Love & Care

Chapter 18

We started by putting music on and then putting the old furniture out of the room.
We taped foil to the ground so the floor wouldn't get dirty and then we started painting.
While Taylor and Layla were doing the light pink walls, the other three of us were doing the dark pink walls and we were pretty fast.
Around six pm we had finished the painting, the paint had dried mostly and we had put in the new lamp.
Maya still needed a bed so while Taylor started cooking and Maya and Layla were downstairs helping Selena and I set her bed up.
"I'll decorate the bed so it looks cute when she comes back." Selena said and started to put the tons of cushions and blankets on the bed. Fairy lights over the frame and small bed lights to the wall next to it.
As the bed had a form of house she put a mirror in form of a diamond on the wall in the upper part. While she did that I started to build up the smaller dresser. It was white and had four drawers.
"Why are you so good at this?" Selena asked because I was finished before eventhough I had more to do.
"I've built a lot of furniture in my life. Our parents never helped so I had to do it." She nodded.
"I'll do more decorating you do the furniture" she said laughing.
And while she put pictures of us in the zoo in white frames and on the lower part of the wall and a pillow-like moon and cloud on the wall. I set up the chair for Maya and started with the bedside table.
She put a lamp on the drawer before putting more cushions on the chair and moving a pouf stool we had bought next to the bed.
"Let's do the big drawer after dinner." I nodded and together we walked downstairs.
Maya and Layla had already set up the table and Taylor put the food down.
Selfmade pizza.
It was really good and now with the amazing food I could feel the tiredness coming up. We had been up since really early and almost finished renovating one room.
"Layla, Maya why don't you watch some cartoons after dinner and we'll finish up Mayas room" Taylor said and the two nodded before helping me to clean up the table, which of course earned us an annoyed glance from Selena and Taylor.
So the three of us went back upstairs.
"Woah you're so fast. It looks amazing in here." Taylor was amazed.
"Let's do the big closet first. Then someone can do the decorations and put all the clothes away, while the other two set up the little book shelf and the toy box and the dollhouse." Taylor said. "And I'm sure I know who das the decoration." I said while grinning at Selena and all of us started laughing.
Luckily setting up the closet wasn't to hard as Taylor was tall enough to hold the stuff Selena and I couldn't reach, but it still took us an hour.
So while Taylor and I set the bookshelf Selena put the clothes away and finished the decorations on the parts of the room we had finished already.
I set up the doll house close to the toy box and started to wonder how much the two had bought, as the toy box was really full and Taylor was putting tons of books and colouring books, pencils and a lot more stuff into the book shelf.
Around 8pm we finished. Mayas little princess room was finished.
"Wait I want to do something." I ran into my room and quickly sketched Maya in a princess dress and wrote 'Mayas Empire' next to it.
I took some of the tape and taped it two the door.
"What's that?" Selena looked over my shoulder.
"Did you sketch this?" I nodded and smiled. "It's beautiful you're really talented sunshine." "Thank you." I smiled at them. I went into the room where I saw Taylor putting out the carpet we had forgotten and the little tiger stuffie on the bed.
"Let's get our princess here." We closed the door and went downstairs. "Princess. Come on its time for bed." Maya jumped up and Layla followed her.
When she reached her door she looked at the door and saw the sign she turned around.
"What does that mean?" "Mayas Empire." Layla read out before smiling at me.
Maya was jumping up and down before finally opening the door.
And than she ran into the room.
She was running around looking at everything. "Look there's a doll house. And look at all those books." She was so excited to finally have a real own room.
"Look into the closet." She opened the door and her eyes went big. "Is all this for me?" Selena nodded and out her up. "Of course or do you see another princess that would look good in those dresses." She shook her head.
"Do you want to choose your jammies?" She asked and Maya looked at her like she was crazy. We used to have her sleeping her in my old shirts and shorts so we wouldn't have to pay more.
"Look there's this cute night gown. It's pink and has little stars on it. Or this one it has bunnies on it." Maya nodded excited. "This one please." Selena nodded and took it out before putting Maya down and handing her the jammies.
Maya went to the bathroom and changed before coming back. Teeth already brushed. Her hairs were still in the braid Taylor had made this morning.
"Can you help me with the hair?" She asked and I picked her up set her down on the bed and opened her braid before putting her down into the bed.
"Goodnight baby." I said before giving her kiss on the forehead.
After the others said goodnight we went outside, of course turning the fairy lights on.
"I'll go to bed." Layla said and I nodded.
"Good night." I said to them and after we all exchanged our good night's we went to our rooms.
I had just changed into my jammies, opened my hair and brushed my teeth when Taylor knocked and came in.
"We almost forget to check your cuts baby." I sighed and looked down. I hated those cuts. They are ugly and they are a constant reminder of my worth.
"I know you don't like it, but we need to check that they heal good." I nodded and sighed before pulling my shirt up again.
There it was the parting gift of my mother. My reminder that I was worthless. It would be engraved into my skin forever and there was nothing I could do about changing this or my worth.
"Look at me baby. You know you're not worthless. You're a beautiful and strong young woman." I don't know how Taylor knew what I was thinking but she made me look at her again.
"I'll put the ointment now." I nodded and she started to put the ointment the doctors gave us onto the cuts. Apparently it helped with the scars so they'd fade better but they were still ugly and builging.
She finished and pulled me in for a hug.
"Good night baby." "Night Tay." I went to bed and fell asleep.

"Where were you bitch?" I could my hear my father yell. My breath was stuck in my throat.
"Work Sir." I could feel him coming closer. His steps made the floor creak. Then I saw his figure coming into the hallway. He was coming even closer. I tried to draw back but there was no way that I'd be able to run from him. Right behind me was the door I had just locked. The door to the street.
I could feel his breath on my skin. He was stinking. His breath smelled like alcohol and he was clearly drunk. His talk was slightly slurred and he was stumbling a bit.
"You're coming with me." He pulled me with him. He had grabbed my wrist and was pulling me with him. Nobody else was in the living room.
He pushed me to the ground.  "As if someone like you could keep a job. You're worthless. You're useless." He started kicking me and while doing so he continued to yell insults at me.
At some point I was about to pass out so he stopped. "I'm not done yet." He waited for awhile as he waited for me to regain my consciousness.
When I was almost back to full consciousness he was back.
"Let's play." He grinned and put his hands around my neck. I felt his grip starting to close.
I started to trash around and tried to break free from his grip. After a few minutes he loosened his grip. He waited and went back to choking me.
I noticed him grabbing something.
Then I felt the knife. It was cold and sharp he pressed it against my stomach. I could feel my blood pouring out. I heard the blood pumping in my veins and my struggling breath.
His grip could tighter.
My arms thrashed around before I felt nothing. I didn't have the energy to do anything.
Everything went black.

With a deep breath I was sitting straight in my bed. My breath was racing. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest.
One of my hands went up to my neck to make sure that I wasn't being chocked.
I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks. I was freaking out. I could feel his touch all over my body. I could smell his breath. The alcohol. The Fastfood.
I held my breath and tried to get rid of the feeling of the tongue of the disgusting man in my mouth.
I felt myself getting sick and ran to the bathroom. I almost threw myself in front of the toilet before throwing up.
With one hand I held my hair back, the other one was pressed to the ground to stabilize myself.
After throwing up for a few minutes I dry heaved. At some point I finally managed to calm myself down being able to stop the urge to throw up. I started to clean myself up. With a wet cloth I wetted my face. I rinsed my mouth with water and in the end dried of my face.
With one look into the mirror I saw the worthless person I had become. My father had used me. My father had used me to earn money. He had tried to kill me. I remembered all the times when I was younger, when he would mentally manipulate me into doing something for him or feeling worse about myself then it was.
I felt myself crying and eventhough I wanted to stop and just calm myself down but I couldn't.
My fingers traced over my scar.
Shaking I went back to my bedroom. I slipped underneath my blanket and continued to cry.
For the rest of the night I was laying restless on my bed. I couldn't sleep. Everytime I closed my eyes I saw him. I felt him. So when it knocked at the door the next morning I was relieved.
--------------------------------------------------------
1888 words