Not The Perfect Ten

8) Facing Mother

🌸Sang's POV🌸

    As we go to our house from Nathan's, I think about what we would do if mother has found out that we were not there at night. It makes me shiver to even think about it. If she finds out, she will be furious. She will probably punish me the way she never did before. And Marie will also get punished because of me.
   Marie squeezed my hand and said, "Don't Sang. Don't think about it. Nothing will happen. I will save you before she does anything to you."
    "I am not worried about myself. I am more worried about... I don't know - I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want her to get angry. I am not scared of getting hurt, I am getting used to her punishments. I am afraid of the anger, the rage she shows. If makes me feel bad. Makes me feel like she  doesn't love me at all. She treats me as if I am not her daughter, as if I disgust her and that look on her face, the disgusted look, that scares me." I said. My voice started to shake at the end. Even thinking about it makes me sad.
   "I understand, Sang. I understand what you are trying to say. Don't think of how she doesn't love you, think of how much I love you. I am with you— and now the boys are too. You are not at a fault here, she is. So stop thinking of her. We will face whatever happens. Don't let the way she looks at you make you sad, she herself is a disgusting person. No matter what reason, no one should punish someone the way she punishes you."
   I just nodded. We went inside through the back door, slowly. When we reached mother's room, Marie put her ear on the door and tried to hear what was going inside.
   "She is still asleep, let's go to our rooms. Get fresh, bath if you want, I will come into your room in fifteen minutes." She whispered after she was at a safe distance from mom's room and then she gave me the mobile and charger that Nathan gave her.
   We both went to our rooms. I removed the clothes, books and poncho from the book bag and kept it back into the closet. when I was done with that, I went to the bathroom and washed my face and hands. I started music on the radio in my room to cover all the other noises inside my room and sat on my bed, looking at the phone.
    I unlocked the phone and saw that a message was already there, it was from Kota.

Kota: have you reached home safely? I hope you didn't get in trouble. Don't think too much and call whenever needed, okay? Text me back when you see this.

   I waited for Maire to come, so I could ask her what to message Kota. But then the phone vibrated again after some time.

Kota: It has been thirty minutes since you went from here. Are you both alright? I will come to your house if I don't get any update from you in ten minutes.

  If he comes here, he will surely get in trouble! So I messages him as fast as I could figure out how to do it. I wrote,

Sang:  Hi Kota, we have reached home safely and we are not in trouble, don't worry. And thank you for the mobile and for helping us.

   His reply was almost instant.

Kota: Thank God you both are safe, I was really getting worried. How did you get past your mother, by the way? Is she out or something? And your father? And who is this, by the way, Marie or Sang?

Sang: She was asleep when we came back, still is, I think. She is on a medication because she is sick. My dad is out of the town for a business trip, won't be here till tomorrow.
I am Sang, Marie is in her room to do some work.

    I just finished writing the test when Marie came into my room. She had a paper in her hand, something written on it.
    "What are you doing on the phone? Did they say anything?" She asked, sitting besides me.
    "See this, it's Kota. What is that in your hand?" I asked her. Another message came from Kota.

Kota: Oh. Why is she sick? Any major problem?

  Marie handed me the phone and said, "Text him, I didn't read the whole so I won't be able to answer rightly." So I typed,