Set in Stone (A Pokèmon Fanfic)

Introduction

"You will be the very best!" Crack. The whip lashes out, the tough leather cutting deep into my back. I know there will be plenty of blood to clean later. I cringe, but I don't cry anymore. I'm beyond crying. The pain I feel is numb now, and I can only bite my lip and brace myself for the next blow. I will hold in my tears for later, when I am finally alone in my room. I must stay strong. Don't cry. It will be alright later. Don't cry.

I stare at the textbook, my eyes watery. My cuts have been neatly wrapped in bandages, and I have been let go with the warning not to disclose what happens in the house. When my friends ask, I have been ordered to say, "Bad back problems." The cuts on my eyes were a scrape on the floor. My reopening scratches a fall off my bike. My whole life is full of lies.

The tears come now, flowing freely down my cheeks and pooling onto my desk. A little bit splashes onto my textbook, staining the pages a deep blue. I don't understand. Why are my parents so strict with me? They enjoy hurting me, enjoy seeing me in pain. "No pain, no gain," they tell me, brandishing a red-hot metal rod.

"It'll hurt now, you'll thank us later," they promise and they shove piles of textbooks in front of me. "You won't regret it," they insist as I am overloaded with homework and tests.

I moan and try to focus on the work in front of me."

"Fairy is super effective against dark, fighting, and dragon," I chant in a monotonous voice. It is not every effective against..."

I am cut short by a sharp knock to the head. I turn to face my mother, a serious faced woman, very pretty for her age. She does not smile as she slams down a platter of carrots. "Healthy food is good for the brain," she says, slamming it down. "Study, you will become the best trainer on earth!" she yells in my ear, before slamming the door. I put my head in my hands and sigh.

I'm sick and tired of this.