Give Me Hope [Teen Wolf] (Wattys2014)

8 - Flashback

   "Try harder!" Derek growls. "You have to get angry enough to change."

   I lay on the cold ground, breathing heavily. I've been thrown to the ground over fifty times and I can feel bruises forming on my back. "I'm trying." I blink away tears. 

   "You're not trying hard enough." Derek saunters forward. "You want to find out if you're a werewolf, this is the way to do it."

   I weakly climb to my feet. "What if I'm not a werewolf and all of this is for nothing?"

   "Then, we'll find out what you really are." Derek stops walking. He changes his direction. "You need to get mad enough to let your anger show. I know how to do it."

   Isaac shifts in his seat when he sees Derek advaning towards him. Fear bubbles in my chest. "Derek, what are you doing?" I watch him force my brother to his feet.

   Derek's claws extract while he holds Isaac up with his free hand around my brother's neck. He lifts his clawed hand up to Isaac's face. 

   "Derek." I move to step forward until Isaac shakes his head. "Derek, leave him alone, please." He ignores me by dragging his nail down Isaac's face, causing a trickle of blood to seep out of the cut. "Derek, stop!"

   His hand snaps Isaac's wrist in one swift motion. I scream out, covering my mouth with my hands. "Shut up, Chloe!"

   

   "Shut up, Chloe!" Dad shouts while carving  a line in Isaac's cheek with his steak knife. 

   I struggle to lift myself up from the ground, arms shaking too much. My face is covered in tear streaks and mascara running down my face. "Stop! Please stop! I'll take his punishment!"

   Dad lowers the knife, forcefully shoving Isaac to the ground. "You'll take his punishment?"

   I nod my head as tears roll down my face and splatter on our kitchen floor. "Yes! Yes, I'll take his punishment. Just don't hurt him anymore."

   "Chloe, no, I'm fine." Isaac silently cries, holding a hand to his bloody cheek. 

   "Too late, Isaac." Dad drops the bloody knife on the table. "She's already accepted it. Clean up this mess while Chloe finishes off the punishment." Dad yanks me up by my arm. 

   Tripping over my own feet, I follow Dad out of the kitchen to the basement door inside our house. My legs give out at the thought of what is about to happen. I did this to protect Isaac. He couldn't take anymore of this. Right now, I'm not proud of my choice of deciding to finish his punishment. After, I will be glad I did. Isaac was in the freezer yesterday. Two days in a row is too much for one person. 

   Dad pushes me forward down the wood stairs. "Get down there!"

   I grab on to the railing as I walk down the stairs in the dark. I couldn't escape even if I wanted to. Dad would just go get Isaac and make the punishment ten times worse. I'll just have to get through this somehow. Dad shoves my back and I fall down the last five steps, landing on my wrist. He lifts me back up by my arm, practically dragging me across the floor.

   "Can't you do anything right?" 

   I fall down on the floor in front of the deep freezer. I cradle my wrist against my chest, quietly sobbing. Dad works on getting the freezer ready for me. I curl up in a ball. 

   Dad points at the freezer. "Get in. GET IN!"

   I scramble to my feet and crawl inside. I lay on my back, anxiety swelling in my chest. Dad simply smirks before shutting the lid. Darkness surrounds me and I shut my eyes. I can't even see my hand in front of my face. The familiar click of the lock snapping shut causes me to flash my eyes open.