Reality, p.1
Reality, page 1
Reality
Holly Jackson
Austin Macauley Publishers
Reality
About the Author
Dedication
Copyright Information ©
Dedication
Inspired by True Events
Loss of Innocence
For the First Time
EntrapmentThree Months Later
The MarriageTwo years later
Two years later
Six weeks later
The Forbidden Secret
Liberation
Reality
About the Author
Holly Jackson was born in January 1971 in a small country town in South Australia.
Married at 22 years of age, she had four children from the marriage before their separation in 2007. As a single mother of four children, Holly completed her education at the age of 36 and obtained a degree in business management and administration. Holly then proceeded to design and develop her own fashion design business which flourished for three years before she closed the business and put pen to paper.
Over the next six years, Holly concentrated her efforts on her new direction of writing. In 2017, Holly relocated to her hometown in South Australia and rebuilt her life after a long struggle; financially, physically, and mentally. Determined, self-taught Holly then went on to complete her first book Reality over a period of six years and obtained a publishing contract with Austin Macauley Publishers, London. Holly’s vision was to encourage and inspire other people to reach past their present situation and follow their dreams, inspirations and goals and never be discouraged by others.
“You are your own success.”
Dedication
To all who have known the hardships, heartbreaks, and the struggles of life.
To the strength within us all.
Keep the Faith.
Copyright Information ©
Holly Jackson (2020)
The right of Holly Jackson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528931212 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528966580 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Dedication
To the wonderful person whom I met during my journey of writing this book, whose encouragement and support made this dream come true.
From the bottom of my heart, I truly thank you.
To my beautiful children whose unconditional love was a source of inspiration.
May your lives be blessed with joy and happiness.
I love you always.
To Austin Macauley Publishers and their dedicated staff for giving me the opportunity and support to fulfil this dream.
Inspired by True Events
Loss of Innocence
Three twenty five am: Jade awoke to a familiar presence in her room. She felt the movement near her bed, smelt the familiar smell of alcohol on his breath, the familiar movement of the bedcovers lift from off her body as his hand slid under the sheets. She felt her breath tighten within her throat as she pulled at the bed covers, wrapping them around her tightly. “Peter, no, get out of my room,” she whimpered quietly, fearfully in the quiet morning hour.
Her eyes opened wide in fear as she moved away from the hand that crept beneath her sheets, and crunched herself into the corner of the wall next to her bed. "No Peter, please leave me alone, she whispered in a ten-year-old whisper of her innocence.
She saw his face through the darkened shadows of her room. A creepy smile, his eyes burning into her innocence, a look she had come to know so well. Jade held the covers up to her neck, her feet pressed tightly together, blocking his path, a touch of his wild abandonment of decency and trust. She could smell the intoxicating smell of his alcohol stained breath, breathing closer and closer against her skin.
“Please, please leave me alone Peter,” Jade whimpered again, only louder this time.
“Let me see your titties, Jade,” Peter said quietly in a vulgarity of his indecent intent that terrified her and crept in prickles up her spine. “I will show you my dick. Boys have a dick, want me to show you, it’s fun. I will take you for walks and rides in the car. I will give you twenty dollars if you let me touch you,” Peter continuously said bribing her in his unadulterated onslaught of indecency.
“No Peter, No,” Jade replied fearfully as the tears fell down the terrified look upon her face.
Jade just wanted this to stop, the night terrors of her brother’s hand that crept into her bed without warning and terrorised her in bad dreams and in reality.
She would not allow her brother to steal her innocence, she fought against the fear, she fought with her tormented thoughts of the assault. How would she escape this nightmare?
“If you don’t leave my room I’m going to tell dad,” Jade warned in a timid voice. Finally Peter turned and walked from the room in silence as Jade breathed a sigh of relief and the tears that had pooled in her eyes began to fall down her soft young cheeks.
That night Jade lay restless in her bed her mind constantly planning her escape, she wished her brother would leave her alone and that she could live somewhere else safe, happy and away from the assaultive abuse of her brother’s incestuous intentions and the suffering of his debasement would end.
Jade awoke the next morning early and sat at the kitchen table across from her brother. She shuttered under the stares and glares of her brother’s threatening eyes and felt helpless, alone in the onslaught of his abuse within the darkened hours of the night.
“Mum won’t believe me anyway,” Jade muttered under her breath to herself. “Why can’t they understand who I am?” “Why don’t they love me?” Jade had always felt different like she didn’t belong she loved to sing, dance and perform as she had numerous times, with the neighbourhood as her audience. Jade dreamt of her escape and start a career in acting, she waited to be noticed and waited and longed for her big break to begin but it never came.
That day Jade sat up in the big, old almond tree in the middle of her back yard and looked down upon the world. “Why me?” Jade asked, looking above herself to the heavens. “Please save me from this,” she prayed incessantly.
Four am: Jade awoke to a familiar presence in her room again. A tear rolled down her soft cheeks as her eyes opened and she crouched into the corner, pulling the blankets up around her neck. “Please go away Peter,” Jade pleaded again and again. The words slurred from his mouth as his breath breathed the smell of his intoxication.
Jade listened fearfully to the abusive words of her attacker as he refused to leave her room, “Come on Jade, I’ll give you twenty dollars if you let me touch you,” Peter slurred. Peter slid his hands under the sheets reaching for a forbidden touch of her young flesh. Jade looked at Peter, her eyes wide and fearful as he raised to his feet and stood over her, slowly sliding the zip down upon his pants and revealing his naked flesh, and started to touch himself in front of her.
“No Peter. No, get out of my room,” Jade pleaded again and again. “I’ll tell Dad if you don’t leave me alone.”
“You tell Dad and I’ll tell him that you’re making it up and being weird,” Peter replied, pulling forcefully at the bed sheets. Terrified, the tears rolled down her young cheeks.
“Peter he will believe me, now get out,” Jade pleaded again only louder this time.
“Okay Jade. I’ll leave you alone,” Peter replied, turning his back and walking out of her bedroom and back to his own room.
Jade laid in her bed terrified, crying and confused, not knowing what to do or how to stop it from happening. She placed her face into her hands and wiped at the continual tears that kept falling from her eyes until she finally fell back asleep exhausted.
The next day her neighbourhood friend, Katherine, came over. Jade loved Katherine and her willingness to join in the numerous adventures, plays, and dances that Jade constructed for her neighbourhood production, although had not been of Katherine’s interests had encouraged Jade and excited her and made her love her even more.
Katherine watched Jade shine as she performed her plays, wrote her songs, dance moves and made the invitations for all the neighbours and set up the stage on her mother’s unfinished porch.
She knew this made Jade happy and it’s what she wanted to do with her life one day.
They had been friends for many years ever since they were very young having lived within the same neighbourhood and knew each other inside and out and although Jade was the more ambitious of the two making all the plans, Katherine was happy to stand in her lime light and follow in her footsteps. Jade was always fashionable and creative and led the way within her circle of friends within the small township of Copper Cove, her presence a shining beckon to many of her friends who loved and admired her dearly.
“Let’s build a cubby house,” Jade announced, smiling as she greeted Katherine by the back gate of her back yard.
“Where are we going to build that?” Katherine asked.
“Over there,” Jade replied, pointing to the abandoned chicken pen situated on a large block across the narrow dirt road. Jade had found an abandoned old shed across the road from her home, part of the tin was missing from the front of the run down establishment, but the door was still intact and swung freely upon the abandoned large tin shed. Jade stood back looking at the establishment, a picture forming within her mind of the finished project.
“Okay," Jade thought.”I could get the timber and tin from over there. Dad has nails and a hammer I could use. I’m going to fix it up and make it mine. My special place. " She showed Katherine the shed she had found and told her what she planned on doing.
Katherine thought it was a great idea and quickly joined in the renovations and rebuilding of the property, helping her carry the tin and hold it in place as Jade nailed it to the bare timber railings. While rebuilding the property Jade called out orders like a boss and requested the things she needed as Katherine ran around gathering the equipment for her dutifully.
Finally, at the end of the day they stood back and looked at all their hard work. Jade and Katherine looked at each other with a big smile and threw their hands in the air playfully and giggled before letting themselves in through the big wooden door of the establishment. “Ours,” Jade announced, opening her arms and spinning around on her heels smiling.
The next day Jade took some old blankets and sheets, that her mother had given her, over to her special place. She started to hang the sheets up like walls to make rooms in the cubby house and gathered old furniture, pictures, old kitchen appliances, plates and cups and coordinated the kitchen and loungeroom of the cubby house. She took her books, pencils, paints and paper and all of her craft gear out to the cubby house and placed them into the small green-painted cupboard. Jade felt like the cubby had become her home away from home, a place where she felt she could relax and be alone in her creativity without any disturbance.
Jade heard the jingle of the little bell tied to the front door of the cubby house and walked over to the door and opened it.
“Hi,” came the voice standing at the door.
“Hi Katherine,” Jade replied, smiling. “Come in. How do you like our house?”
“It’s awesome,” Katherine replied giggling looking around at what Jade had done. “I like it.”
The girls both sat down on the old lounge and Jade got out her books. “Which one would you like me to read to you today,” Jade asked. Jade loved to read and often read books to Katherine and her little brother, Mason, who thoroughly enjoyed it and quite often requested it.
Katherine picked the book and they both sat back down and she started to read the magical adventures out loud. Katherine sat silently on the lounge settee next to her as Jade began to read. A broad smile lit up upon her face as the book took her into a world of magical imagination and the words seeped into the depths of her mind forming wonderful pictures.
Suddenly Jade heard the bell ring on the front door again. She placed the book on the lounge and got up and opened the door.
“Peter.” Jade’s heart sank into her stomach at the sight of her brother standing in the doorway.
“What are you two up to?” Peter asked, walking into the cubby house.
“Nothing. Just reading and hanging out,” the two girls replied in unison.
“Well,” Peter replied, pulling a small box out of the pocket of his jeans. “Look what I have.” Peter flashed the box around in front of them as if he had found a prize.
“What are they?” Jade questioned a curious furrow forming across her eyes.
“Cigarettes,” Peter answered. “I’ll give you one and show you how to smoke like a grownup.” Although they were only eleven and knew that they shouldn’t touch the cigarettes, fascinated and curious Jade and Katherine agreed and took one each.
Peter lit the cigarettes as the girls sat down upon the old lounge settee and puffed at the lit stick of tobacco.
“I don’t feel well,” Jade announced, holding her head and stomach.
“Neither do I,” Katherine announced also, holding her stomach, and turning slightly pale.
“Why do grownups do this?” Jade asked, throwing the cigarette to the floor and stomping on it.
“Cause it makes them look cool,” Peter replied. Jade’s faced frowned into an inquisitive confusion as she reached for another one and lit it.
“Cough, cough,” Jade coughed choking, her throat irritated by the smoke. Peter laughed as he sat on the lounge puffing at his own cigarette.
“Jade. Peter. It’s time to come home,” came their mother’s voice calling across the road from the backyard of their house.
Jade turned to Katherine with a smile, “Did you like the cigarettes?”
“No,” Katherine replied, stomping on the butt and throwing it into the bin. Jade started to giggle as she rose from off the lounge settee and placed a cigarette into her mouth, prancing around the room pretending to smoke it like an adult.
“Come on crazy girl. We’ve got to go,” Peter said, walking through the cubby house and out of the front door with Jade following not far behind.
The next day after school Jade and Katherine met in the cubby house again. As Jade reached for her books she noticed a book that had not been there before. “The Trucker’s Wife,” Jade said, reading the title and flicking through the pages of the book. Jade stopped on a page and began to read. Her mouth dropped open as the promiscuous words ran through her mind and forced her hands to close the book.
“Oh Katherine, it’s full of naughty words. Whose is this? I’m not reading it,” Jade said, placing the book on top of the little green cupboard. “I’m taking it home to Mum.”
Jade heard the bell ring on the front door and walked to the door and opened it.
“Peter. Go away,” Jade demanded. “This is our place not yours.”
“Don’t you want a cigarette?” Peter asked enticing his way into the cubby house. Jade and Katherine looked at each other, a cheeky smile forming across their young faces.
“Okay,” they said. “Come in.” Peter sat down between them on the lounge settee and passed them both a cigarette and lit it for them. Peter giggled at them as they both began to prance around puffing at the cigarettes showing off.
“Do you like them now?” Peter asked a cunning grin forming across his face.
“Yes,” Jade replied glancing at Peter with a cheeky smile.
“Okay, I’ve got to go,” Peter replied walking towards the front door before coming to a sudden stop his eyes glancing at the book sitting on top of the little green cupboard.
“What’s this?” Peter asked picking up the book from off the cupboard and began to read the first couple of pages.
“Oh no,” Peter said. “Have you read this?”
A red hue formed across Jade’s cheeks as her mouth searched for the right words to say. “We had a quick look but I couldn’t understand what they were doing. I put it there so I can take it home to Mum. Is it hers?” she said quickly, turning her head back and forth between Katherine and Peter.
Peter flicked through the pages quickly. “Would you like me to read it to you?”
“No thank you,” Jade replied sternly, placing her hands over the red hue upon her cheeks. Peter looked at Katherine devilishly before walking over to the lounge and sitting down next to her with the book in his hand. “Would you like me to read it to you Katherine?”
