"Remember me? I'm that girl you left all alone trapped my an alcoholic mom and abusive step dad" I cried out to my brothers.
Gabriela Cattaneo has it all: beauty, brains and brilliance. Beneath the surface, Gabriela is a broken girl. Separated from...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I wake up with scratches all over my body. My bedsheets stained with blood.
It's my blood I think.
I've always found blood so satisfying, especially mine. Not sadistically, but it's a reminder that I'm still here. I'm still alive despite all the shit that's happened.
It's lying in this blood covered bed where I remember the dream.
Mom.
I only ever think of her in nightmares. When I'm alone, vulnerable. She comes to me at night, mostly angry but sometimes she's happy like when she found out Dad had died.
But this dream wasn't a good one, it wasn't a nightmare but more of a flashback. I was around 10, and Mom had just bought home Ian. Their arguments were so loud I swear you could the whole council block could hear.
I kept trying to escape, but my window was bolted and I was banging and banging on it for someone to rescue me. Strangers faces passed by me, staring at me as if I was some type of animal at the zoo.
I wanted someone to save me before they turned their anger onto me, and soon enough they did.
They hurt me.
And nobody came.
So I do what I always do, I make a checklist to control just one damn thing in my life.
One: wash the blood away with a flannel.
Two: Turn the water onto boiling, just to make me feel something except this sadness inside of me.
Three: time to put on the uniform.
Four: pretend to eat breakfast before anyone comes.
Five, go to school.
The issue is, you cannot control the school day. Anything can arises. That's how I found myself in hot water.
I was sitting in biology, thinking about Mom. Even surrounded by people, people who make me laugh and smile - I cannot escape her.
'Gabs, you going to come to mine this weekend then?' Ana catches my attention with her question.
I blink myself back into reality 'Yeah, yeah thats fine' I smile at her.
School has always been a distraction for me, for my life and mind.
'Genetics are simple, they make us what we are.' I hear the biology teacher drone on in the background.
I hate that. I hate that we have to rely on people to form our own identities. I've only been living with my brothers for about two months, but I see these genetic traits. Xav and I, we've got the humour. Leo and I are both hot headed, Enz is too stubborn. Matty and I both have a love for adventure and freedom, Frankie and I can never play against each other for being too competitive. And well, Alessandro, we're both too independent for our own good.
