Topic: The Doll

Willow Paisley

Date: 2010-10-12 00:59 EST
"Willow!"

The young amber haired girl, who appeared to be walking in the opposite direction of the caller, picked up her pace. She was scowling, pretending not to have heard her mother who was standing on the back porch with both hands on her hips.

It was nearly one in the morning. A low, creeping fog clung to the grass of the large pasture where a farmhouse sat on the outskirts of town. It was a small, three bedroom, two-story house that appeared to be held together by the sheer will of it's owners. The Paisley's worked hard on their failing farm, struggling to make ends meet each month. It showed in the home's exterior upkeep that repairs and paint were not very high on Mr. Paisley's priorities.

"Willow Danielle! You get back here!" Amy Paisley wrung her hands in distress.

Willow was a problem child. Her parents had done what they could to keep her reigned in, but lacking the ability to watch her at all times allowed for the teen to slip further and further away. She'd recently taken to sneaking out on the nights her father had to work in town which left her mother's hands tied in watching the younger siblings.

As Willow's lean frame disappeared from view, Amy burst into tears. Holding a hand to her forehead, she slowly turned back to the house and turned off the porch light. Tears still streaming down her face, the Paisley matron wandered into the kitchen where she'd taken to waiting for her husband to return home.

Four hours later, Garret slipped silently into his home looking tired and worn out.

"Ames?" He whispered into the foyer, hanging his jacket on a peg by the door while he kicked off his muddy work boots. Someone in the kitchen stirred and he headed in that direction. Amy met him in the doorway looking just as exhausted.

"She's gone again isn't she?"

Amy nodded wearily, falling against her husbands chest with a strangled sob.

"We should be thankful that she still comes home. There's still that, Ames."

"She didn't even stop, Garret. I know she heard me call out to her and she didn't even stop."

Mr. Paisley pat his wife's curly tawny hair. In truth he was too exhausted to deal with Willow right now, but it was best to comfort his spouse on the nights she was this upset. "Amy we can't do anything about it tonight. Let's go to bed, we're both tired. She'll be back in the morning and we can deal with her then."

"Garret, I can't help but worry that one morning we're going to wake up and she won't come back."

"She always does, Ames."

Willow Paisley

Date: 2010-10-12 16:23 EST
Willow crawled into bed the next morning an hour before the sun came up. It seemed like she'd barely fallen asleep when suddenly the room was flooded with light. The teen groaned, rolling over and pulling the covers up over her head.

"Willow, don't test me this morning. I'm not letting you skip school because you didn't get enough sleep last night."

The body beneath the covers didn't move or acknowledge her mother's warning and allowed sleep to take hold once more. Willow heard her mother storm back into the room and yank the covers onto the floor. "Get up now, Willow! This is your last warning." She was about to leave the room again, when a mark on Willow's body made her pause. Amy gasped and grabbed Willow's arm, jerking the teen roughly to garner her attention. "Is that a hickey"!"

"Mom!" Willow twisted from her mother's grasp and sat up, not even attempting to hide the bruise on her neck. "Get out of my room," she snarled, hands balled into fists in anger.

"This is my house, young lady. You don't talk to me like that and you certainly don't come home with things like that!" Amy pointed at the hickey, anger rising. "Now get out of bed and get ready for school. If you miss that bus again?."

"What?" The teen countered, pushing her mother to make a threat. "You can't make me do anything! I'm an adult now."

"Then act like it, Willow!"

"I am, stop treating me like a child!"

"No, you're not. When you stop acting like a toddler, I'll stop treating you like one. Get up, get dressed and get on the bus." Amy Paisley appeared to be trying to calm herself, eyes closing while a few quick deep breaths were taken. "I cannot handle you being this way anymore. Don't push me, Willow."

"Or what, mom' Gonna ground me" Yeah, because that works out so well."

Tears welled up in Amy Paisley's eyes. "Your father and I talked after he came home last night while you were gone, doing God knows what. Willow, if".if you can't start following the rules around here, your father and I are going to send you to Westbrook."

Willow snorted. "An all girls boarding school?"

"I'm obviously doing something wrong with you. I can't seem to keep you under control and you continue to push the boundaries. If letting you go is the only way to keep you close, then we'll do it."

"But that place is a prison! I've heard about Westbrook—you're going to ship me off to some boarding school because you don't want me around the house anymore" Can't handle me, is that it' Some parent you are! You're supposed to love me no matter what I do."

Amy's heart was breaking. She knew Willow was only trying to push her buttons. The girl was a pro at hurting other people, but knowing this didn't make the words hurt any less. She backed out of the room, looking crushed, but resolved. "Your father and I love you very much, Willow, and you know that. You've left us no other choice, so clean up your act." She fell silent for a moment, unable to look back at her daughter. "Now get up.?