The fox

Chapter 1

Laying in my bed, starring at the wall above my headboard, thinking about small things like the weather. It's been very warm and nice outside this week. The spring was just around the corner and the sun has started to feel warm again. As I was looking at the white wall, I couldn't help but stare at a red stain exactly over my bed. I could still remember how that got there and still couldn't understand how. It had the shape of a puppy, or a man kissing a woman, I couldn't really say.

'I should get up and make dinner.' I thought as I looked at the small clock on my nightstand. It was late and I didn't want to be yelled at. I didn't have the energy for that at that moment. So, I got up and went to the kitchen, slowly descending the stairs. The kitchen was exactly how I left it last night. I was the only one who used that place, always making breakfast, lunch and dinner. I enjoyed cooking. It was like I could be in my own little world, where nobody could disturb me. Nobody comes in here if not to look what food or drinks are left in the fridge. 

"Mady, come here right now!" I heard just as I stepped out of the bathroom. After I finished cooking, I realised that my clothes were dirty, and I was in desperately need for a shower. That was Harper's voice, of course. She was my stepmother, but for me, she was just another bully, another person to be afraid of. She was always yelling at me, treating me like I was just garbage and telling me that I was something that needed to disappear. The worst part was that I didn't really care about that stuff. After a while, you get used to it. The fact that she was hitting me, well that fact affected me the most. Because it was getting harder and harder to cover the cuts and bruise.

"I said to come here. I still don't see you!" she said again, more furious this time. I could already picture her. Her face would be almost red, a scowl was making its way onto her face and her eyes were narrowed.She was always exteriorizing her feeling, so guessing what she was going to do next was easy. As I turned the corner and came face to face with her, I realised I was right.

"Yes Harper. What can I do?" I said in a monotone voice. I learned to use that tone almost always because she always said that I 'insult' her with my usual tone. A few years back I started to speak less, doing it just when I was asked to and speak only when spoken to.

"I saw that you made dinner. I just wanted you to know that you wasted your time, because we ate at Tim's, so, you did it for nothing. Go and clean it up, bitch!" That was said with a smirk on her face. She knew I was starving and she rubbed it in my face. They didn't usually let me eat so I didn't 'waste their food' but I would stole something now and then. 

"I'm going." The biggest mistake I've done was to look to her after what she said instead of looking at the ground. I usually knew not to look at her, but I was a bit disappointed. I was a angry too. I made all that food for nothing because of what? Because they didn't want to call me and say something?

"Don't you dare to look to her like that again!" I heard my dad yelling from the door. I jumped a little because I haven't seen him coming. I immediately looked towards the ground, not daring to look at him. Harper enjoyed hitting me whenever she got the chance. But her strength was nothing compared with my father's. So I knew that if I didn't want to spend the night mending my injuries, I should not to cross him.

''You made dinner, so what? Hmm? We ate before we came home and you can't do anything about that, bitch!" And with his last words, he slapped me. I stumbled a little because he took me by surprise. I got used to it by now and didn't feel the pain like I felt at the beginning. It was just the sting now, and the bruise that would appear in a few hours. Bruise that I needed to cover. During the last years, I developed a pretty decent tolerance for pain. My dad was smart. He was careful not to leave marks on my face because of the teachers. They could see and report to the police. But they couldn't see my body if it was covered by clothes, could they now?

After that, he looked at me in disgust and took Harper's hand and lead her away. I was left to clean. After I put the food in some casseroles and grabbed something to eat, I went straight to my room. I didn't want another fight, because I was always the one who losed. Since it was a school night and I was tired, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out. And thank God, it was a quiet night.

"Wake up, you fucking bitch!" And with a suddenly pain on my cheek, I woke up and saw my father. He stood there with an angered expression. His eyes showing nothing but hatred.

"What do you want?" My mouth moved on its own and I realised too late what I just said. I was still sleepy and didn't know what just happened. He lifted me by my collar so that I couldn't touch the floor with my feet and forcefully pushed me against the wall. I could hear my spine cracking, but the pain never registered.

"You piece of shit!" he yelled and  punched me in my ribs. If it wasn't him holding me, I would have fallen on the ground. He punched me one more time and released me. I stood on the ground, groaning in pain. Just then was when I felt the pain and the stinging pain in the back of my head. I must have hit it when he pushed me. My body was wide awake and I could tell that one of my ribs was probably broken.

"Next time when you over sleep, the punishment will be more painful." And with that he left the room and left me laying there in pain. Any girl would be crying by now, but I wasn't. I never do.  I just don't find the point in crying. It doesn't change anything. So, I slowly got up and took a shower, changed my clothes and left to school. 

It was Monday, the first day of the week and it began just perfectly. This was the last week of school before the spring break and I dread the weeks I would be left all day with my family. As I walked to school, I kept touching my ribs, wanting to know if anything was broken, but everything was as it was supposed to be. It just hurt a lot.

At the school, I went straight to my locker. I don't have any friends because of Troy, my step-brother, Harper's son. There were some rumours like 'she is always just reading, nothing else because she's a freak' or 'she never had a boyfriend or ever kissed'. They even went as far as saying that I was mute. Some of them were true, tough. I never had a boyfriend because, last year, when I liked someone, Troy noticed and told everyone and then, at home, he beat me almost to death along with my dad and Harper. 

Since then, I gave up trying. I chose to avoid people as much as I could. It wasn't that hard since there were few people who actually wanted to talk to me. And yes, I'm always reading because it help me with my loneliness. Don't get me wrong. I love the loneliness, but sometime is just too much.

I walked to the class and took my seat. The math teacher came and said a lot of things about the final exam which was in 5 months from now, but I knew all of those things and I continued to read. Since I avoided coming out of my room unless needed, I had plenty of time to study for this year. I have already finished everything I needed to know for my exams. My book was about a girl who was abused by her family and sold to a business man. After the bell, I went to the locker to put my books. I opened my book, still facing my locker and started to read.