I giggled as Joel threw a pillow at me. Then he hopped off my bed, grabbed me by the waist and kissed me.
"I missed you so much." He said.

"I missed you too." I smiled.
He picked me up, putting me over his shoulder and spun me around.

"Put me down!!" I cried. Although I was loving every secound of it.
"As you wish." He said, and dropped me onto the bed.

Joel lay down besides me and I rested my head on his shoulder as we watched tv. Suddenly there was a bang at the door.
"Fracnine let me in!" My father yelled.

I ushered Joel underneath the bed.
"I thought he wasn't supposed to be home until late!" He hissed.

"He wasn't!" I hissed as I opened the door.
My father stormed in. "What were you doing in here? Hurry up and get ready, we're going to the park." He said.

"Ok." I replied.
He left. I shut the door behind him and helped Joel out from under the bed. I went over to the window and opened it.

"You have to go now." I mumbled.
"I just got here. And I'm not leaving you alone with him. I'll meet you at the park." Joel replied.

"What if he sees you. He can't know that we know eachother. You know how he is."
"He won't see me. Don't worry." He kissed me on the cheek and crawled out of the window.

I watched him walk away. I loved everything about him, even his walk. My father bellowed for me, and I joined him and my older brother Peter in the car. As we approached the park, my father told us he was going to get something to eat, and he would pick us up when he was done. Finally, some freedom. I looked around for Joel but he was no where to be seen. I guess he wasn't here yet. I saw my friends over at the stone table. I ran over to them and gave them all hugs. We played chess, talked, bought snow cones and looked at the green leaves on the trees. It felt so nice to just sit back and enjoy summer.
But soon enough my father was back. I spotted Joel and started to walk towards him, but my father grapped my wirst and yanked me back. I looked into his blue green eyes, like the sea. The angry ocean with waves that sway back and forth, showing no mercy. He was furious that I had been with my friends.

"Did you invite your friends here? What the hell were you guys doing while I was gone?" He demanded.
"I didn't know they were going to be here. We were just hanging out." I stumbled across my words, looking at the ground for answers.

"Nothing ever good ever came from hanging out. Next time I'll get your grandmother to watch you since I can't trust you." He yelled.
That was it. I snapped.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't let me out of your sight for two hours? We weren't even doing anything!! I've never done ANYTHING wrong, why do you treat me like I'm such a bad kid?" I yelled back.

"Don't talk back to me!" He screamed.
I looked up at him. He looked as if he was going to start foaming at the mouth. Suddenly, he grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me towards the car.

"We're going home. NOW."
"I don't want to go home. I don't want to be anywhere near you." I said, and tugged anyway from him.

"You get back here!"
"Get away from me!" I shouted.

I started to run, but it was too late.
"You want to go? Fine then." He said, and shoved me, hard.

I tumbled down the hill, my knees scraping against the unforgiving earth, my head pounded onto the ground over and over. A trickle of blood ran down my skull. I thought it would never end. I screamed out in pain and anger. I hated being so much smaller than my father, not being able to protect myself. When I finally got the courage to look up, I met Joel's eyes. The look in his eyes killed me. He looked so angry and hopeless. He started to get up to come to me, but I shook my head no. We both knew if he tried to defend me, my father would never let me see him again. In the corner of my eye I saw my Peter at the top of the hill, rushing after my father. I screamed at him to get away from me, but he kept getting closer and closer. Soon my dad was towering over me, kicking me like a beaten down dog. I covered my ears so I wouldn't hear his hurtful words. Soon I heard Peter's muffled voice, and everything went away.

When I woke up it was dusk. I stood up, wobbling a little. My father, my brother, and my friends were all gone. The only person left was Joel. He was sitting on the wooden bench near me, that look still in his eyes. His arm was strechted out on the top of the bench, like he expected me to come sit with him. I wanted to go bury myself into his chest so everything would go away. But I started to cry, hysterically. I was crying uncontrollablly, like a baby who is too young to care who hears her sobs. I felt ashamed. I didn't want him to see me like this. So I fell to the ground again.

I lay there for a while, crying and crying. Something jumping in the grass caught my eye. It was a toad. I snatched it, holding it for a while. I studied every little bump on it's skin, trying to burn it into my memory. Then I let it free, watching it hop away. I stood up slowly, and follwed it. I felt a rush of joy, more bliss than I have ever felt before. Watching this little creature hop around carelessly in the beautiful, green grass, so filled with life and joy, gave me immense happiness like I have never felt before. I cannot even put the feeling into words. I smiled and laughed and bound after the toad, for what seemed like forever.

Suddenly I spotted a big, fat, orange cat approaching us quickly. It was the biggest cat I have ever seen, it was massive. Bigger than a raccon. I stopped. So did the toad. Suddenly the cat pounced on top of the toad. It held it in between it's paws, and a grin spread across it's ugly face. The cat torn at the toad with it's claws, ripping it's skin and flesh off. The poor toad tried to squirm free but it was no use. I swear I heard him crying out in pain.
"NOOO!! Stop it you disgusting beast! Stop, please, get away from him! Leave him alone!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

But the cat wouldn't stop. It seemed to get pleasure from the torturing of the innocent little animal, and it payed no attention to my agunished cries. I wanted to get up and do something, I wanted to kick that horrid cat as hard as I could, watch it soar through the sky. But it was like I was in shock. I couldn't force my eyes away from the repulsive scence before me, which seemed to be going on in slow motion. I watched as the cat contiuned to kill the toad, taking it's time as it tore and bit the toad. It peeled the toad's skin with it's teeth like a banana. Then it slowly bit the toad's head off, crimson blood spraying all over it's sickening face. I looked at the toad's inards, I stared at it's red, raw flesh inside of it's ripped lumpy skin. The cat chewed on it's head before spitting it into the pond nearby. I watched the destroyed head slowly sink to the bottom of the pond, nestling into the brown sand like it found comfort in being there. Blood streamed from the head, contaminating the pefect blue water with bright streaks of red fireworks.

I snapped out of my daze and turned back to the cat. It still had the toads body clenched in it's blood-stanied paws like a prisoner of war. For some reason I felt the little toad was still alive. I wanted to help it before the vile cat dismantled anymore of it's preicous body. I started to walk over to it, when out of no where a little grey kitten jumped onto the orange beast's back, hissing, clawing and bitting at it's enourmous body. I felt that this precious kitten was mine. It was fighting for me and the toad. It must be mine. I cheered for the little grey furball outloud. It made me so happy to watch him attack the wreteched beast. But it didn't stand a chance against the other cat. It wasn't even half of it's size. Nevertheless, the little guy wouldn't give up. Fur and blood was everywhere. The orange cat was wild with fury, rolling around and slashing it's claws in the air. Yet the little cat stayed latched onto the beast. I have never seen anything or anyone with as much determination as the grey kitten. He didn't give up until he had sunk his teeth into the orange cat's neck, it's filthy blood splurting everywhere.

I turned my head away from them, the orange cat's screams dying out. I spotted the toad's body in the green grass, exactly where it belonged. I felt satisfied.