Jaclyn TV - "Kyla Rae"

Instead of dreaming about a miracle, learn to make your own.

I think the principle knew. On the days that daddy said I could go to school she would just stare at my bruises. Every time I looked up she would be staring at me. I would quickly glance down because I knew that daddy didn’t like it when I looked him in the eye.

I liked learning and I knew I was the smartest in my grade, but the other kids were really mean to me. I think they didn’t like me because I was ugly. Daddy told me almost every morning that I was really ugly. One time I told him back that I knew I wasn’t, I didn’t go to school that week.

I never knew that it wasn’t normal for your daddy to hit you because I had never been to another girls house. One time this other girl in my class named Jolene said,” Kyla, why is there always bruises on you?” I told her that my daddy hits me but only when he has empty bottles around the house. She just looked at me really funny, and then she went and told all of her friends.

My daddy got a call from social services that night and they told him what I had told Jolene. Daddy got really mad and started talking really patiently with me. He said really slowly,” Kyla Rae you know that I do love you right? But you know that telling our secrets isn’t good right?” I quickly nodded. Then daddy said,” and the police don’t care if you’re only eight they will take you to jail for telling our secret. You better not tell anyone about our secret again or I will let them take you, do you understand?” I never told anyone else because I knew daddy would hit me really hard for telling our secret.

I was reading a book at the time about a little boy who’s mom hit him and his nice neighbor ended up saving him from his mom. He lived with his neighbor for the rest of his life. I wished that someone would come help me.

I put up with that treatment for 5 more years before I finally got the nerve to run. I had been planning on running away from him for a very long time, but it never seemed like the right time. Last night he was so upset because he had lost the last of his money on a poker game, and I hadn’t put away my dishes yet. I had had enough of that kind of treatment he could learn to pay the bills by himself. Instead of making his 13-year-old daughter work 2 jobs just so he could go by himself another drink.

My plan was to go to Mrs. Baily, the principle, and ask for her help. Daddy was passed out on the couch and I took everything I owned, which wasn’t very much, and left. I never looked back.

I’ve been living with Mrs. Baily for 15 years now. I now help kids with abusive or alcoholic parents. I tell them every day that you can’t wait for a miracle to happen, that they have to learn how to make their own. That’s what I did and it saved my life.