Devil to Pay

Dear readers, this is actually a romance. Some of you may find it cliche and some may find it weird. I just write this where my head and my heart lead me to. If you like it, that would bring me to cloud nine. If you hate it, please don't say a thing. If you feel the need to criticize it, I accept all your critiques with open arms. So, borrowing a phrase from racingheart, please vomment! (vote & comment) :D

Prologue

Friday afternoon, one hour after school ended, 4th grade

I bit my lips to prevent myself from crying. Still, I couldn’t keep my tears from falling down.

But, at least I achieved my purpose. To stay silent so that nobody would know that I was there.

I was sitting on a toilet seat, bound to it with plastic wraps, actually. Without my panties on. In fact, the cruel people that did this to me found it funny to tape my panties on the school information board, along with my name written on it. I hadn’t see it myself. But they said that they’d do it. And I knew it wasn’t a bluff, considering that they had threatened me countless times.

I didn’t know when they’d go with the plan. They just liked to do it on an unexpected day, so I couldn’t run away by ditching school.

I cringed, glancing at my tightly bound hands, legs, and waist. Now how was I supposed get out of this mess?

Monday afternoon, after school, 5th grade

I dreaded going home to meet my mother, and have to explain….

But in life, we didn’t really have many choices.

“Aster, what happened to you?” My mother said with a shock the moment she saw my dirty clothes, scrapes on my naked arms, and a huge wound on my knee.

Okay, here came the lie.

“I tripped and fell from the top of the small hill. You know, the one over the rail on the side of the street.”

“And how come it could happen, young lady?” My mother folded her arms on her chest, looking at me with a familiar accusing manner.

“There was a puddle of water on the sidewalk, and I just slipped and plunged straight under the railing.”

My mother stared into my eyes, digesting my explanation with stern expression. There had been a bit of rain lately, so it would make sense if the sidewalk were wet. As usual, I had considered everything when I strung up my lie.

Then she sighed and turned around, back to cutting vegetables on the kitchen counter. I exhaled a silent breath of relieved.

“Stupid government couldn’t even taking care of public streets,” She mumbled.

“If you weren’t such a klutz and as thin as a needle, you wouldn’t have slipped past that railing, Aster. It’s your own fault you fell. I've told you many times to eat your foods and pay attention to your ballet lessons,” She continued with the same accusing stone. “Go clean yourself and be here to eat in fifteen minutes!”

I scurried to my room like a scared gutter rat.

She didn’t know what really happen, and I’d rather die than letting her know.

That day, Tyler and his vile little gangs pushed me off the sidewalk, and I tumbled down over the hill. Hence my injuries. But not before they took my lunch money, and taped my panties on the school information board, all on a same day.

Life couldn’t be worse, I thought.

Thursday morning, my room, seventh grade

I was actually sick.

At first, I meant it as a lie for my mother, so I could skip school that day.

She’d gone somewhere, I didn’t care. I was all alone in the house.

My throat was dry. My head hurt. It was like hundreds of knifes were slashing and stabbing at it relentlessly. My sight was a blur. Tears again. Always them. I seemed to couldn’t get enough of them.

Crying had always been my best buddy. But lately, it didn’t feel like a sanctuary anymore. Relief didn't come easily. Even after crying myself everynight, I couldn't sleep a wink. The only times I actually got to sleep were either when my eyes couldn’t stay open anymore, or the pounding in my head had became too unbearable and I black out.

I felt restless.

I stared at the pocketknife in my palm.

Images of my nude photos, in the hands of each and every living being including the teachers, in my school, flashed through in my mind. They were looking at it; some laughed, some gave me glance full of pity. But mostly, especially the boys, laughed and pointed at me throwing crude remarks. The bunch of animals.

The intercom echoed my name many times and the sound echoed throughout school corridors. They called my mother. They argued about the possibility of a prank, fussing about finding the culprit. I knew who did it. I just didn’t know how they could get my nude picture. I mean, it was obviously my body. Did they stalk me when I was in bathroom?

But the cruelest of all wasn’t my nude picture, it was the image of an anonymous disgusting old man beside me. Nude. In the background was a large king-sized bed, and it looked like we were going to have sex. 

I was only thirteen. I just got my first period. I was totally a virgin! But who would believe me even though I screamed the truth in everybody’s face. They saw the picture and chose to believe it, my protests were ignored. 

I looked again at my pocketknife. This will get bloody….

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Thanks to audrey88 and ofthewrongbed for editing this ^^