I lay on my bed, still in my back-from-the-hospital garb. Doc Davies' instructions were "no strenuous or overly stressful activity for a few weeks, okay Missy?" I just kind of nodded and kept my snarky (and honestly rather bitchy considering how kind he's been) reply to myself, walking out into the (not-so-) welcoming arms of Mother. She played the role of Mommy very well until we got into the car. Now she's Mother again and I am nothing.

"Philena! Dinner time!"

That's Stepmonster. Why does he sound so nice? He hasn't called me Philena (except when he's mad) since I was nine... since before they were married.

I head down the stairs slowly, leaning heavily on the banister. My ankle twisted when I fell and it's still slightly sore though not nearly as much as my stomach where I was stabbed.

"Hurry up or all the food'll be gone!" More of Stepmonster being nice... what the fuck's he playing at? I bet it's a set-up.

"Yeah, don't wanna keep your guest waiting, 'Lena!" Ah, Mother, you jest. Who the hell would come over here as my guest?

I've barely reached it to the bottom of the stairs by the time they complain again.

"'Lena! Come on!"

That sounds more like Stepmonster.

I enter the dining room and almost stop dead in my tracks. Sitting at the dinner table between my Mother and Stepmonster is Adam The Snitch.

"Good evening, Philena. How are you? Are you doing better than yesterday?" He says it like he genuinely cares and I almost forget the Cop Look that was on his face not more than a day ago.

"A very little bit better, yes, thank you." I seat myself next to Mother, opposite Stepmonster, and feel His eyes on me as I reach for the instant mashed potatoes. I ignore them and face Adam.

"Not to sound rude or anything--you're wonderful company--but why are you here?" I feel rather than hear Mother's opinion of my question as she kicks me in the shin under the table and I fight to keep from showing it.

"Well, I was worried about you. Can I not be worried about my one and only friend at school?" I raise an eyebrow, but do not push the matter. Instead, I take a bite of the most-likely-TV-dinner salisbury steak. Mother hasn't made anything homemade since my Daddy--my biological father--died ten years ago.

"So Mo--" I begin saying Mother, then cut off, "Mom, what have you done today in remembrance of Daddy--your first husband?"

She almost chokes on her wine--Chardonnay, gotta have some sorta booze--and sends a glare my way.

"It's been 10 years, darling, what do you expect me to do?"

Having Adam here gives me an extra bit of nerve I wouldn't usually have.

"I expect you to remember him, and I expect you to see me as your daughter not as a remnant of the past that 'should have disappeared' when your husband did."

Mother is silent and Stepmonster stands, "I think you've pretty well ruined dinner for us, Philena, and I think it's time your guest left, don't you?"

Adam stands and the two of them leave as I shovel the rest of my dinner down and wish I could beg him to stay, because I know I'm going to pay for his being here even though I had no knowledge of it. I know I won't get any food for a while, so when I finish my dinner on my plate, I take a few more potatoes and finish those off too, quickly.

"See you at school, Philena!" I hear Adam shout, and then the door slams shut on his car starting and Stepmonster stomps back into the dining room, backhanding me hard enough to send me to the floor. I land on my side and the stitches in my stomach scream at me for mercy--they can't hold up through too much!

"What the fuck was that, Philena? And why was that little snitch here in the first place? You tell him something about me--about your Mother and I? Get up!" I'm curled in a fetal position on my side--everything just hurts and why get up anyway? What's the difference between getting beat up here in front of Mother or in my room behind a closed and locked door? She's not going to do anything and nobody can stop him.

He grabs my wrist and yanks me to my feet, barking orders at Mother who will definitely follow them--he supplies the drugs, why disobey your supplier? He tugs me up the stairs, opens my bedroom door, and throws me on the floor--who needs a bed?

The rest, as they say, is history...

***

I wake up the next day, look at my birth control package, see that it's time for me to get my monthly and leave a note for Stepmonster, then head to school.

I see Chase and Alexa as I enter the school. They do a double take though Alexa really should have known I was okay--her dad was my doctor after all.

I see Evangeline too, but I walk right by. I have a doctor's note, so I get the key to the elevator for a couple weeks. I shuffle into it and press the 'shut the door' button so nobody can hitch a ride with me. The doors shut and I hold onto the side rails until the thing lands on the second floor and then I shuffle back out and into my drama room.

"Do you have your monologue memorized?" Ah, right, no rest for the wicked. I have it half-way memorized, can I get it the rest of the way memorized in a day? Perhaps--what else do I have to do after all?

"I have it almost memorized. I could go tomorrow, easily. If you don't mind that is--I'd much rather be confident on everything and deliver it well than be confident on most of it and deliver it okay-ishly." Really, I'd much rather just blow everybody's minds with my awesome acting skills after they all have gone. Even though most of it won't be acting.

"Alright, Philena, but know that we have a smaller class this year so they'll probably all finish today and you'll be first up tomorrow. Most of them picked tiny monologues too--easier monologues." Tiny does not always mean easier, sorry to break it to ya.

"Okay."

The bell rings and I sit down. As soon as everyone is seated, we begin and I listen to my classmates fumble on words they should have been used to saying by now. They pause in places I found easy to memorize last year. Most of them fail their Quarterly Final. Guess they should have been studying instead of partying.

The bell rings again and I head across the hallway to my next class. I haven't been bothered yet by Alexa and Chase.

I hope this reprieve lasts, but knowing their history it probably won't.