His [Book #1]

Chapter 20

Tristan's POV
Katya cried as she tightly clutched the lion plushie I gave her. That same toy, which was missing a buttoned eye and was slightly deflated from all the times I squeezed it to bring me comfort, now belonged to her.

She was going to need it more than me, fore I was no longer in need of such childish things.

"Tristan, I'm scared," my four year old little sister sniffled, wanting to be comforted by more than an inanimate object.

"Shhh," I whispered, closing the cabinet door. "I'll come back to get you when it's safe."

I didn't want to leave her with nothing but my stuffed animal and the darkness to keep her company. But I knew that if our father saw her that he would hit her as well.

He's already hit and abused me and my mother countless times. And I just don't think my heart could bear the thought of him putting his hands on her as well.

The sound of something cracking like a whip, followed by the shrill cry of my mother pollutes the air.

Racing towards the heart breaking sounds of my crying mother, I find my mother on the ground cupping her reddened cheek and my father standing over her.

She's looking up at her drunk husband, a look of fear in her eyes that we've all shared when it came to my father and his abusive ways.

"Where is she!?" He boomed down at my mother, referring to Katya, who had accidently spilled juice all over him when she ran to give him a hug.

She doesn't yet understand why our father has these sudden bursts of outrage. All she knows is that sometimes he comes home angry. And that whenever he gets like that, she has to hide.

"It was an accident, Agostino. She didn't mean it!" My mother sobbed, curled up in a weak, fragile little ball.

He ignores her, his suit disheveled and his usual gelled back hair out of place. "I'm going to find that fucking brat!" He spat, clumsily barging into the kitchen where Katya was hiding.

Rushing over to my mother, I helped her to her feet, holding her close as she stained my shirt with her tears.

"Take her to my room," I ordered to one of the men, who had stood by watching the dysfunctions of our family unfold. "And make sure she is well taken care of." He nodded, gently leading my mother back to my room.

"There you are!" I heard my father shout from a distance, Katya screaming.

"Papa no! It's me, your princess!"

I ran into the kitchen with clenched fist, the adrenaline pumping through my veins masking my fear. As soon as I saw my father with his hand raised, I lunged.

Tackling him to the ground, my sister was knocked out of the way. She fled to a corner with Leo the lion still in her arms.

She watched in terror, eyes wide as I struck my father in his face repeatedly. I've had enough of his bipolar ass treating my family like shit.