Little Miss Lolly-pop

Little Miss Lolly-Pop
(Original)

Lolita “Lolly” McGhee was no more than 8. She sat on the hard ground in tears as three older boys loomed over her head. Her dainty legs were scrapped up from the pavement and her little floral dress was muddy and torn. They had her in a corner and would not let her pass. The leader of the pack, Mitchel, had a lollipop in his mouth as did the other two boys.

He was tall for being 12 and he used his height to his advantage. He’s black hair was styled in a shaggy buzz and he wore a black tee, light blue jeans, and cowboy boots. He often went after the smaller children at the school just for kicks. His favorite was Lolly. She was so small and never put up a fight. She was easy pickings to the boy and his two friends, Danny and Jordan.

“Awe, what’s the matter, Lollipop? Do you have a boo-boo?” Mitchel leaned in over her and grabbed her curly blond hair. “Such a sweet little thing but do you know what will make you sweeter?”

He removed the sticky red lollipop from his mouth and hastily rolled the candy into her golden hair. His two cohorts quickly did the same with theirs. They wound the sticky candy in as tightly as they could. Mitchel released her curls before he kicked her down onto her back.

“Oh, are you going to cry some more, you little baby?” he asked, pressing his boot clad foot down on her thin shoulder.

“Stop it! Th-that hurts! It really hurts,” she yelled through her cries of pain. “Please stop!”

“Say uncle! Say it,” Mitchel barked, pressing down harder.

“U-uncle! Uncle!” she cried as he finally pulled his foot from her abused shoulder.

“What a wuss! Such a crybaby,” he laughed as did his friends. “You really make this far too easy.”

“Hey, Mitch, let’s split before someone comes by,” Jordan suggested, tapping his leader on the shoulder.

“Yeah, we don’t need some nosey adult coming down on us again,” Mitchel said, acting like he was going to kick her one last time but stopped short. “Haha! Look at you flinch. C’mon, guys, let’s go.”

The boys turned and walked off, trying to act cool as they went. Lolly slowly got to her feet and painfully collected her books and backpack off the sidewalk. Lolly had no friends at Millbrook Academy. She wanted some but so many were scared of Mitchel that no one wanted to be friends with her. She was his main target after all. She walked away from the brick wall she had been assaulted behind. She lived only a block from the school and often walked on her own to and from. Her father was usually too drunk or hungover to walk or drive her.

She painfully limped home and opened the front door. The smell of old beer and rotten food hit her nose. She kicked some empty beer cans out of her path as she made her way towards the stairs for her bedroom. She barely put a foot on the stained carpeted step when she felt an empty can hit her in the back of the head.

“Yer late, brat,” her father slurred, looking over the back of the couch at her. “Where ya been all dis time, huh?”

“I-I asked for help with an assignment from my teacher,” she lied. “I wanted to make sure I was doing it right.”

“What’s dat in yer hair? Candy again?” he asked as she slowly nodded. “Dem boys pick on ya every day, don’t dey?”

“Yes,” she answered shamefully.

“I keep tellin’ ya to fight back. Yer a damn fool like yer mother was,” he grumbled, before pointing at the fridge. “Get me a couple more before ya head upstairs.”

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” she asked only to get hit in the face with another empty beer can. “Ouch!”

“Brat! Don’t order me around. Just get me what I asked ya for,” he snapped.

Lolly walked into the kitchen and opened the overly packed fridge. The smell of old food and spoiled milk hit her hard. She tried not to gag as she pulled out two silver and blue cans. She walked over to the couch and handed him his beer. He jerked them from her hands and imminently popped one open.

“All right, now get out of my face. I’m missin’ my show,” his ordered bitterly. “Ya might also wanna stay upstairs tonight, Lolly. The guys will be over tonight for poker and ya know how Mike gets around kids after he’s put back a few. I can’t afford another hospital bill if ya piss him off again. Just pretend ya don’t exist tonight.”

She silently nodded, turned, and started up the steps to her room. She turned into the second room on the right and shut the door. She just tossed her backpack down on the bed before she fell to the floor crying once again. She got no peace anywhere. Just once she would like a friend that could protect her but no one would come near.

It took her 30 minutes to get the lollipops from her hair. She had to climb into the bath and wait for the hot water to dissolve them enough to come out easily. Mitchel loved to put lollipops in her hair. He often called her Lollipop because her name nickname was Lolly and he had started to put the candy in her hair since last year. It just became a basic part of her life now. One time he had Jordan and Danny pin her down as he licked a whole bag of lollipops and put every one of them in her hair. Other kids at school stated calling Lollipop as well, thinking it was funny.

Lolly dried off and got ready for bed. She still needed to do her homework first. She walked out of the bathroom and looked off the landing into the living room. Her dad and his 3 friends were huddled around a card table. Poker chips were on the table along with several spent beer cans. She saw Mike sitting to her dad’s right. The heavy set man already looked irritated. He didn’t seem to be winning much.

She just turned and walked into her bedroom. She pulled out her homework and worked on that for a couple hours. She struggled on her math but she couldn’t ask her dad with the game going on and with Mike downstairs. She’d just have to do what she could. Why was common core a thing? She finally put everything up and turned off the overhead light. She crawled under the cold covers and looked up at the glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars above her head. A minute ticked by before she looked out her window across the room, seeing the full moon rising up behind the dead tree in the backyard. She drew in a shaking breath and pulled the covers up over her head.

“I really wish I had a friend. Just one, that’s all I need,” she almost cried again. “I’m so very lonely.”

Her final words were not unheard. While she fell into dreamland a shadow slipped into her room through the small crack in the window and slithered over to her. It seemed to be study her sleeping form with bright orange eyes before exploring her room. It crept over every inch of her bedroom; from corner to corner and from floor to ceiling. It finally settled in her closet in the far corner out any light and there it would stay, patiently waiting.

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Lolly returned home the follow afternoon, once again with candy wrapped in her hair and a few more cuts and bruises. The teachers often asked what happened and she would tell them but most of the time the teachers did very little to remedy the problem. Mitchel’s father was the head of the Board of Education. They didn’t want to do much in fear of losing their jobs. Mitchel’s father was one of those types of people that liked to play favorites and he changed favorites quite often. Millbrook had already gone through 3 principals in the last 2 years. Needless to say the school staff tiptoed around Mitchel and his hooligans.

Lolly paused at the steps and turned to look at her father. His eyes were fixed on a ball game. He had come into some cash last night it seemed. She only knew this because there were new cases of beer by the fridge and a few groceries yet to be put away. She’d have to do that when got cleaned up. She cleared her throat to ask an obvious question but if she didn’t she would get a can chucked at her.

“Do you need anything before I go to my room?” she questioned as he turned toward her and held up a half empty can. “Of course…”

She got two more cans from the fridge before handing them over. He looked her up and down as if disgusted by her very presence. He reached out and harshly jerked one of the lollipops from her hair. She yelped from the pain and clamped a hand over her sore head almost in tears.

“Yer an idiot… Can’t even stand up for yerself. Fight back once and awhile. I keep tellin’ ya that,” he laughed, pushing her out of the way of the TV. “Yer only bringin’ this shit on yerself. Go do yer homework and get outta my face.”

She left and repeated the same routine as last night. She took a bath and soaked her hair. She got in her pajamas and started her homework. An hour ticked by when she heard something in the closet. She got up and carefully made her way over, tiptoeing. It was most likely another rat. Her house was riddled with vermin. A rat would not surprise her in the least. She grabbed the small bat from the floor as she stood in the small door. She looked around, moving some dirty clothes but couldn’t find it.

“Hello, Lolly,” a little girl’s voice said to her out of the darkness in the far corner. “You don’t look so jolly.”

“Wh-who… Who said that?” she asked, staring into the dark corner, ready to swing her little bat.

“I did silly, my name’s Lilly,” the darkness answered as Lolly reached for the light cord above her head. “Oh, no that will be much too bright! I heard your wish late last night. You said you were lonely and that you wanted one friend only.”

“You… You heard me say that? But I-I was by myself,” Lolly answered, sitting down on the floor, the bat now in her lap. “How did you hear me say that?”

“I am magic you see and you can believe in me. I heard you cry as I came by. I decided to take pity, on little girl pretty,” Lilly said happily. “I hope you don’t mind if I stay, I would like nothing more than to play.”

“You mean it? So… You really want to be my friend?” Lolly asked, leaning in, trying to see her new friend.

“Of course I do, I hated seeing you so blue,” Lilly answered, cheerfully.

“Um, Lilly, why do you speak in rhyme?” Lolly asked with puzzlement on her face.

“It saves time,” was Lilly’s quickly response.

Lolly paused, looking a little perplexed at the response.

“O-okay… If you say so,” Lolly shrugged.

“Lolly, will you be nice and bring me some mice?” Lilly asked, sweetly
.
“Why?” Lolly inquired, looking very confused.

“I need to eat but I only like meat,” came the shadow’s sweet sounding response. “If you have chicken, that would be kickin.’”

“I… I’ll see what I can do for you,” Lolly got back to her little bare feet.

“I like my meat fresh, I enjoy tender flesh,” Lilly responded with an near hissing sound.

“O-okay… Uh, I think I do have some chicken but it needs to thaw,” Lolly turned to leave the closet.

“Just make sure it’s raw,” Lilly quickly answered in a sing-song voice.

Lolly walked out of her room and down the stairs. She had a friend at long last but her new friend was weird. Perhaps, maybe even a little bit creepy. She couldn’t see Lilly and that worried the young girl some. Why would Lilly want to remain hidden and why did she want raw meat so badly? Lilly did say she was magic so clearly she was some sort of magical creature.

Lolly was greeted with full grocery bags littered about the kitchen. She forgot to put up the remaining groceries. She quickly got to work putting the last of the food away, before grabbing the chicken from the freezer. She quietly snuck back upstairs to feed her new friend. She would put in the tub with some warm water to help it thaw faster. He father was passed out drunk on the couch and he was none the wiser of her chicken thievery.

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Two weeks ticked by and Lolly and Lilly got to be very close. The two would carry on conversations well into the night. They would play with a ball, play with cards, and draw pictures. Lolly, was constantly trying to find food for Lilly. She had to start setting out traps for mice and rats. Her father didn’t need to notice that good meat was vanishing. Lilly had one big cardinal rule, Lolly was never allowed past a certain threshold in the closet. She could set items down over it and Lilly would take them from there.

One day when Lolly went to get something from the closet shelf she knocked something off, hitting herself in the head. She picked up the damaged box and opened it. There was a doll in there that her mother had given her a long time ago. She pulled it out and had a look at it. When she first received the 24 inch doll she was only 3. She wanted to play with it but her mom said it was too expensive to play with so she put up in the closet to protect it. She told Lolly when she was older and understood the value she could have it back.

“What is in the box?” Lilly questioned as Lolly showed the shadow the contents. “Ah, such pretty golden locks.”

The doll was made of fine porcelain. Its hair was the same color as Lolly’s and done up in large super tight curls, ending right at its shoulders. A red headband with a little bow sat behind the doll’s straight cut bangs. She wore a little white dress with red polka dots, a red satin sash around the waist, and a full fluffy skirt with red lace trim cut just up above her knees. The short sleeves were puffy and there was a flat little red collar around the doll’s neck. Her feet had white lacy socks and shiny, black Mary Jane shoes.

“Mom gave her to me when I was really small. She told me not to play with it. She didn’t want me to break it,” Lolly sat down and examined the doll better. “I always wanted to dress like this just once. One year I found a dress kind of like this for Halloween. I wanted to take the doll with me tick-or-treating but mom told me no again. I almost forgot about her.”

“What happened to your mother, if that’s not a bother?” Lilly asked and Lolly let a long sigh.

“About 2 and half years ago it started; something about an affair. From what I remember Mom had had enough of Dad’s drinking and found someone else. Dad caught her, they had a bad fight, and she stormed out. I kind of understood what was going on but not fully. I was still a little too young. I just knew it was a bad thing,” Lolly said, playing with the doll’s hair a little. “Dad straightened up for a little bit trying to get her back but she… I wasn’t quite 6 yet. My birthday was only a month away. Dad had her on the phone and he handed it to me to talk her into coming to my party that he was setting up with the family. She said she would come but she never showed. I-I didn’t even get a card. It hurt me really bad and Dad was furious at her.

“Not long after that he started drinking again and worse than before. When the divorce happened just over a year ago Mom just let Dad keep me. Mom’s new boyfriend didn’t want to take care of ‘another man’s child.’ Dad lost his good job. He came in drunk a lot of mornings and one day the supervisor caught him. He can’t keep any good jobs now and constantly gets fired. We have a lot of debt and any money he gets is usually from odd jobs or his gambling. Most of the money goes to beer and necessity bills like the power and house. There have been times when he gets so drunk he’s hurt me out of anger. He even broke my ring finger once by slamming the door on my hand.”

She held up her right hand and showed a slightly crooked ring finger. It was barely noticeable unless it was pointed out no one would know. There was tiny scar just under the nail that was roughly the shape of the bone in a T-bone steak. Lolly set the doll back in the box and put the dusty lid back on before pushing it up against the wall, out of the way.

“The last time we ever heard from Mom she was getting married in some place called Cancun,” Lolly said, curling into a ball and let out a small sniff. “I sort of blame Dad for letting Mom leave. If he hadn’t been drinking so much Mom might still be here. She doesn’t even write us. I think she hates us both.”

“This I am sorry to hear. I know it must be hard to bear,” Lilly said, sympathetically. “I didn’t know just how bad. I’m pretty sure you are sad.”

“Sometimes, yeah… Before Mom left, Dad and I would do a lot of fun things together. He took me to me zoo and to the toy store when I did well at school. He even paid for a year of dance school for me with I was 4 because I begged and begged,” Lolly said, feeling hot tears begin to build in her eyes. “Now I can barely get him to buy me new clothes or let me get something for myself when we’re at the grocery store. We don’t do anything together anymore. Last year I wanted to go on a field-trip and I wanted him to come with me but he said no. I still wanted to go but you had to pay for the trip. It was a school group so the tickets were cheap… Dad wouldn’t even give me the money for that. I just stayed home that day.”

“That is not fair. He simply does not care. It sounds like your life is just full of strife,” Lilly said as Lolly buried her face into her knees. “Please do not cry. I know it’s hard to try. But one day when I am strong, I will help you right what is wrong. That I swear, to my sweet little dear.”

“Y-you mean it?” Lolly looked up into the dark corner of her closet.

“I am becoming stronger, it will only be a little while longer. Just hold out until then and you will never be hurt again,” Lilly said trying to sound cheerful. “One day you will take my hand and I will show you what I have planned.”

“Okay. Thank you, Lilly,” Lolly gave a weak smile and rubbed a tearful eye. “You’re so good to me, unlike everyone else in my life.”

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Lolly had the feeling of being watched as she tried to hurry home. The afternoon was cool and rainy. She knew Mitchel and his goons were lurking somewhere nearby. She needed to get home before they snatched her and did something to her. She picked up her feet a little faster as the rain started to come down harder. She used her backpack as a makeshift umbrella. She wasn’t too far from her house. It was just in view when she felt a set of arms grab her from behind and picked her up off the ground. Her purple and pink backpack ripped from her tiny fingers.

“Let’s get out of here,” Mitch ordered, carrying Lolly farther and farther away from her home.

“Let me go! Help,” she screamed but Mitchel quickly covered her mouth.

She managed to pinch a bit of his fingers in her teeth. He pulled his hand away as she was carried down another block and dumped onto the floor of an abandoned house. The rain poured through gaping holes in the crumbling roof. The floors were cracked and peeling. The crumbling walls looked like could crash in at any given moment. She tried to get up before Mitchel slammed a foot onto her back but she had no such luck.

“Little witch, you bit me! Let’s make this quick. Danny, hand me those sheers,” Mitchel held out a hand as Danny fished through his backpack. “C’mon, man.”

“Give me a second. I had to really bury these so the teachers didn’t see them,” Danny finally pulled out small pair of gardening sheers and handed them over. “Dad just sharpened them last week.”

“Excellent! This will make quick work,” Mitchel looked down at the shivering, fear stricken Lolly. “Hold her for me.”

The girl was as white as a sheet, looking up at the green sheers in his hands. The boys stood over her with nasty grins. What were they going to do with those? She scrambled to get out from under Mitchel’s foot. By the grace of God she managed to wriggle out. She got to her feet and ran from them as fast as she. She ran into what used to be the kitchen. She tried to run to the back door but Jordan grabbed her first. She struggled against him with all her might.

“C’mere, midget,” Jordan snapped, pulling hard on her wrist.

“Nooo,” Lolly bit into his hand like she had done Mitchel but much harder.

Jordan let go of her with bloody sores on his knuckles. She then kicked out, planting the sole of her sneaker square between his legs. He crumpled to ground in an instant, whining. She went for the door again but Danny jumped her and knocked onto her stomach. Mitchel quickly came in to put some extra weight on her. She struggled against the much larger boys. Her fingers were just inches from the base of the door. Her freedom was just out of reach.

“Dammit! Hold still, runt,” Danny snapped, pressing down harder on her. “Jordan, get over here and help hold her. You’re the biggest out of us.”

“Just give me a c-couple more minutes,” Jordan whimpered. “She nailed straight in the nuts!”

“Let’s move her back into the living room,” Mitchel said as he and Danny started to drag her along rotting floor.

“NOOO,” she yelled, digging her nails into the peeling linoleum tiles.

Her hands scrambled for whatever she could cling to. Her fingers latched onto a piece of wood up under the lip of the cabinet under the sink. She rolled over the best she could and took a wild swing. Mitch quickly let go before she could strike him. She was able to roll over a little more unto her back.

“Watch it! She’s got a damn knife,” Mitch exclaimed as Danny let go of her too.

She took a moment to look at the rust covered blade. It was actually a cleaver not a knife. It was very blunt and not good for cutting but it was enough to scare Mitchel and Danny away from her. She scrambled to her feet and hurried backwards toward the door again. They weren’t going to risk getting close to her now. She wasn’t quite to the door when Jordan slammed her ribs into the counter. The cleaver was knocked from her hands. It fell and snapped in half when it hit the rotten floor. The only weapon she had was no more and she had no other means to fight them off. This wasn’t fair! None of this was!

Jordan grabbed her tight and picked her up, holding her tightly. He brought her back into the living room and slammed her back onto the floor, putting his full weight on her. Danny quickly jumped on her as well. She wasn’t getting away this time. She struggled and screamed as Mitchel reclaimed the sheers from the filthy floor and stood over her again.

“This will be so much sweeter now, Lollipop,” he leered and opened the large blades.

“STOOOP! Don’t do this,” she pleaded in fear as the first signs of tears start show in her eyes.

He didn’t care a damn about her. Mitchel bent over and hooked the open blades under her long blond hair. She felt the cold metal scrap her scalp as they closed with a sharp, grinding snap.

“ST-STOOOOP!” she screamed at the top of her lungs as she felt the blades open again and move a little farther up her head. “PLEASE! STO-O-OP!”

“I was just going to give you a trim but to hell with it,” Mitchel laughed. “Let’s see if we can give a pixie cut instead!”

Tears poured from her brown eyes as he continued to cut random chucks from her head, very close to her scalp. She saw tuffs of her hair fall into her face and the floor. She struggled more and more. She ended up getting her scalp cut open from moving around so much.

“Easy there, Lollipop,” Mitchel said. “You don’t want me cutting off an ear, do you?”

“Pl-ease! Please, Mitchel, don’t d-do this,” she begged, her wet face picking up all the dirt and tiny flakes of trash off the old floor. “Stop! I-I can’t take this anymore!”

“Such a crybaby,” he took another wide cut from her hair. “If you just behave it will all be over in a couple of minutes!”

“Please! Noooo,” she sobbed hard as Danny held down her head.

Mitchel took a couple more slices and started to throw her cut hair into her face. She choked a little on the thin strands along with the dust on the floor. Mitch set the sheers on the floor before walking over to her backpack and picked it up. He stood in front of her and started to go through it. He pulled out all her notebooks and textbooks. What was he going to do with those? He grabbed her English notebook and started to tear it into shreds with his bare hands.

“That’s my homework,” she screeched as he grabbed her math work and destroyed it too. “Stop it! St-stop it right now!”

“You have no room to order me around, turd. This is what you get for attacking us,” Mitchel snapped as he went for a science textbook. “If you hadn’t tried to fight us I wouldn’t be doing this. Now this looks expensive.”

“That’s the school’s,” she quickly stated as he opened the hard cover book. “Don’t touch that!”

“No, shit, Little Miss Obvious, it’s the school’s,” he quickly started to rip pages out and crumple them up. “I simply don’t care!”

He pulled out most of those pages before he reached for the math textbook next. He did the same to her English textbook and her history textbook. There was nothing she could do to stop him. Danny and Jordan wouldn’t get off her. When he had finished shredding everything he walked back over to his backpack and pulled out the usual. It was a full bag of lollipops along with some bubble gum mixed in.

“There’s just enough of that hack job left to stick a few suckers in there,” Mitchel leered down at her, handing out the candy to his cohorts. “Let’s chow down, boys. Get as much in there as you can.”

All three of them started getting to work, unwrapping in the lollipops and rubbing in the chewed gum. It got the point where she just gave up. She wasn’t getting free until they said so. She would have to endure this for now. She didn’t like feeling helpless like this but she didn’t have the strength to get away. This was just going to have to be her fate for now.

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Lolly rushed into her house sopping wet and shivering violently. Her butchered hair was riddled with gum and colorful suckers. The cut she received had bleed down the side of her neck just behind her left ear. She stumbled over the trash by the door as she tried to get to the stairs. She wanted to get to her room and talk to Lilly. She dashed by her father on the couch. He looked over to see her mounting the stained steps.

“Heeey… Couple of beers,” he slurred.

He was a little more drunk than usual but Lolly in her panic didn’t pick up on that. She just wanted to get away from everyone and everything. She faced down her father and drew in a sharp breath. She quickly lashed out expressing the anger she was bottling up at the moment.

“Get them yourself, you stupid jerk! I’m not your slave,” she bellowed and dashed up the stairs. “Go to hell and just leave me alone!”

She stumbled on the last step before she reached the landing. She recovered and tore open her bedroom door, making a beeline for her closet. She needed to see Lilly. She needed to talk to her friend. She was only half way to the closet when she felt something grab the back of her shirt and pull her backward. She stumbled backwards to the floor. She sat up on her elbows and peered up into her father’s angry face as he loomed overhead.

“Lolly, I ask very little of ya… And I don’t like dat lip ya just took with me! I just wanted some damn beers,” he snapped and grabbed her again by the front of her shirt and hoisted her up. “It’s not dat damn hard, is it?”

She tried to pull away from him but he wasn’t letting go. She started crying again and the tears made tracks down her filthy face. He looked at her devastated hair and the blood running down her neck. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip.

“Dat’s another thin’! Stop bein’ such a damn coward! Look at ya! Nothin’ but a weak piece of trash,” he snapped, yanking out a piece of candy from her head. “No wonder yer always bullied by dem! Fight back once and a while!”

As if on cue she did just that. She kicked him hard in the shin as many times as she could and clawed at his hand. That only severed to make him angrier. He threw her into the closet before slamming the door shut on her ankle. She screamed out in pain the moment the edge of the door met bone.

“Stop yer caterwaulin’, brat!” he yelled at her. “Ya don’t ever strike yer father! Not ever!”

He slammed the door on her ankle once more and she clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle her cry of pain. He spit on the floor before exiting the room. Lolly opened the door and slid her ailing leg into the safety of the closet. She turned to look over in the corner where Lilly was quietly sitting. Lolly’s brown eyes were flooded with hot tears once again.

“Your father is a jerk, how bad are you hurt? I do not like this, my poor dear little miss,” Lilly hissed as Lolly looked at her swelling ankle. “What happened to your hair? Parts of your head are bare. What is this smear of red? Why have you bled?”

Lolly took in a few hard, quivering breaths trying to collect herself. She rubbed her burning eyes and sniffed heavily. This wasn’t fair. She was supposed to feel safe in her home but there was no safe place for her. Not anymore. Perhaps not ever.

“Mi… M-Mitchel, Danny, and J-Jordan held me down and c-c-cut my hair before sticking candy in it again. I struggled and got cut… Mitchel cut my hair with some pruning sheers. D-Danny and Jordan held m-me while Mitchel sh-shredded my textbooks,” she cried, reaching out and grabbed her doll out of its box. “They were never this bad before. N-not ever. They took me to an empty h-house so no one would bother th-them! No one likes me! No one ever l-liked me! I’m just a st-stupid, unlikable little girl! I’m L-Little Miss Nobody!”

“Lolly, I hate seeing you so sad, because people are so bad. I like you lots and I care about your thoughts,” Lilly said in a sad tone. “Please don’t cry, I will make the pain go bye.”

Lolly hugged the doll closer to her chest and quivered.

“How will y-you do that, Lilly?” Lolly asked, wiping a soggy eye. “What can y-you do? You never leave this closet. H-how can you help me?”

“This may be true but I really mean to help you. Are you mad at these boys so bad? Are you mad at your dad?” Lilly asked with a strange inquisitive tone.

“What do y-you think, Lilly?! They’re always hurting m-me and saying nasty things to me. They h-hate me! They’ve always hated me a-and I haven’t figured out wh-why,” Lolly almost yelled, clutching the doll tighter still.

“Hate can be born without a cause, because people love to exploit flaws. Do you hate these boys? You should not be one of their toys. I know how you can get them back. Please, come into the black,” Lilly hummed as Lolly looked at her confused. “Come closer to me and I’ll let you see. I have finally grown strong and I will help right what’s wrong.”

Lolly sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand and hugged the doll again.

“Y-you mean it? Can you really help me n-now? Can you make it where no one will ever h-hurt me ever again?” Lolly asked, scooting a little closer to the dark threshold. “I can’t stand them, none of them! Sometimes I wish they would all just drop dead! That something bad will happen to them and they could never bother me ever again!”

“My friend, I will gladly show you how. Please come on back now,” Lilly beckoned as Lolly crawled over the invisible line. “Do not worry; this will be over in a hurry. It is now time to take my hand and I’ll show you what I have planned.”

Lolly barely saw the shadowy hand outstretched from the darkness. She freed one arm from the doll and nervously reached out to take the shadowy hand into hers. The dark hand was icy cold and squeezed so tight it felt like her own hand was about to break. She was suddenly yanked into the empty darkness with her fragile doll. She never got a chance to scream for help. The last thing she saw were two bright orange orbs that burned like the fires of hell.

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A pair of small dainty feet clad in shiny, black Mary Janes and white lacy little socks slowly and smoothly stepped down the torn and stained carpeted stairs. They stepped off the last step and instantly turned toward the nasty kitchen. Downstairs was dark with the only light coming from blaring TV. The dainty feet stopped in front of a line of drawers by the stove. A small slickly grey hand reached out and slid the top drawer open. The sound of silverware shuffling caught the drunkard’s attention. He looked off into the darkness through his blurred vision. He let out a nasty belch as he saw the hazy dark form of Lolly, pulling something out of the drawer before closing it.

“Lolly, let’s get it right dis time. Bring me two beers. Nah, make it three dis time,” he grumbled as she slowly turned to face the fridge.

He turned back to the TV as he heard her open the squeaky fridge door and grab the cans. Her footsteps were barely heard as she stopped behind the couch.

“Here, Dad, I brought you your beer just like a good little dear,” she said smoothly as she reached over the back of the couch, setting them down one at a time beside him. “I’m sorry about before. I know it was just a simple chore.”

“Damn right it was,” he huffed, looking at the cans on the cushion to his right. “It wasn’t dat damn hard, was it?”

“It was not, Dad. I’m sorry I acted so bad,” she said, fiddling with something behind her back. “I know I was rude and I acted like a prude.”

“Why are ya rhymin’? It’s kinda weird, girl,” he grumbled, finishing his last beer, before crushing the can and tossing it off the side. “How’s that cut yer head?”

“It is so much better. I washed it with a little soap and water,” she said, sweetly. “Let me open one for you. It’s the least I can do.”

“Yer actin’ odd, Lolly,” he said, grabbing one to hand it back to her. “Ya get knocked in the head dat bad? Don’t tell me have’ta take ya to the damn hospital.”

A moment later he felt a sharp and unbearable pain dig into the back of his hand. He quickly turned to see a large kitchen knife impaled into the back of his right hand that carried straight through to the other side of the beer can. The knife was harshly retracted with a hard jerk. He let out a scream of pain as the beer can sprayed everywhere and fell to the old, worn cushion. He turned to look at his daughter ready to lash out at her. How dare she do this to him! What was her damn problem?

But once he got a look at her his heart skipped a beat, seeing her in the flickering light of the TV. His daughter was smiling at him like some crazed maniac. Her skin was a nasty shade grey and her butchered blond hair was now thick and full. Her light golden locks were styled like doll’s hair with 6 large spring-like curls just at her shoulders with straight cut bangs. A little red headband and bow adorned her head. She wore a white dress with red polka dots, short puffy sleeves, a red satin sash on her waist, a flat red collar around her neck, and a red lace trim on the base of the full, puffy skirt cutting off just above her knees. In her right hand she held up the large crimson stained knife and in her left a clean cleaver.

Her eyes burned like hellfire deep into his. Fear shot down his spine looking up at the thing that was once his daughter. She jumped over the sofa and landed gracefully in front of him. She held up the blades in front of her before pointing them at her father.

“Poor, poor, Daddy, but you’ve been the baddy,” she leered, rising her left hand with the cleaver well over her head.

“L-Lolly? What are ya…?! God, d-don’t! GGGAAAAH!” he choked out as she brought the cleaver down on his right shoulder.

Bone cracked under the force of the blade cutting deep into it. Her smile only widened to a unnatural contort. She enjoyed seeing him in pain. She pressed down harder, putting her weight into the bulky blade. The cleaver dug deeper and deeper into his clavicle and the meat of his shoulder. She raised her right hand and drove the knife deep into the opposite shoulder. He screamed out once more in total agony as both blades ripped into him. She let out a terrifying laugh as her father writhed on the sofa in front of her.
“I’m Little Miss Lolly-pop, pop, pop. And I love to go chop, chop, chop,” she sang as she yanked out the cleaver from his should and raised her arm for another swing.

In his drunken stupor he still managed to find a way to pull out the large knife from his shoulder and roll out of the way of the cleaver just in time. The cleaver tore into the couch, spilling out the puffy, white filler. He clambered to his clumsy feet as he tried to run from her. The room was spinning and the trash on the floor wasn’t helping. He stumbled over some old dishes and he landed hard onto his chubby stomach. It wasn’t long before Lolly was standing over him, rocking back and forth on her Mary Janes. He painfully looked up at her as she loomed over him, giving him that same wide, toothy grin. His daughter looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

“I do believe I’ve given you a scare. You’ll forgive if I don’t care,” she scoffed, crouching down and grabbed a fist full of his thin grey hair to raise his head off the floor. “Daddy, are you sweet and good to eat?”

She stuck out her tongue that was a tar black and stretched down well past her chin. His brown eyes widen as she ran her sticky tongue up his scruffy face. His skin felt like it was on fire. She pulled her tongue back in with a nasty slurp.

“Mmm, you are sweet and good to eat,” she hummed and brought the knife down on his bad hand once again, pinning it to the floor.

With the cleaver she struck down, cutting 4 fingers clean off in an instant. He screamed out again in agonizing pain, kicking and wreathing. She carefully picked through the severed fingers. She grabbed the ring finger and studied it, before reaching into her dress. He turned to watch through his painful tears as she put a small white stick into the opened end of his butchered finger. She then popped the warm digit into her mouth like it was a sweet candy, a lollipop.

“This is very good and tastes just like it should,” she grinned, pulling it out by the stick and licked it over and over with her black tongue as it slowly melted away the flesh. “I like flesh and I like it fresh.”

This was just too much! He needed to get out of his house more than ever. He reached out with his good hand and grabbed the knife pinning his hand in place. He managed to pull it out just enough to get his hand free. She scrambled to reclaim the blade from him. They only fought for a moment. He realized it wasn’t worth it and that he just needed to get away from her. She was far stronger than he remembered her being.

Painfully he struggled to his feet again. He stumbled again but kept his balance this time. He just couldn’t move fast enough and it didn’t help he was disoriented. He could hear his daughter right behind him, humming and skipping merrily. She was still smiling and sucking on the finger as she chased him into his bedroom. This was actually the worse place he could be. It was only now he realized his mistake.

She went to strike at him again with the knife just as he cleared the bedroom door. He quickly shut the door with all his weight. The long knife became pinned between the door and the frame. He felt her trying to pull the blade free but suddenly there was a hard snap and the struggling stopped. What was that sound just now?

“This is a sorry joke, my knife just broke,” her voice pouted angrily from behind the door. “I thought it would be good to slash but clearly it was just trash!”

She clicked her tongue and threw the broken half to the floor. She twitched the cleaver from her left hand to her right. Her dad knocked the broken blade form the door and shut it, a flipped the lock. She was going to have to get a little rougher now it seemed.

“This game is fun, I like seeing you run,” she said, studying the door with her hellfire eyes. “Don’t be a bore, open the door.”

“Lolly, wh-why are ya doin’ dis?! Are ya re-really plannin’ to kill me?!” her father shrieked, still trying to keep his weight on the door but he was starting to fade and fast. “What h-happened to ya?”

He didn’t a get a response right away from her. He knew that wasn’t good. The tension of the silence unnerved him that much more. What was she planning now? Without warning the tip of the cleaver was poking out from his side of the door. The blade was pulled back and punched back in again with great force. He stumbled back into the bed in complete shock. That was just a basic kitchen cleaver that was ripping a hole into the bedroom door. Finally a narrow hole was made as she peeked in at him for a moment with a glowing orange eye. She quickly got back to work, hacking away at the flimsy wood.
With just a basic cleaver she chopped a hole in the door. He stuck her face in the hole and grinned at him. He shivered as she started to laugh at him.

“Here’s a funny jolly! Heeeere’s Lolly!”

The door was kicked in nearly hitting him as it crashed to the floor. She skipped her way in over the busted door, waving the cleaver around she was playing music with a conductor’s baton. It was clearly only a tune she could hear.

“L-Lolly, no! Stop… Wh-why are ya doin’ dis for?” he demanded as he tried to scoot away from her along the floor.

Her smile faded into a nasty snarl as he watched him crawl helplessly along the floor.

“Why do you think? I’m tired of watching you drink! I came home in pain and you acted like I was your bane,” she scoffed, pointed the bulky blade at him like an accusing finger. “I am not some a toy for anyone to enjoy. I’ve had enough, and this is not a bluff!”

“L-Lolly! Lolly, sweetheart, please! I’ll cleanup myself and the house,” he begged wholeheartedly at his daughter. “I-I’ll find a better job! I’ll take ya to places like da zoo and da mall! D-do ya remember dat? Baby, please, stop! Yer truly scarin’ me! L-Lolly, don’t do dis! I’ll do whatever ya want! Please, don’t k-kill me! Lolly!”

“Daddy, I hope you’re ready, because I’m going to take these rhymes from Freddy,” she sung, backing him into a corner of his bedroom. “One, two, Lolly’s coming for you. Three, Four, you’ll be dead on the floor. Five, six, you’ll be good on my sticks. Seven, eight, I was born from hate. Nine, ten, I love the taste of your skin.”

She licked a bit of blood from the side of the cleaver and grin at him again.

“Lolly, stop! L-Lolly, don’t do dis,” he pleaded in a panic as she drew in closer and closer. Her eyes burning brighter with each step. “L-Lolly! No! Lolly! Oh, God, Lolly! St-stop!”

She raised the blade high over her head with both hands and laughed as her father shook in unbridled fear. She was going to end it all right now. She brought the gleaming cleaver into the top of his head. She pulled it back out and embedded the blade into the crown of his skull again. Blood poured down his lifeless face. She looked at the cleaver then back at her father. This was just so much fun taking out her pent up rage after all these years! She quickly started to just strike him in other, random areas just for the shear hell of it.

“HAHAHAHA! I’m Little Miss Lolly-pop, pop, pop and I love to go chop, chop, chop!”

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Mitchel yawned as he headed home for the afternoon. Jordan and Danny didn’t show up to school that morning. If they were going to play hooky why didn’t they invite him? He clicked his tongue in annoyance, thinking about it. Come to thinking of it, Lolly wasn’t at school either; mostly likely because she was just too embarrassed to go to school with such a hack job. That had gone over better than he had expected. He was nearly home when he saw a familiar head of blond hair near the park’s entrance. What was that twerp doing over there?

He crossed the street and entered the city park. She moved away from him and rather quickly. Where had she gone? He spotted her again not too far and walked into a more covered area. She was just setting herself up for this. He pushed his way through the thick shrubs and found her in the tiny clearing. She had her back towards him with a shiny red leather purse strapped around her shoulder. She was wearing one hell of a cutesy outfit and her blond hair looked better than ever in those large super tight curls. From behind she liked like some stupid doll. He raised an eyebrow at her appearance. Was that a wig? It had to be given what happened last afternoon.

“Hey, there, twerp,” he called out to her as she barely turned to look over her shoulder. The stick of a lollipop just peeked into view. “What’cha doing here all alone, Lollipop? It’s not safe for someone like you.”

“I’m not the least bit scared and I didn’t know you’d cared,” she answered as he inched towards her. “So how was school? I know it can’t help a fool.”

Mitchel paused at her words, green eyes growing wide. What did she just say to him? He gnashed his teeth in aggravation. Did she just make fun of him?

“What did you just say, you little turd?” he snapped at her, balling up an angry fist. “Where do you get the gall to say that to me, huh?! I think you need an attitude adjustment!”

“I’m not here for your amusement,” she replied, sharply.

“What’s with this rhyming BS you’re doing, anyway?” he asked, bitterly. “It’s annoying as hell.”

“Mitch, I have something to share, take one if you dare,” she giggled, bringing her hands into view.

Mitchel took a moment realizing that her skin was an unhealthy shade of grey that he hadn’t noticed until now. Even her bare legs under the skirt were a deathly grey. She held up her hands a little higher. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach, looking at the items on the ends of lollipop sticks. They were body parts! He took a horrified stepping back as she slowly turned to face him directly. His shock caused him stumbled to the wet grassy ground; his heart pounding hard in his heaving chest. Her face was the same dark sickly grey and there was a hideous smile cutting across it. He then took noticed of her fiery eyes as they bore deep into him. This wasn’t Lolly! This was some sort of monster!

“So do you want a Jordon nose?” she held up her left hand before holding up her right. “Or perhaps you prefer some Danny toes. All are sweet and good to eat.”

“You g-gotta be… Th-that’s not a funny joke,” Mitchel’s face blanched white as he scooted along the ground and Lolly skipped towards him. “Lolly, that’s disgusting! Those c-can’t be for real! Get rid of them! I-I mean it! Stop it!”

She reached up and pulled out a partially dissolved pinkie from her drooling mouth. The white bone was now exposed. Mitchel felt his stomach do a flip as he stared horrified at the dissolved digit. Those were actual body parts she was holding! She looked down at the pinky and let out a humming sigh.

“I love this little finger, although it is quite meager,” she breathed, twirling the stick between her thumb and forefinger. She then just dropped it to the grass, carelessly. “I want something better. I hope you’re not bitter.”

“Wh-what does that mean?!” he tried to swallow the tight knot from his throat. “Lolly?! What do you mean b-by that?!”

She lazily reached into her red purse and pulled out the cleaver she had used on her father and the other boys. There was dried blood all over the blade and handle. She held up the blade to her face as she stretched out her pitch black tongue and licked the cold, metal side. She then drew the black muscle back in with a wet smack of her lips. She wasn’t really going to use that, was she?

“It’s so delicious, my little precious,” she leered, stoking the blade as she moved in closer to him. “Mitch, are you sweet and good to eat?”

His heart was pounding loudly in his ears and his muscles locked in fear. His green eyes started to tear up knowing what was about to happen. She held up the blade as she stood directly over him. Her eyes were lit up like hot embers.

“Lolly?! Lolly, you made your p-point,” Mitchel screamed, finally finding the strength to scoot away from her but she followed his pace. “Lolly, stop! Pl-please! I’m s-sorry for all the things I did to you! I-I won’t even come near you ever again! Just pl-please stay away from me!”

“Oh, Mitch, you’re such a whiny bitch,” she happily spat. “Your apology is much too late, I want you to look into the face of hate!”

“Hate…? Wha…? St-stop! STOOOOP!” he screamed one last time. “Lolly! No! I’m sorry! Stop! Pleeeasse!”

“Ha! I’m Little Miss Lolly-pop, pop, pop,” she brought the blade straight down into his unprotected stomach. “And I love to go chop, chop, chop!”

She pulled out the blade and went for a second swing, digging it in even deeper. Mitchel tried to get away while still had the strength. She quickly jumped onto him and pinned him down with unnatural strength. She leaned in and ran her wicked tongue over his sweating face. He screamed out in pain as his face started to burn from her mildly acidic saliva.

“Mmm… I do love your taste; too bad most of you will go to waste. I’m a picky eater you see? Of course that’s just me. I only pick out certain treats because I only like certain cuts of meats,” she salivated a little before wiping it away. “Hm, where to start? I’ve yet to try some heart.”

“L-Lolly, please…” he choked on some of his own blood. “St-stop…”

“I don’t care how much you plead, I’m going to make you bleed,” she spat with venom, slamming the blade into this ribs. “I grew tired of being hit! So this is what you get! Everything comes back around and I’m going to make sure your ass is in the ground!”

She used her other hand to push on the back of the blade to drive it in deeper and deeper. Mitchel let out one last short scream before the blade cut through the bones and into the vital organs. She pulled the blade back out and back down into another location of his chest. She was going to get what she wanted; his heart. She slashed and chopped left and right with pure raw madness. She enjoyed the feeling of his blood on her skin and the patters the blood made on her clothes and the green grass.

“Pop, pop, pop! Chop, chop, chop!” she chanted all the while smiling like there wasn’t a care in the world. Her swings were becoming wilder and crazed. “I’m little Miss Lollipop and I will never stop, stop, stop! HAHAHAHAHAAAA!”

There was nothing but a bloodied mess when she finally stopped. She reached down into his open chest and pulled out the young boy’s heart. She snarled at as she looked it over. This was what she wanted most from him. She reached into her little purse again and pulled out another white lollipop stick. She licked her lips as she looked at the remaining mangled corpse she had just made. She started salivating again at the prospect of what she was going to select. She took a small bite out of his heart like it was an apple while she examined her new buffet a little more closely.

“Hm…? I have my stick so what should I pick?”

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Lolly skipped happily along a park path, licking on a lonely green eyeball. The heart had been good but it was just a bit bitter. Then again so was its owner. His eyes, however, proved to a bit sweeter. They were such shining green she just couldn’t resist.

The sounds of sirens and screams echoed in the near background. She studied the poor souls around her in the setting sun. There was a smorgasbord to choose from in the future. She popped the naked eye into her mouth and grinned at its taste as she rolled it over her tongue in near ecstasy.
She spotted a little boy no more than 4 stop his playing in the sandbox to look up at her. She smiled at him and he shied away, noticing her spotted and bloodied attire.

“Little boy, you look so sweet,” she mused, reaching out and ran her thin grey fingers through his mousy brown locks. “Do you have something good to eat?”

Millie M. Banshee