Dear Diary,Do you ever wish you could just get away from it all? You know just escape for a while. I know I sure do.
Love, Ryan
Most reading this would wonder how Ryan Preston could ever be wishing to get away. I mean besides the fact that she’s a blonde haired, blue-eyed bombshell and the object of every guy’s affection. She’s also head cheerleader, student council president and among the top five in her class. Yes it sounds too good to be true, but all you have to do is travel to Ackerly, Texas and you’ll find her.
Ackerly is a very small town in Texas. The people in this town like to talk and gossip and know everything about everyone, but what more can toy expect from small towns. Well for the most part everyone did know everything about everyone, but that’s only for the most part. There are however a few secrets.
Ryan says she hates the small town life and is getting out of here as soon as high schools over. The truth is she’s afraid her secret might get out and people will look at her different. Because for now she’ fine being seen as the perfect girl with the perfect family, even though that’s far from the truth. I mean she is a great girl, very genuine and a great friend, but perfect family is stretching it. She goes home to a shabby one-story house. And her family, well both of her parents are alcoholics and her dad abuses her pretty bad. She would never tell anyone that though. She keeps her home life to herself, not even her boyfriend Brad knows about it. At school she may come off as perfect and happy but inside she’s really insecure. See she’s not succeeding in school and what not for her parents; she’s doing it for her, so she can feel good. Sometimes she feels self-confident but then she arrives home to two people telling her how worthless she is and it all goes away. The only thing she really confides in is her diary.
Dear Diary,
Today was pretty bad at home. Dad left me with a huge cut on my forehead that no make-up could cover and a huge bruise on my back. I don’t know how I’m going to cover this one up. Maybe I can’t. I mean I’ve always wished that I could just tell someone and make this all go away but I can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t even know what I did this time though, I mean sometimes I do deserve it I bet, but this time I don’t know. I really can’t wait to leave this place. Only a few more weeks of high school and I will finally be free. Wow it’s really weird to even think about.
Love, Ryan.
The next day at school people questioned her all day. “Oh my gosh! What happened to your head?” they’d ask. “Oh nothing you know just a cheerleading incident, it’s fine, really.” She would lie to them. But Brad didn’t buy it because he knew something was off so he really pressed her for information.
“Babe what happened, come on I know this wasn’t cheerleading” Brad asked. He had been suspicious for a while now, always seeing her with random cuts and bruises.
“Its nothing, I swear” she replied.
“No it is something, come on Ryan don’t lie to me like this.”
“Brad I’m not lying so stop asking!”
He could see that she was getting defensive and he knew it was something more. He tried to grab her arm but she pulled away and stormed off to class. Brad knew he had to do something.
The whole day at school Ryan thought about her argument with Brad. She really should tell him I mean she loved him, they were supposed to tell each other everything. Maybe she’d call him later tonight.
Brad was leaving school and was thinking about Ryann. He decided just to go over there and talk with her about it. Maybe he was being overly worried and it was just cheerleading. So he decided to stop by her place. He realized as he was going over he’d never met her parents, they were never home when he was there. He pulled in the driveway and got out and rang the bell. A tall, dark haired man answered the door. “What the hell do you want?” he asked. Brad noticed the bottle of whiskey in his hand.
“I am here to see Ryan”
“Who are you?”
“I’m her boyfriend, Brad”
“Boyfriend? No Ryan a’int have no boyfriend, she has no friends because she’s a loser”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me; she’s a worthless loser, never’ll amount to anythin”
Brad couldn’t believe what he was hearing; I mean did they know the same Ryan.
Just then Ryan came out into the kitchen.
“Oh my god Brad what are you doing here?”
“I came to see how you were; I mean you didn’t look to well in school, with that cut and everything.”
Ryan cringed at the look on her fathers face when he said that. Her father always threatened that if she told on him she would pay for it. He looked absolutely furious.
“Ryan’s fine! She’s just a little baby, always complaining and doing something wrong and well she really screwed up this time, so you can see yourself out boy.”
Brad then realized that all those random cuts and bruises were from her father, he abuses her.
“No I’m not leaving without Ryan”
“No Brad Go now! I’m fine I promise,” she yelled, as her father was getting more irate by the minute.
“No Ryan this isn’t right, come with me now!”
“Brad just leave, and promise me you won’t say anything!”
Before Brad could say another word Ryan’s father was literally throwing him out the door. He landed hard on the ground and ran to his truck. He had to help her. What could he do though? The only thing he could think of was going home and telling his mom and having her call DSS or something. But then he thoughts of what she said; “don’t tell anyone I’ll be fine. Maybe she would be fine he thought. He really didn’t want to betray her, but what if she needs help? Brad was panicking the whole way home. He decided to just go home, go to bed and talk to her in school the next day.
Ryan wasn’t in school the next day. Brad was worried, really worried, maybe he should have done something. He rushed right over to her house after school and couldn’t believe his eyes. There were police cars and caution tape everywhere. No, this cannot be happening this is a joke he thought. He ran right up but was stopped by a police officer.
“Whoa where do you think your going son”?
“I need to get in there and see my girlfriend Ryan”
“Oh boy… I’m very sorry to tell you, but…uh…well your girlfriend was killed last night by her father, im sorry you had to find out like this.”
Brad couldn’t even manage to speak he just fell to the ground sobbing. This was his fault he thought, all of it, everything was his fault. All he had to do was call the police or DSS but no, he had to wait until school. Some officers called his mom helped Brad up. All of it was a blur to him though; he was in a state of shock.
The next day when he was a little better, his mom came in with something in her hand.
“After the police took Ryan’s dad to jail, and her mom was no where to be found, they went through her things. They thought you might want to have this.” She said as she handed him a small purple notebook, it looked like a diary.
His mom left him alone and he began to look through the pages, until he came to the last entry, which was dated the day she died.
Dear Diary,
Just as expected I was questioned about the cut. My excuse this time was cheerleading incident. Clever huh? Well Brad didn’t buy it and finally what I was afraid of all along was coming true-he was pressing me on what was really going on. I really wanted to tell him, I really did but I couldn’t do it. I just can’t tell people about this part of my life. Well Brad was questioning me I got defensive and stormed off. But now I wish I told him- I need help, I need to get away from home and be free. I just need to get away from here.
Love, Ryan.
The next few days were tough, being as they were the days of Ryan’s wake and funeral. Brad was a wreck but he insisted he speak at the funeral anyways.
“Well as some of you may know, I was dating Ryan Preston. We all knew her as the fun, sweet, loveable girl. But we didn’t know all she was hiding at home. She was a strong girl to go through all that and put on a happy face everyday. I just wish I would have done something when I had the chance. But in a way it all worked out for Ryan, all she really wanted in life was to get away, and be free at last. So I think we owe it to Ryan to be happy for her because she got her wish, she’s free now, finally.”
17 comments:
I think your story was good because it attacked such a real issue, and it's something that, to a less extreme, could happen. I really liked how you used her diary entries to show what she was thinking, and the whole thing reminded me of something i've read or watched but i don't remember what. I liked it, and it almost made me cry. Good job :)
omg that was a really sad story.
i loved how you used the diary entries to show how Ryan really felt behind the happy face she put on at school. It was a really good story with a very surprising ending...i thought Ryan would be able to get out of the abuse :[
Your story had an extremely intriguing first paragraph while introducing good setting development. It made me think of a great story I read where they go from diary entry to diary entry and have rela life things in between. Yuor paragraph transition was very well done and I discovered many things after reading your story. Your story was very to the point and made me think of the story To Kill a Mockingbird because Bob Ewell abused his children and his kids didn't tell on him either. Your ending was very well-put together and it tied up all loose ends. Really good story
Wow Nora, this is such a good story. Very sad and captivating, also unfortunately sometimes true. I really like that you did a story like this. I love how you have the diary entries to show the different stages that she is going through in her life. I was very surpised about the ending because I was hoepful that she would be able to get out of the abuse. Great story!
Nora, this story reminded me of a book I read one time. I think that using a diary to see what was going on in ryan's mind was a very well thought out idea. I thought that her boyfriend might've gone to the police or something instead of leaving her to fend for herself in an abusive household. But, i think with abuse, the person being abused doesnt want anyone to know and doesnt want to ask for help, so i think you made this story really realistic.
Nora your story was really moving. It made me think. It really opened my mind to the severity of the specific conflict of child abuse. It's really depressing and it needs to be stoped. Good work Nor, you pretty much made me cry.
HEY NORA.
good story and i like the title u picked. it made me want to read it. although i thought that it was going to be like slavery. and i think raheem is right with tthe whole wellness thing.
SAWEET
wow dude that is a great story. like i just got so into it. strong plot and unbeatable charectores i really like it. the diary entries were a great way to make the charector more real and the image of her fauther was easily evident. sad but good
This is by far the best story i read on this website. This story has a lot of detail and is very powerful. This is a very good story and you should really keep writing. The diary entries showed how she was really feeling was a cool thing you put into it. Keep up the great work. Way to go on your excellant story.
your story was really awesome. i got teary eyed for real. it was really good and brought in me so much. reading the diary entry at the end made me almost cry. it was so good . it really had good points like you should always tell someone if you know someone whos gettin abused. omg im thinking bout it right now im gona cry lol soo sad but soo good
noraaa this is soo good. You are an amazing writer. It almost made me cry. I couldn't stop reading it. I loved the diary entries. That made the story more real. I never would've thought to do that.
noraaaa this is really sad. it was so good and pretty much everyone in F block was reading it today. I loved the journal entries.
I loved your story I thought it was the best story I read by far. I thought it had a lot of details and was very descriptive going to each scene. I think that everybody should read this story because it shows you what can happen when no one is watching.
I thought you story was sad because she was getting beaten. I liked how you used the diary to move the story along and show how she felt about what was going on all around her. Like she said how she wanted to tell people but not have them think different of her. Also how she wanted to tell Brad, but couldn’t.
Nora, the story was really good it had a good plot. The conflict of the story was easy to pick up on. I liked how you had the Diary entries to show how Ryan was thinking and feeling. The title was a good choice it kinda made you wounder during the story what was going to happen and what would the resolution be.
Your story reminded me of Too Kill A Mockingbird. The part when Bob Ewell abused his daugether. The message in your story was very well interpreted. I liked how you put the story togeher it really made sense.
Noraaaaa good job. i loveee your story. this is one of my favorite stories even though it was really sad. my favorite part about it was the diary entries. they help the reader know more about the character and what she's going through and how she feels.
i thought your story was very deep and dealed with real life issues i really liked it
Nora,
Like Abbey, you've written a powerful and affecting story. I think your decision to write in the form of journal entries helped your readers engage your rather graphic and disturbing content.
It makes me sick that parents verbally and physically abuse their children, but unfortunately it's a reality for some people.
I hope that those who have been abused are able to persevere and overcome, realizing that they're not at fault.
Post a Comment