Soul Sisters (1)

"Here, your prescription was refilled." The man tosses a box of contraceptives on the table in front of Trinity. "Have you been taking them properly? It'd apparently been ready for a week, but you never mentioned if you needed more. It's imperative that you take them properly."

"I'm sorry daddy…I guess it slipped my mind. I have been taking them. I promise." She replies sheepishly, not looking him in the eye. "I'll tell you sooner next time." She falls silent as before.

"It wouldn't be so imperative if you weren't abusing your daughters. Ever consider that old man?" Shiori says this bluntly with venom, not showing even the slightest of reservations.

"Shi! You shouldn't talk to-." Trinity starts, but she's interrupted by a loud smack and yelling.

"You will not talk to me like that young lady!" He stands up and looks down at the girl on the floor, surrounded by broken glass and cutlery. "Damn, see what you've done?! Goddammit!"

"Shi stop it! Don't do that! You'll only make it worse for yourself! Just clean it up and-."

"That's it! Come here!" He grabs Shiori by her arm and yanks her up from the ground forcefully.

"Let go of me you old piece of shit! Let go!" She tries to resist, but she's not strong enough.

"I'm going to turn you into a respectable woman who can be a proper wife one day even if it kills you!" He drags her to his bedroom, calling out to Trinity as he goes. "Clean that up, girl!" He slams the door shut behind him and moments later, a struggle can be heard and Shi's cries.

Trinity gets down on her knees and proceeds to pick up the pieces of broken glass with trembling hands. Her nerves are shot, and it only gets worse as Shi's screams intensify behind the door. For nearly two years, every day has been much like this. Shiori talking back, getting hit, but refusing to stand down. Trinity had a brief period of that too, but it only took a few months for her to adjust. Shiori however, she's not so easily broken. She stubbornly refuses to yield to him.

However, he's just as stubborn and so has no reservations about brutalizing her as often as he feels he must. Whatever it will take to get her to submit. He's quite tenacious and spiteful too.

So, that leads them here, to this never-ending cycle of defiance and abuse. Trinity thought that it'd only last a few months, but this has become the norm over the past two years. She's tried to talk to Shiori about it; encourage her to submit just until the day comes that they can break free of his control, but she refuses. She feels the moment she submits, she's dead. So, she fights on.

Around fifteen minutes later, Trinity realizes the house has fallen silent. She returns to her spot at the table, obediently waiting for him to return. He soon does and sits in his seat at the table. He resumes drinking his coffee, which Trinity refilled fresh and hot, just moments ago. She glances over towards the bedroom, but it remains silent, and she doesn't question it.

It's silent for several more minutes, until he finally stands. "Well, I best be off then."

Trinity jumps up and grabs his hat and coat from beside the door, holding it out to him just as he approaches. He takes them and as he dresses, he causally says, "Trinity, you must work harder on teaching her respect. If you can't do that, then perhaps we'll need to revisit your training."

"That won't be necessary daddy. I will make her understand. I'm sorry, it's taking a bit longer than I expected. Please don't worry. We wouldn't want you to fall into poor health, would we?"

"As long as you understand. You two have no idea how lucky you are to have me. When you're a judge with such high prestige and powerful connections, you'll find you don't need to demand respect, it's simply given. Yet here at home I'm forced to demand it, from my youngest no less. Do you understand how frustrating that is for me? Without me, you girls would've been shipped off to some group home after your mother died. You would've been separated, and god only knows what would've happened to such pretty young things at the hands of predatory men. You really ought to be grateful it's me who owns your bodies. At least I treat you with love, don't I?"

"Yes daddy, you are quite gracious. We are grateful for all you do. We respect you highly."

"Perhaps you do, but Shiori doesn't make me feel very respected. You better change that." He pats her head and kisses her forehead. "You are my proudest achievement Trinity. Please don't ever betray me." He leans down to whisper in her ear. "I promise if you do…you'll regret it."

His threat is clear, and Trinity undoubtedly gets the message. "Yes daddy, I understand. I won't."