Picture Perfect

A family sat down for dinner, their smiles as wide as the room and their laughter infectious, but the wide eyes and lip biting of the two daughters, and the bruises hidden beneath long white skirts and pale blue sweaters told a different story.
Life for the family started as your genetic “Picture perfect” family. The family with a loving mother and father and their two daughters, so beautiful they could’ve passed for dolls. But tragedy struck and their mother passed away in a tragic accident, leaving the father to deal with his grief. He turned to alcohol, using it as a coping mechanism, causing a dark turn for this once ideal family.
Delaney and Daphne had always known their father, Daniel, was a strict man compared to their friends’ parents ever since their mother passed but never questioned it. They were too young to know what was happening.
Delaney was the youngest of the two sisters and known as her father’s favourite. She was always showered with attention, gifts and praise, whilst Daphne was left to fend for herself. “You’re thirteen, grow up. People your age are skinny, pretty and smart. And what are you? A disappointment, a failure, a burden” something Daphne was always told.
It wasn’t until Delaney turned ten that she realised the true extent of her father’s abuse. Empty glass bottles scattered across the floor. The air thick with the pungent smell of whiskey mixed with vodka and there stumbled Daniel, eyes glazed and legs weak as he stumbled upstairs. Daniel crept into Delaney’s room, placing his hand in between her thigh and lifting her favourite horse shirt over her head. Her heart raced and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as her body stiffened, afraid to move or scream for help. This became a regular occurrence and Delaney felt afraid of males ever since.
Meanwhile the abuse for Daphne was different. Her father’s night at the bar turned into rage and neglect every day. Daphne typically with tears streaming down her face, balled up in the corner as she trembled in fear with Daniel clenched fist, shouting obscenities at her and throwing her like a ragdoll around over something dumb like being 5 minutes late home.
This particular night their argument was over dinner. Her father just came home from the bar and saw that dinner was in the oven, not on the table. Like usual, Daniel shouted at Daphne, slowly moving closer to her but stumbling on his steps. “Why’sh dinner not ready” slurring on his words under his whiskey breath. “I told ya, I need it done before I walk through that door” as he pointed at a window. “Why do you never lish’en to me? Everything you do just dish’appoints me” he said, getting more and more aggressive.

Daphne stood before her father in the dimly lit kitchen saying nothing. She felt something different about this fight. It wasn’t her usual knot of fear in her stomach, it was more of a vein bulging, fiery feel. She knew what was coming from her father next; it was always the same. Her father’s rage full face approaching her slowly, his fist clenched to his side and shouting words. “You can’t just be good enough for me, can you? Always make me look like a fool. Why can’t my daughter make me proud?”. These words fired Daphne up, her blood boiling. She stood frozen; her eyes locked on her father. A flicker of defiance flashed through her and the air between them crackled a tense energy. Her father’s words echoed in her ears, filling her with a craving for revenge. This what seemed like a small argument was about to intensify. Daphne had thought back to all those times Delaney was raped, all those times her father punched her, and she decided enough was enough. She grabbed the greasy knife she used to cut the roast chicken and stabbed him repeatedly. She stopped with a smile beaming across her face. Blood covered the floor, a grumose scene with chunks of different organs scattered around as the body laid motionless.
Daphne felt no remorse, in fact she felt liberated. She has finally taken control of her life, and nobody could hurt her little sister anymore. She knew that if she wanted to have complete control of her life, she’d need to hide the body. As Delaney slept through this whole scene, Daphne knew she’d have to speed this process up. She got the local stray dog to clean up the scene as she burnt the rest of the body to ash in the firepit. “I’ve done it” she thought. But this didn’t stop here.
She was devoted to protecting her little sister now and didn’t want to hurt her by telling her their father died. She hid the truth. Delaney was convinced Daniel was on holidays. The thought of breaking the news to her ten-year-old sister was unbearable. She knew the truth would have to come out, but when?
Daphne developed a desire for murder now. She was uncontrollable. Animals, orphans, toddlers, newborns, adults, nobody was safe. She had taken the streets, stalking her next victim like a predator, seeking out those who had what she wanted. She was invincible, like nothing cold could touch her. The more she killed the more she craved it. The hunger grew stronger every passing day until it fully consumer her. Every lifeless body made her feel alive, Daphne knew she was a killer, nothing could change this thirteen-year-olds mind. This perfect family is a living lie.