Raven by V. C. Andrews

face. I was dusting furniture after having vacuumed the living room. Uncle Reuben was taking a nap. William was in his room, and Aunt Clara had gone for groceries. Jennifer plopped on the sofa and put her feet up, shoes and all. I stopped and looked at her with disgust.
"I'm so tired," she said. "Lucky we didn't have school today."
"You got me in a lot of trouble," I said. "What stories did you spread around school about me? How could you tell so many filthy lies?"
"Your reputation preceded you," she said with a laugh. "I didn't have to spread any stories?'
"You're really pitiful, Jennifer. You could at least tell your father the truth?'
"Yeah, right. Then I'd be in trouble," she said, and laughed. "You can keep cleaning. I won't be in your way. Just don't make too loud a noise."
"You're disgusting," I said, my anger boiling. "And in more ways than one."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, making her eyes bigger. "You never drank too much, I suppose. In your house, it was probably a daily occurrence."
"For your information, it wasn't, at least for me." I stared at her a moment, debating whether or not I had the courage to say it. Finally, I did. "How could you let Brad do that to you? Don't you have any pride?"
She gazed at me, barely blinking "What are you talking about now, Raven? What sort of lie are you trying to use to get out of trouble?" she asked.
"You know what I'm talking about, and you know it's not a lie," I said firmly.
Her expression didn't change. Then she looked away for a second before turning back to shake her head. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, "and I'm warning you not to say anything that will make Daddy angry."
"He already got angry," I said. I put down the dust rag and undid my pants, lowering them and my panties. I turned to show her my welts.
"Ugh," she said, grimacing.
"He enjoyed doing it to me," I said, closing my pants. "He's a sadist, and he's perverted."
"Stop it!" She jumped off the sofa. "He's my father, and if he had to punish you, it was because you did something wrong. He's really kind, and he cares about me."
"You're just afraid of him. And you should be. If he knew how you really behaved, you'd get a far worse beating than I got," I said, drawing closer and staring into her face.
"Stop it!" she whispered. "He could hear you."
She stamped her foot on the floor. "What the hell's going on down there?" Uncle Reuben shouted from his bedroom.
Jennifer hesitated, staring at me with wide, scared eyes.
"Should I tell him?" I asked. "Should I tell him what really happened last night?"
She seemed to think, and then bet against me facing Uncle Reuben.
"Nothing, Daddy," she called back.
"Well, keep your voices down. I'm trying to get some rest. I didn't get much last night thanks to someone in this house," he added.
"Okay, Daddy. Raven's sorry," she said.
"You're sicker than he is," I said, shaking my head.
"You're just jealous because you don't have a father," she spit at me, her eyes narrow and hateful but also filling with tears. "You never had a father. You have a mother who is a tramp and a drug addict, and now you don't even have her," she said, gloating.
"No," I spit back at her, "but at least I still have some self-respect."
I threw down the dust rag and marched past her, practically knocking her out of my way.
"Who else would respect you?" she called after me. "You're worse than an orphan. You're nothing. You don't even have the right name! That's right, Daddy told me your mother was never even married, so don't go throwing stones. You're an illegitimate child!" she shouted.
I slammed the door closed behind me.
She was right, of course. Nothing she said wasn't true, but I'd rather be no one, I thought, than someone with a father like hers.
"Didn't I tell you two to shut up down there?" I heard Uncle Reuben scream.
"It's all right, Daddy. I'm taking a walk over to Paula's. If there's any more noise, it's not me making it," she shouted back. A moment later, I heard