beautiful”
“Oh, its lovely and it totally fits” just than two identical little girls come running up arguing when Mary holds her hand up and the girls stop talking straight away, I've seen it with people training dogs but not kids. I just stare at the two girls when Mary starts talking
“Girls can you see I'm speaking to someone”
both say in unison “yes”
“And what aren’t, you suppose to do when I'm speaking and you rudely interrupt”
“We have to use manners and say excuse me” they both say in unison again it’s a little unnerving
“Now girls introduce yourselves to Niya please”
“Hi Niya my names Sarah” the little girl on the right says “and I'm Clara” the little girl on the left says
“And your” there mother says to both girls
“Where sorry for interrupting” they say in unison again and I smile
“Hello Sarah and Clara its lovely to meet you” I say sticking out my hand to shake both of their hands
“I'm sorry Niya I better go, moving days fun” she says smiling with a thumb up “I'll see you around maybe get you to babysit for me one night”
“I'd like that” I tell her surprised she’d even consider asking me, I watch as she walks in the house with the both girls in toe talking a hundred miles an hour.
**
It didn't take long for Mary to ask me to babysit for her in fact it was the weekend after they had moved in that I first babysat. When Mary had found out that I was home schooled she asked me if I could watch the two younger twins she had Miles and Macy during the day while her and her husband John where at work. I jumped at the chance to make money because up until than I had no funds to help me escape my father. It was the second weekend of watching the twins when it was there fifth birthday, the house was in chaos with about twenty kids running around screaming, Mary had a themed party, princesses for the girls and cowboys for the boys, she’d gotten a bouncy castle and a mini petting zoo, cupcakes, sweets games every child’s dream birthday at that age she'd decorated the yard with streams and balloons and lights everywhere the kids where having a ball John falling over when he was pretend shot.
“I swear he keeps knocking me up just so he can have a kid’s party” she'd only recently found out she was pregnant again and was praying to god that it wasn't twins again
“I thinks he's having more fun than the twins” I tell her as Jon runs past the window with a bunch of screaming kids following him, she looks through the window laughing
“He always does” she says smiling, Clara and Sarah come running into the house again in identical everything
“Hay Niya” they both say
“Hay girls love the costumes”
“Why thank you” they both said in unison, I swear they weren't only twins they were eerily the one person always saying the same thing at the same time, In the couple of times I'd babysat them they were always together and always spoke the same words at the same time
“Clara go and give this to your father please” Mary hands Clara a bag of balloons and a pump, I have no idea how she tells them apart but she always does
“Mom can Arial stay over tonight” Sarah asks, it’s a bit weird hearing her speak without her sister
“Sarah, I have twenty other kids here today, please tell her she can sleep over next weekend” Sarah stomps her foot and walks out
“Hay Mary”
“Um Hum”
“How do you tell the twins apart” she smiles
“It's easy, Sarah always stands to the left of Clara and Sarah is left handed and parts her hair to the left”
“Really that's how you tell them apart”
“Yep watch” she yells Sarah and the twin on the left turns around
“Wow I never even noticed, how did you figure that out”
“When I was pregnant the doctors revealed that the babies where identical calling them mirror twins”
“Mirror twins what's that”
“It means that they are a complete mirror image of one another, even their organs are on opposite sides of their bodies”
“Oh my god that's freaky” she laughs
“Yeah it can be a bit unnerving seeing that they both speak at the same time and say the same thing but you get used to it, I just pray there's only one in here” she rubs her belly smiling.
*
Later that night when I got home the lights where all off in the house so I figured dad was asleep, he still hadn't said much over the past couple of days. Something I never minded we never really spoke to one another much anyway. I walk through the door as quietly as possible just in case he was asleep, the second I close the door my face explodes in pain as a vicious right hook hits me right above my eye. I land on the ground hard and it takes me a second to relies what’s going on when I look up at my father standing over me, my head thumping he grabs me by the hair and starts to slapping me and punching me.
“Stop” I yell “please what have I done?”
“Where the fuck, have you been bitch?” he hits me again
“I was at the twins fifth birthday party, I told you yesterday” I can feel my hair being ripped out by the roots
“Did I fuckin' say you could go... well did I” he pulls my hair more
“I'm sorry” I say trying to cover my face and body just waiting for the next blow, he stares at me his eyes full of rage and his hot rancid breath blowing in my face
“You know what, I should just fuckin' kill you and save myself the bother of looking after you” I'm looking at him and I just lose it, a surge of anger rips through me as I push him as hard as I can and he falls back and I stand up as best as I can
“LOOKING AFTER ME, YOU DO NOTHING BUT TREAT ME LIKE SHIT, I'M NOTHING BUT A FUCKING SLAVE AND PUNCHING BAG TO YOU. SOMETHING TO USE WHEN YOUR STUPID ASS GETS IN TROUBLE” I yell and he stands up so fast grabs me by my hair again and drags me across the floor to my room, I try and get away but he pulls my hair harder
“You fuckin' ungrateful cunt I've feed you clothe you put a roof over your head since your cunt of a mother tried to leave me and for what, to have you speak to me like that” he drags me into my room pushing me to the ground and starts to kick me over and over in the ribs the air in my lungs explode out of my body and I try to cover my body but he just keeps kicking me all over.