"Are you done cleaning the window?"
"Yes, Mother."
Selena humphed and inspected the glass with the complete focus of a mad scientist scrutinizing their latest products for any flaws.
She turned around, her eyes glittering with fury and drunkenness.
"You missed a spot." Trembling with anger, she pointed to a microscopic speck of dirt.
Elizabeth frowned. "Really?" I don't see anything."
Her mother glared at her with the force of a thousand suns.
"Don't you dare talk back to me again, you little..."
With that, she brought down the Cane of Doom.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth, tears of pain spilling down her cheeks. She wanted to be stronger than this. But every time she tried to be, she shattered again as if she was a broken piece of glass that could never be fixed, something that was destroyed again and again by her parents.
"You're nothing," her mother continued, each word a new scratch on her armor, "In fact, you're completely worthless. You're the reason I've been suffering for so long! Damn it, why don't you just die already???"
Elizabeth let out a shaky sob, unable to respond. It was better to take the hits in silence than try to talk back.
And Selena kept delivering the blows mercilessly, like a demon of hell punishing the evil.
Except, in this case, the victim didn't deserve it.
Finally, she stopped and nodded approvingly, apparently satisfied. This was just a game to her, an arena where she was the predator and Elizabeth was prey. With a final look of contempt, she walked out of the room.
Wincing at her aching muscles, Elizabeth slowly got up and inspected herself in the mirror.
Red lines crisscrossed on her tanned skin, like a mosaic of pain.
Well, maybe there was one advantage to being homeschooled: at least this way, no one could see her scars and ask questions about them.
She imagined it would be tough to survive sixth grade with so many wounds.
Silently, the eleven-year-old crept into bed. It was only 6 PM, but suddenly she didn't want to do anything.
As she closed her eyes, letting darkness close in over her, her mother's words kept replaying in her mind, just like they always did:
You're worthless.
You're the reason I've suffered this long...
Why don't you just die?
And there, in the dark, where no one could see her, she wept.
YOU ARE READING
Shattered Glass
FantasyElizabeth Glass is an eleven year old girl who has been abused her whole life. She's been told she's worthless, nothing, and the worst part is...she believes them. But that all changes when she gets lost in the woods and stumbles upon a door carve...
