Breathless In Velvet

Synopsis

I ruin the designer beanbag Lily Brooks bought. To pay me back for upsetting his precious girlfriend, my father grabs my mother, the only one pleading for mercy, and shoves her inside the heavy upholstery. He grabs a needle and thread and sews her in. Laughter and playful screams echo from their bedroom as they flirt, blissfully oblivious. I'm frantic, my small fingers clawing at the seams, searching for a zipper that doesn't exist. My mother's muffled pleas grow faint and hollow. I fly to the door, pounding until my fists ache, but he just snaps from the other side. "It's just a layer of fabric, for god's sake! If your mother is so damn talented, she can find her own way out." A bodyguard pins me to the floor. I'm forced to watch, paralyzed, as the shape inside the velvet chair stops moving entirely. Five days pass. It's my birthday, and my father finally shows his face. He tosses a cheap doll at me as his expression twists in a sneer. "I dumped her. Is the 'good wife' happy now? Tell her to stop being so dramatic and get out here to see me." I point to the chair he's currently lounging on. The words are a broken whisper through my tears. "Mom is bleeding."