Joyce

A mixture of poetry and short story.

         
We were engaged and bound forever,
We loved each other and lived together,
Nothing was wrong, we had a baby,
But then you had to go and, cheat on me.

Joyce, you deserved it all, everything,
Joyce, the tears have dried now,
Our daughter wears your wedding ring,
You didn't deserve us, you spiteful cow.

You deserved what I did to you, and to him,
I'll see our daughter through, I've named her Kim,
I've brought her up all by myself, she never needed you,
She says she loves me, and I tell her I love her to.

After that day, I just disappeared,
After the fray, my mind was cleared,
I don't tell her what you did, and you should know why,
Because I wouldn't want to hurt her, and make her cry.

Kim, she has the most beautiful, bright blue eyes,
When I see them, I drift into the deep blue,
Before I go to bed, I thank the skies,
That she is, nothing at all like you.

Joyce, 8 years of wasted life,
And to think, you would be my wife,
If I hadn't discovered the truth about you,
And how much of a bad mother you were to Kim, too.

That most memorable day, made me much stronger,
The pain has faded and the tears are long since dry,
The sky is no greyer, nor the days are any longer,
When I left, carrying Kim away, all I could say was "Goodbye"

But now you're dead, now you're gone and we're fine,
Kim is sixteen, a perfect child, we'll stick together,
She calls out to me now, her long hair catching the sun's shine,
I smile and look at her, "I'll be right there", yes,
We'll be together forever.

As I walked back to the car, flashbacks cut across my cold eyes.

You didn't let me in the house, Joyce. I had just come home from work. I put my ear to the door and heard Kim, our baby, crying in her cot.

I screeched, banging on the door, for you to let me in.

I climbed the tree which stood beside our house and perched upon a branch, peeking in the window to Kim's room. A smoke like powder was choking her, and she was screeching for help. I looked over into the next room, our room.

There were eight lines of cocaine on the table, with both used and unused needles scattering the floor and that's when I saw you walking, naked, into Kim's room, a cigarette in your hand. You shouted at her, inches away; "Fucking shut up, you little brat" before you left her room, dropping the cigarette on your way out.

I watched as you smothered 'coke' on his lips and then on yours as soon as you had returned to our room. You got on the bed, spread your legs and then you kissed, sucking the drug off of each other's lips as you did. When you broke, he smothered some inside of you before putting his head in-between your legs, to your ecstasy.

Kim's coughing brought me out of the fixated trance of watching my fianc in her current situation. I put a foot either side of the windowsill to Kim's bedroom and, crouching, I put my hands on the window, ignoring your screams, Joyce. I groaned as I lifted open the window, taking one last look at you. You saw me looking, winked and grinned the coldest grin before I looked away.

I fully opened Kim's window, allowing the smoke from the drugs to escape into the fresh air outside, and in turn allowing fresh air in.

I checked Kim, she was still crying but, with the window now open, was beginning to stop coughing. I kissed her on the forehead, and stroked her head, smiling down at her.

I looked up, towards the door, as your screams continued. I sighed before looking down to my daughter once more. I kissed her on the forehead again before I walked into our room. I stared at the scene before me, my eyes burning with rage as I saw you, for the first time, as your true self, Joyce.

"Bitch" was all my gritted teeth would allow me to say.

A short while later, I wrapped Kim up in one of my soft woollen jumpers, cradled her in my arms and walked down the stairs. I unlocked and opened the front door, before I looked once more at the grand staircase.

Blood was starting to drip down the stairs.

I sighed, said 'goodbye' and closed the door.