How To Rip Wings From An angel Chapter 2 ​My two older sisters Kristina and Arlana shared a room at the opposite end of the hall. Kristina was the oldest. She was eight and Arlana was seven . I was the baby. We were sisters but we were never close like family should be. Arlana lived with her father and we only saw each other through visitation every other weekend. Her father would drop her off. Her father was a very responsible and prompt man. Like clock work, he would drop her off at precisely ten o’ clock Saturday morning and Arlana would decide when she wanted to go home. All she had to do was make a phone call and her father would be there day or night. It usually didn’t take long before Arlana decided she had enough. Kristina on the other hand never knew her father. She never got to meet him. I guess mom told us in one of her coke induced rambles that Kristina’s father had died serving his country shortly after she found out she was pregnant but all of us knew that this information wasn’t very reliable due to the fact that five minutes before she told us that Ronald McDonald was our grandfather so we were all left wondering. ​My mother left it was around four on Friday afternoon I had slept on the couch all day. The house was silent except for the occasional giggle coming from my sister’s room in the hall. I got up off the couch and carefully folded the blanket I had been sleeping with and put all the pillows back in place. Mommy always told me to always put things back exactly the way you found them. I headed for the kitchen to see what was for dinner my stomach still felt queasy but I was hungry my mom always cooked the same thing every night to make up for the lack of cooking skills and money it was always spaghetti I never really liked spaghetti much but mommy says beggars cant be choosers if I was hungry I ate what she cooked or I wouldn’t eat at all and sneaking food out of the fridge was defiantly grounds for a beating the subject of food quickly faded from my mind and many other things began to swarm was daddy hurting my sisters to? Or was it just me I took a second to think I needed to talk to my sisters while there was none around I walked down the hall anxiously I stood in front of the door for a few seconds thoughts began to swarm again what if they don’t know what I’m talking about? What if I’m the only one? I opened the door confidently my sisters were on the floor between their two twin size beds putting make up on each other I thought they looked like clowns when the door opened they both stopped giggling and glared at me as if I was a stranger I approached them they both looked at each other and smiled I felt like they were laughing at me like they had some kind of inside alliance some kind of connection with each other that I was left out of were they plotting against me? I felt alone I felt like a stranger my mouth opened to speak but before I could “Paul told us not to talk to you anymore!” they squealed their voices were high pitched, snooty and surprisingly in sync as if they were too good to speak to me anyway then they continued playing as if I had never walked in the room it was clear to me now that I was alone I was the only one I didn’t really know how to feel about it I was feeling angry and displaced I felt like I didn’t belong like there was something wrong with me I was different but why? ​​There was not much to do in the house while mommy was away and daddy was at work my sisters didn’t like me much and they were to girly to play with me anyway sometimes when I was upset I would wonder aimlessly through the woods that were lining the edge of our backyard it was my way of getting away from my troubles I was so used to being ignored that I learned to like being alone it was relaxing for me and I was upset so I slipped on my sisters shoes because I didn’t have any of my own we couldn’t afford it my father worked side jobs doing just about anything and my mother was unemployed but she always found a way to put food on the table money was tight my sister and I shared a pair of old ragged white sneakers and my sister wore them to school every morning so most of the time I would wonder around the woods bare foot but today I was lucky I didn’t know how to tie my shoes one of the very few things that I couldn’t do for myself so I tucked in the laces and headed out the back door and down the yard to the woods just beyond the woods was a small creek that I would often visit to get away I always walked on the same dirt path that was there because it was very long but ultimately lead to the creek I could have easily taken a short cut and been at the creek in less then five minutes but I loved to explore and observe plants and bugs so I would take the long way but today I decided to take a different route and just explore walking thought the wood I came to a small wall made of stone I was fascinated by all the different names and pictures etched into the wall I found comfort in knowing that I wasn’t the only one wondering these woods to get away there was a small box of nails on top of the wall I opened it and began to sketch my name on the wall beside someone named Jessie Johnson I put the nail back in the box and put the box and continued walking as I was walking not far from the wall I noticed a bright yellow rope hanging from a tall pine tree as I got closer I realized there were wooden planks nailed to the tree as a ladder but I wasn’t sure what they were for when I looked up I couldn’t see anything but thick pine I was curious so I started climbing half way up the ladder I saw the bottom of an old wooden tree house and the ladder lead directly into the center when I got to the top of the ladder I was amazed the wood was rotting and covered with sticky sap and pine cones but for some reason I felt like I was home a place alone with my thoughts I couldn’t tell anyone about this placeit was starting to get dark and time for me to head home I didn’t want to leave but I had to. on my way home I thought of Paul it was close to time for him to get home from work and its Friday night so him and his buddies would be piled in the livening room all weekend playing X-box, eating and screaming like animals and when Sunday night comes, all that would be left was the stains on the rug, sticky rings on the coffee table, and the stack of pizza crust in the box on the floor. ​ Coming out of the woods into my backyard, I noticed Paul’s truck in the driveway. I was terrified. I wanted to get home before he did so he wouldn’t know that I left. There was also a few other cars in the driveway that I didn’t recognize which was a relief. I could sneak in without him noticing. I took off my shoes at the back door and turned the knob slowly. I could hear voices coming from the living room. I crept slowly through the hallway to my bedroom door. When I opened it I heard that distinct sound of old hinges creaking but I wasn’t the only one that heard it. I paused and the house fell silent then his voice rattled me. “KANDICE!!” My heart began to thump. I walked quickly down the hallway to the door in the living room. “Yes?” I said. “Where the fuck have you been?!” I opened my mouth but before I could, “Go to your room! I don’t want to see your face for the rest of the night!” I did as he said.