Asha

My music is all the way up and I still can’t block it out. I sit up and look around. I’m on top of a hill in the park in our neighborhood. I’m a huge pulse and in pain. I look over at my arm and sigh with relief. The gash in my arm has finally stopped bleeding, but the blood is caked on and some of it even ran down to the grass on the hill. 1

My name is Asha and I’m 16. I live like any other girl would, except for one thing. I live with my brother Camdyn, who is 22. Our parents are both serving in Iraq. Dad is in Basra and Mom is in Baghdad. They should be coming home in about 6 months, but I don’t know how much longer I can stay. 2

3

Camdyn came home drunk again and he was really pissed. His buddy Alec brought him home as usual and took him into his room. Alec and my brother have been friends since they were little and he’s always been my other brother.4

“Hey Asha, how are you?” he asked coming out of Camdyn’s room.5

“I’m okay. Why is he mad this time?” 6

“You know he’s not mad Asha. It’s the alcohol. We’ve been trying to get him to stop, but he won’t.”7

“I know. But I just wish….” as I trailed off and tears filled my eyes.8

He came over and gave me a hug. “I know you want him back to the way he was before he met Clio, but he won’t leave her.”9

“Everything was fine until she got him to start drinking. Now he comes home drunk almost every night and he throws up and I’m the one who has to clean it up,” I say between sobs. “And she treats me like a freaking slave and he doesn’t even stick up for me anymore.”10

“I know, I know,” he said as his arms got tighter around me. “Asha, just remember one thing.”11

“What’s that?”12

“I’m always here if you need me. Just call and I’ll be over to take you over to my place,” he said calmly.13

“Okay,” I say and wipe my eyes.14

He lets go and put his hands on my shoulders.15

“Ow,” I say quickly.16

“What?”17

“It’s nothing, don’t worry,” I say again. All I can think is don’t look at my shoulder or arms. But I guess I thought it loud enough because he was taking the jacket off my shoulders to reveal all the bruises that Camdyn had given me in the past. He takes it off of me completely to see the extent.18

“Asha, what is he doing to you?” he says sounding angry.19

I start to cry again, but before I could explain, Camdyn comes out of his room.20

“Alec, what the hell are you still doing here?” he asks while stumbling over to where we were sitting.21

“I took you home and thought I’d stay to talk with Asha,” he said as he stood up to get in front of me.22

“Why would you want to talk her? She’s no one special. Just a stupid girl who no one likes,” he said coldly. 23

He tried to grab my arm, but Alec grabbed his arm instead. All of a sudden Camdyn threw Alec out of the way. I saw Alec laying on the ground motionless and I tried to run, but he grabbed my hair and dragged me into the kitchen. I was still crying and sobbed out,” Camdyn, please don’t hurt me! Please don’t!” That’s all I could do was beg.24

“Don’t beg. It makes you look weaker,” he said menacingly.25

“WHAT WOULD MOM AND DAD THINK?!” I cried out. That did it, he snapped and threw me against the china cabinet in the corner of the kitchen. Glass fell around me and I looked at my arm which had a huge gash in it. It hurt so bad that I just screamed. I don’t know which one made Alec come back into consciousness, but he came flying in and saw Camdyn standing over me and my arm bleeding with glass around me. 26

He ran over and slammed Camdyn into the wall. “RUN ASHA!” he yelled at me as he tried to keep Camdyn pinned.27

I ran into my room, grabbed my purse, ran back out and sprinted to the park.28

29

I still couldn’t believe that my brother, who had been my hero, someone who I could go to with my problems, could change so much just because of a girl. I sat on the hill as still as could be and let my tears fall. I shut my eyes and felt the breeze pass over me. Then I felt a hand lightly touch my shoulder. I look up and I see Alec.30

“I thought I might find you here,” he said as he sat down.31

“Where’s Camdyn?” I ask drying my eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time today.32

“One of your neighbors heard the yelling and saw you running out of the house. They apparently also saw the gash on your arm, so they called the cops. They had to pull him off of me, because after you left, he pinned me. They took him into custody. Asha, you have to go to the police station and tell them what he did to you.” he said looking at me.33

“But if I tell them, then he’ll probably have to go to jail. How do I explain that to my parents when they get back?” I asked him.34

“Asha, I know, but you have to. It’s also probably the only way he’s going to get better,” he said. 35

“I don’t know, but I just….,” I trailed off again.36

“We don’t have to go tonight. I told them that I would take you in first thing in the morning. You’re going to stay with me until this gets sorted out. We’ll have to go back to your house and you can take whatever you need,” he said pulling me closer.37

“Okay,” I say with a sniff. We got up and walked home. We went inside and I went straight to my room. I got a duffle bag from my closet and threw it on my bed. I grabbed clothes from my dresser and the closet and put them in. When that bag was full, I grabbed a smaller duffle for other things. I grabbed my things from the bathroom, my cell phone charger, my ipod charger, my notebooks, my pencil bag, my camera, my laptop and everything else I could think of. It was summer, so I didn’t need to worry about school, which I was so thankful for. I walked out of my room and shut the door. 38

“Are you ready?” Alec asked quietly. He was always so nice to me no matter what. He felt more like a brother than Camdyn did lately.39

“Yeah, I’m ready I guess,” I said with a heavy sigh. All of a sudden, I felt my legs start to shake and I just collapsed to the floor. And wouldn’t you know it, I started to cry again.40

“Asha, I know this is going to be incredibly hard for you, but I’m here and I won’t let your brother hurt you again.41

“That’s not why I’m crying,” I said as I held my arms.42

“Then why are you?”43

“It’s something Camdyn said a few days ago. He called me a whimpering bitch,” I say after a huge sob.44

“Asha! How can you even think that about yourself?! You have a reason to cry, so your brother was wrong, as usual. I could see the fear in your eyes when he was standing over you. That is a reason to cry,” he said giving me the most comforting hug I’ve had in years.45

“I guess you’re right.”46

“I am right. And when we get home tonight, your going to feel safer than you have in so long. I promise you,” he said reassuringly. 47

“Can we get something to eat first? I’m starving. Camdyn doesn’t shop for food, he usually goes out, so that means I have to too,” she said putting her hands over her stomach.48

“You’re not going to get fast food. I’ll get you some real food when we get home. I’ll make you anything you want as long as I have it in the house, okay?” 49

“Okay. Can we go now? I don’t want to be here anymore. Too many bad memories,” I say getting up.50

“Of course,” Alec replied. He took one of my bags and walked out to his car. 51

We put the bags in the back and he got in. I walk back to the front door and lock it. We pull out and go down the road, I don’t look back. 52

I never will.