When Smiles Fade

Copyright © 2011 Paige Dearth

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1475096925

ISBN 13: 978147509692

SOME DIRT ON THE AUTHOR:

Born and raised in Plymouth Meeting, a small town west of Philadelphia, Paige Dearth was a victim of child rape and spent her early years yearning desperately for a better life. Living through the fear and isolation that marked her youth, she found a way of coping with the trauma of her past and the angst that scarred her present: she developed the ability to dream up stories grounded in reality that would prove cathartic for her and provide her with a creative outlet when she finally embarked on a series of novels. Paige’s debut novel,
Believe Like A Child
, is the darkest version of the life she imagines she would have been doomed to had fate not intervened in the nick of time. Her second novel,
When Smiles Fade
, is a tale of endurance, perseverance, courage, and the will of one young girl to fight back against injustice. Both novels are compelling proof of the fine balance this author is capable of achieving between what lives on in her imagination and the evil that lurks in the real world.

Paige is currently working on her third novel about the abduction of a young girl. This book promises to take readers on a chilling ride through territory where no sane person would dare to tread.

CONNECT WITH PAIGE:

Visit her website
at
www.paigedearth.com

Friend Paige on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/paigedearth

Follow on Twitter: @paigedearth
 

In loving memory of Dell, my brother from Seattle: I’ll miss you always.

Hugs and Kisses,

Paige

Dedication

For my daughter, whose hard work and dedication to people is nothing short of amazing. You inspire me in many ways.

I will love you until the day I die.

~Mom

“When your mind is quiet and you listen closely, you will hear the children weeping silently. If you can’t quite hear their cries, then listen with your eyes. These are the children of the streets, who have learned pain and suffering before they ever had a chance to experience life. Do not ignore their cries for help, for all they wish is that you will rescue them. They do not have a family that wants them, they don’t know how it feels to be loved and they’ve never lived anywhere that felt like home…the streets are where they find their voice and relief from all of the suffering.

Just listen and you’ll see them.”

~Paige Dearth

“Emma! Get your ass down here, you
stupid
little bitch! What the
fuck
did I tell you about
not
living like a pig?” Pepper screamed.

Panic-stricken at the thought of what would happen next, Emma rushed her younger sister, Gracie, over to the bedroom closet and pushed the tiny child inside. Before shutting the door she said, “Don’t move or make any noise.” Then in a softer whisper she warned her younger sister, “You have to be really, really quiet. I’ll be right back. I promise.”

That was code for “be invisible.” Gracie obeyed her older sister, tears of fright silently dribbling down her cheeks.

Emma rushed into the hallway and stopped to look at her mother, who was standing just inside her own bedroom. “What the hell did you do now?” she accused. “How many times do I have to tell you to do what you’re told? You brainless idiot!”

Gracie listened from the closet to the rapid patter of eight-year-old Emma’s feet as she ran down the stairs. There was an eerie silence during which she unconsciously held her breath. Then the first blow was struck. Followed by others. Gracie cringed at her older sister’s muffled shrieks of torment as she imagined the scene downstairs with telling accuracy. Emma, she knew from past experience, had once again been transformed into her father’s punching bag. She wondered why their mother didn’t go and help Emma. Resisting the urge to run downstairs, Gracie stayed hidden upstairs in the bedroom closet as she was instructed, waiting for the beating to end, scared that her father would come for her after he was finished with her older sister.

Down in the kitchen, Pepper Murphy lurched around, unsteady on his feet. He towered over his young daughter, contemplating her stricken face for several minutes and deriving a sickening enthusiasm and fresh energy from her growing terror. She stood before him, whimpering from the fear that was planted in her heart, wishing, as always, that her father’s love for her would overpower his fury. That never happened. When she had worked herself up into a frenzy of fear, Pepper punched her in the eye. Emma lost her footing and hurtled back into the doorframe. Almost immediately, her face began to swell at the site of impact.

Snatching her up by the collar of her shirt, Pepper slapped Emma across the face with such force that he split her lip open. Blood gushing into her mouth and down her chin, she watched as her father walked over to the stove and turned on the burner. When the cold black coil began to glow a scorching orange, he shut the burner off and stood glaring at his daughter. Her body involuntarily shook as she wondered what he was going to do to her. Huddled in the corner of the kitchen, Emma wished the walls would open so that she could crawl inside of them and find the needed protection from her father’s wrath. “Please, Daddy. Please don’t hurt me. I’m sorry,” the child begged.

His eyes bored into hers, undeterred by her fear and pain. Emma watched in terror as the corners of his mouth curled up, until he was smiling like a sadistic monster. She trembled visibly in anticipation of what was to come. Her father suddenly pounced on her. Grasping her by the arm, he dragged her, kicking and screaming, over to the hot burner. Then he seized her left hand and ordered her to unclench her teeny fist. After she opened her hand, Pepper slapped her palm down on the hot burner in one swift movement, holding it in place for a couple of seconds and letting the young, tender skin boil and blister from the intense heat that still remained. Then he bent down, his face close to his daughter’s, and snorted, “Oink! Oink! Oink!” into her ear.

All through the ordeal, Emma’s shrills of agony sliced through the silence of the house. Valerie lay on her bed upstairs. Her mind filled with raw horror as she imagined what would happen to her if Pepper killed the child and was sent to prison. She prayed that he wouldn’t take it too far this time. She didn’t give a thought to the suffering that her older daughter was enduring at the hands of her husband. It was as if she had ice water running through her veins in place of blood.

As Emma collapsed on the floor, Pepper stood over her threateningly. Speaking in a tight, cold voice, he said through clenched teeth, “You are a
worthless
piece of shit. I don’t know why I just don’t kill you right now. I’m giving you another chance to act like a human being. You can forget about eating dinner tonight. I don’t see why a little pig like you should be fed. Consider yourself lucky that I don’t beat you to death.” He began to leave the kitchen, but turned back at the doorway and bellowed, “You
better
have this place cleaned up before I get home from the bar!” With that final warning, Pepper grabbed a beer from the refrigerator then stormed out of the kitchen and left the house.