Canvas of Scars

Chapter 9: Canvas of Scars

HEY! I know, I know, I didn’t upload when I said I would….sorry! But I had school, HW, Tests all that good stuff…but here you go! THE ANSWER TO THE CLIFFY! Hahaha

~Kantelle~

            I stood in the middle of the room shaking as I let out part of the truth of my life. Ria sat staring at me in shock and horror  and Malichi looked…furious. Livid. Absolutely pissed. He clenched his jaw and looked at me with his yellow-gold eyes blazing.

            “Who?” he said intensely. I furrowed my eyebrows…he seemed as if he was about to kill someone…

            “Who? Who what?” I asked, slightly frightened. He seemed to see that and closed his eyes, taking a sharp breath through his nose.

            “Who hurt you?” he said stiffly. I froze and images of my stepfather hitting me, his hands around my throat, him kicking me in the gut flashed through my mind. I gulped and prepared myself for a dreadful lie.

            “I…I don’t know,” I whispered. Malichi’s eyes shot open and he stared at me, while his mom frowned.

            “Liar,” he said bluntly. I gasped at his harsh tone, as did his mother.

            “Malichi!” she scolded. He ignored her and stood up, walking to me and looking down at me intensely, making me shrink back slightly.

            “You’re lying,” he said. I gulped and looked down.

            “No. I don’t know him…all I know is that he is a horrible, evil man…and he’s hurt me. A lot,” I whispered shakily. It really wasn’t a lie…I did not know the man I called ‘stepfather’, and he was evil. I looked up to see Malichi searching my eyes and he sighed and backed up, plopping onto the couch.

            “Well honey…tell us what happened,” Ria said. I fiddled with my hands nervously…I couldn’t tell them what really happened…but I decided to tell them what HAS happened to me. I shuddered at a memory.

            “Um…I was walking home from work, and this man started following me, yelling nasty things. I tried to run, but he was big, and fast, so he tackled me to the floor and started hitting me…on my ribs, my stomach, my face, everywhere,” I said, trembling. I remembered that day. And it was one of the things I feared most, next to going home to my stepfather.

            “Tella-,” Malichi said, but I cut him off. I couldn’t stop I finally was able to tell someone something and I just couldn’t stop.

            “He hurt me so bad…and I went home and hid in my room, and ever since then I would see him and try to run, but he would always catch me and hurt me. He said he’d kill me if I told anyone…and I could never see his face,” I said. Part of that was a lie. He said he’d tell my stepfather to kill me if I tried to tell anyone… but I couldn’t say that part, so I just continued, “He said I shouldn’t be alive…that people like me deserved to be hurt, and to feel as much pain as possible…” I shook hard as tears streamed down my face. It was true I deserved this…I did. And it hurt, it hurt bad. This man, most likely sent out by my stepfather, even saw it.

            “Why didn’t you call the police?” Malichi demanded, looking angry again. I shook my head, choking on a sob.

            “I couldn’t. He’d kill me!” I whispered. Truthfully, my stepfather would. Or he’d torture me to the point of killing myself. “I didn’t know what he looked like, I only had my wounds and bruises as evidence, and he always wore gloves so he couldn’t leave finger prints…who would believe ME? Everyone is this town hates me, or doesn’t know I exist. Who would believe me?!”