C5 Kicking Some Arse

Caleb held young Denise down and started undressing her. She didn't shed any tears as she had learnt from an early age that shedding tears didn't solve anything. It would just rile up her emotions and she needed to be sober as she thought of what to do next before Caleb actualised his evil plan. Yes he was stronger than her but she had to use her brain.

Then an idea came to her. She always kept a pocket knife under her pillow because she wanted to be ready if ever her siblings did what they always promised. They always told her that no one loved her and that they would kill her the first chance they got, especially Georgina. She thus had to be ready just in case they thought of killing her. Denise reached under her pillow but Caleb didn't notice as he was occupied with raising her dress up above her knees and holding her legs that were trying to kick him in place.

After she got the knife she raised her hand and stabbed him on the shoulder. She caught him unawares and he screamed inpain. Before he could get his bearings back, she raised the knife again and stabbed the hand that was holding her down. That's when he screamed more and let her go. She took that chance as he was distracted by the pain and ran. She opened the door quickly and rushed towards the main house.

When she got there, she saw that her parents were not there and she knew where they were. She rushed towards the study and didn't even knock. She budged in and then went straight to her grandfather. This was the only man that had ever showed her love. She knew that her mother gave her that dress and asked her to eat with them because of him the moment she saw him. She thus knew if anyone would help her, it would be this old man.

When the old man saw her and the blood on her, he panicked and asked her what happened to her. He first made sure that she was okay and then gave her a chance to talk. She narrated everything that happened and didn't leave out the part where Caleb told her that it was George who had asked him to rape her and the reason why. By the time she was done, her mother was breathing fire. She said that her son was a good boy and there was no way he would do that to his sister. She screamed calling her a liar and a whore.

"I'm sure you seduced him. You want to frame them. I should have killed you like I thought when you were born. You are an abomination," she said many many more hurtful words that Denise would rather forget.

Then for the first time since she could remember, her father talked to her.

"How dare you say that my children conspired against you? Don't you know that it is a crime what you have done. You have lied and stabbed someone! How dare you?" He screamed and went for her. He lifted her up and threw her across the room. She felt like her bones had all broken and she was floating between consciousness and unconsciousness. Her whole body felt like jelly. She couldn't move. Pain. That was the only word in her mind.

When the old man saw that, he looked at his son with amazement and tried holding him. He now realised why he never saw her in any family gatherings. They always had an excuse on why she couldn't come. It now dawned on him the kind of a life his granddaughter was living and he made a decision then and there: he would take Denise and take care of her where he could see her and make sure that she had the life she deserves.

Her father, on the other hand, didn't care who was holding him and he thwarted the hand that was holding him away and pushed whoever it was. In his anger, he threw his father away trying to get to her again and the old man hitthe wall and fell and then he clutched his chest in pain.

Denise saw it but she was too weak to even call for her grandfather. It was her mother who brought her husband back to reality by shouting for the old man to wake up. That's when he realised what he had done. He looked at Denise and told her that he wasn't done with her and then went to tend to his father.

By the time her grandfather and Caleb were getting to the hospital, the old man had already breathed his last. And that was the beginning of Denise's nightmare.

As if what she had been going through before wasn't enough, she was accused of killing her grandfather and everyone called her a murderer. Even those who were there when Gresham pushed his father, no one stood up for her. They aided with him because he was Now the big boss of the Ashford family.

The beatings got worse and she was even denied food on several occasions. The maids were warned that if anyone was found giving her food without the mother's consent, they would be fired. She was even changed schools. If the government did not demand for every child to be in school and the Ashfords didn't want to tarnish their name, that would have been the end of her schooling.

* * * * *

Denise heard the girl who had been tied to the tree scream and that brought her back to the present. It seemed like the men had come to a decision and they had untied the girl and they were ready to do what they wanted. She couldn't let that happen. She walked up towards them in a hurry before they could drag the girl away and the men were startled. They brandished knives and when they saw it was just a girl, they sheathed the knives and smiled evilly.

"Wow! How lucky could our day get? Another meat for us to eat from heaven." One said and she pretended that she didn't hear it and addressed the other girl.

"Hey girl? We had planned to meet and then you left me and went with these three men? Are we actually friends?" She asked with a smile as she tried reaching for the girl but one of the men held her outstretched hand.

The only mistake these men did was underestimate her when they saw that she was a girl and alone. If only they knew that she was a black belt since her school days, they wouldn't have done that.

Denise took that chance the man held her hand and attacked. She twisted his hand towards his back and squeezed hard. He let out a pained scream butshe wasn't done. She elbowed him on the spine near the neck and he fell on his knees clutching his back neck with his free hand.

The others hadn't yet registered what was happening as they stood there agape and she took that chance and fly kicked another one on his chin. That's when they realised that she wasn't as simple as she looked. The third one let go of the girl he was holding and brandished a sharp knife again. He looked at the two groaning with pain on the ground and then looked at Denise.

"You are good but not really good. Wait until you are in my arms, I will make you regret this." He said as he tried circling her but she wasn't fazed. She looked at him the way one would look at scum.

"Go hide behind that tree and don't come out until I call for you. Okay?" She told the girl as she looked at the man. The girl scrambled away and did as she was told.

Denise smiled at the thug and asked, "have you ever been beaten by a woman?" Then she readied her stance for battle.

It had been long since she kicked some ass.