Twisted Games(Ryeji ver)

RYUJIN[CHAPTER 25]

Meanwhile, all I could do was stand there and watch, because women like Yeji weren't meant for women like me.

"You'll never amount to anything, you little piece of shit,"

Mama slurred, her eyes mean and hateful as she glared at me.

"Look atcha. Useless and scrawny. I should've gotten rid of you

when I had the chance."

I stayed quiet. The last time I talked back, she beat me so hard

with her belt I'd bled through my shirt and couldn't sleep on my

back for weeks. I'd learned the best way to handle her bad moods

was to hope she eventually forgot I was there. That usually

happened after she was halfway through whatever bottle she was

drinking.

"If it wasn't for you, I'd be out of this stinkin' town by now."

Resentment poured off her in waves. Mama stood by the table,

wearing her faded pink robe and chain-smoking a cigarette. Her
cheeks were pale and sunken, and even though she was only in

her late twenties, she could pass for her forties.

I tucked my hands beneath my arms and tried to shrink into

myself while she continued to rant. It was Friday night. I hated

Friday nights because it meant I had an entire weekend of just

Mama and me.

"Waste of space...nothing like your father...are you listening to

me, you piece of shit?" I stared at the cracks in the floor until they blurred together. One day, I would get out of here. Somehow, some way.

"I said, are you listening to me?" Mama grabbed my shoulders

and shook me so hard my teeth rattled. "Look at me when I'm

talking to you!" She backhanded me so hard I stumbled, the

pain making my ears ring.

My body twisted, and I saw it coming, but I didn't have time to

brace myself before the corner of the dining table smashed into
my head and everything went black.

I blinked, and the smell of old spaghetti sauce and vodka faded, replaced by that of fresh ice and Jas's overpowering perfume.

Yeji and Rei skated over, and the cameras went crazy. Click. Click. Click.

"...for a while," Rei said. "But I would love to take you out again when I return."

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

It was inappropriate for me to butt into their

conversation, but I didn't give a fuck. Rei cast a startled glance in my direction.

"Yes. My mother fell and broke her hip yesterday. She's fine, but she's recovering at our house in Preoria. She's quite lonely with

my father here in session for Parliament, so I'll be staying with her until she feels better." She answered with full graciousness, which only annoyed me more. The harder she was to hate, the more I hated her.