Chapter 4 - Miley

Every evening, Miley felt more tired than the evening before. The constant work at the hardware store and always being on edge, waiting for her father"s next bout of abuse, was beginning to get to her more than she cared to admit.

She lay on her bed with her arm over her face, every muscle in her body aching, and all she could do was hope she would simply pass out so that she didn't have to deal with the world for a little while.

It"d be dinner time soon, but she wasn"t hungry. All her body craved was sleep, rest and relaxation. But sleep wasn"t like that for Miley. She awakened multiple times during the night with the smallest sounds or the slightest tickle of her bedding on her skin, always half-expecting her father to be standing over her, angry at her for missing her alarm or not having remembered to take out the trash the night before, or even something that couldn"t be her fault but that he felt her wanted to take out on her, anyway.

It was a pitiful existence, but it was the only one she had. And though she felt sick at the thought of his marrying her off to pay his debts, a part of her couldn"t help but wonder, could it be any worse than this?

At least she would be away from him.

Shivering at the consideration, she rolled onto her side and adjusted her pillow to cradle her head before closing her eyes with a huff.

If only sleep might come a little easier, she might not feel so damn tired all the time.

Yet no sooner had she turned over than her phone began to buzz on the bedside table. Opening one eye, she recognized her best friend"s name flashing on the screen and reached for the phone.

Pressing the phone to her ear, she answered, "Hey Lauren, what"s up?"

"What are you doing right now?" Lauren asked, but before Miley could answer, she added, "As if I can"t guess."

"Nothing, just lying in bed," Miley grumbled back. "Why, what's up?"

"We"re all headed to the spot," Lauren said. "Come out!"

Miley groaned deep in her throat. She wasn"t sure she had the energy in her to climb down the trellis outside her bedroom window and hike all the way into the woods just to drink and smoke whatever her friends had managed to get their hands on.

"I have to work in the morning," Miley protested, massaging the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger.

Miley knew what her friend was going to say even before she said it. "You always have to work. Come on, come out. Oliver will be there."

Miley cringed. Why her friend insisted she had a crush on Oliver Reed, she didn"t know. Maybe when she had been eight and hadn"t known better, but now, Oliver Reed was the very last thing on her mind. Men in general were the last thing on her mind. Besides, why bother pursuing any kind of attraction with what her parents had planned for her?

They hadn"t been happy when they"d come back from Nightstar House and talking with the mayor, but Miley knew better than to believe that was the end of it. One way or another, her father always got what he wanted in the end. And what he wanted right now was to marry her off to save his own skin.

"Lauren, I—" Miley didn"t get the chance to finish as the sound of knuckles on her bedroom door made her jump. Hissing under her breath, "I can"t, gotta go," she ended the call just seconds before her mother entered the room.

She peeped in around the edge of the door, and as if seeing Miley awake gave her permission to enter, she did just that.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, sweetie," her mother said, smiling.

Miley forced a smile in return. She hated it when her mother called her that. There was no real sweetness between them anymore, not since Miley had grown old enough to know just how fucked up her parents really were.

"Thanks, Mom," Miley said, hoping that would be the end of it.

Instead, her mother crossed the room and dropped down onto the edge of the bed.

Uncomfortable, Miley pushed herself up to sit with her back rested on her pillows.

When her mother laid a hand on her knee, Miley already knew what was coming. The way she squeezed suggested everything.

"You know, your daddy doesn't mean to upset you," she said, squeezing just a little harder, "He isn"t a bad man. He"s just been so stressed lately."

Miley struggled to bite back angry laughter. She had never heard such bullshit in her life.

No matter how her mother tried, she could not hide the bruises that her husband had left her with. Her pale foundation did little to hide the black eyes and burst lips.

At least Miley could say he had always refrained from hitting her in the face. As he said, it was something to do with keeping her pretty for whoever the mayor chose to marry her off to. He couldn"t mar the prize. That didn"t stop him from bruising her elsewhere, though.

And Miley knew her mother was either a liar or a goddamn fool to believe the words coming out of her own mouth.

Yet, she had learned long ago it was best not to argue. And so, she nodded. "I know, Mom."

Smiling, her mother reached out and took hold of her hand. "Why don"t you get washed up and I"ll meet you downstairs? Daddy will be waiting."

At that, Miley bit the inside of her lip.

"Actually, I"m not hungry," she admitted, dropping her gaze. "If you don't mind, I think I"ll just get an early night. Daddy wants me at the store bright and early to finish reorganizing what I started today."

Her mother squeezed her hand and smiled softly. Miley forced herself to mirror the expression as her mother leaned forward and stroked back her hair behind her ear. "Well, you wouldn"t want to disappoint him, would you? You get some sleep and I"ll save you some in case you get hungry."

"Thanks, Mom," Miley said, and her heart ached as her mother leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

For just a second, she could imagine she was a little kid again, a kid with no understanding of what abuse was. And she almost felt loved.

A lump formed in her throat. If her mother loved her, she'd have taken her far away from her father years ago.

"Sleep well, sweetie," her mother said, rising to her feet. She blew another kiss in Miley"s direction before she left the room.

Miley bit back a groan and leaned over to turn off the lamp on her bedside table. It probably was best to get some sleep.

But no sooner had she done so than she heard a familiar clicking sound on her bedroom window. Why did her best friend always insist on throwing stones?

"Lauren," she groaned under her breath as she slipped off the bed and hurried to the window to open it. As soon as she did, she hissed down at her friend, "Would you stop that? You"ll get me in trouble!"

"Can"t get into trouble if you aren"t here," Lauren laughed back at her, waving her out the window. "Come on. Come out!"

Miley gritted her teeth. Her friend wasn"t likely to take no for an answer, and the longer she stood their caterwauling like that, the more likely they were to get in the exact trouble she hoped to avoid.

"Hide," Miley hissed down to her friend. "I"ll be out as soon as I"ve freshened up."

"Yes!" Lauren exclaimed, doing a small victory dance that made Miley smile. Lauren was the only thing in Nightstar that made her life just a little more bearable.

Being tired tomorrow was a small price to pay for a couple of hours in the woods with her friends. Maybe if she got drunk enough or breathed in enough second-hand smoke, she might actually be able to forget for a while. Besides, her parents thought she was getting an early night, so what harm could it possibly do?

Quickly, she ran a comb through her hair and wrapped up the red curls in a messy bun. Several strands fell loose, untamable, but it would have to do.

Changing into a cute little summer dress and her matching blue Converse trainers, she hurried on with a little mascara and some lip gloss before expertly scaling down the side of the house with only the trellis to hang onto.

Many bad things could be said about her father, but one good thing was that he truly did know hardware and DIY. She had climbed that trellis more times than she could count, and it had never failed her.

Hopping down onto the lawn, Miley peered into the dining room window to find her mother sitting alone. It was a pitiful sight that tugged at Miley"s heartstrings, but it was better than the alternative of finding her arguing with her father over why she hadn"t come down for dinner.

He was likely already set up with his tray on his lap, watching whatever sports game was on tonight. Though her mother looked upset, if she was anything like Miley, she would be relieved inside.

Why can"t you just leave him? Miley thought, wishing her mother would hear. It was the very reason Miley had never plucked up the courage to leave. She wasn"t sure she could leave her mother, even if she did hate her guts for staying and even more for standing idly by.

"Miley? Are you coming?" Lauren whispered from her hiding place in the bushes at the end of the garden.

With one last glance at her mother, Miley stalked down the lawn to where her friend was hiding.

"Come on, let"s go before we get caught creeping around out here," Miley said, glancing back over her shoulder.

"You don"t need to tell me twice!"