"𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨."
• • •
*warning- this chapter contains scenes of abuse*
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕
For the next few days, I stay home, enjoying the peace that surrounded me. Aiden stayed with me for two days and then went back to his own home, leaving me alone. I enjoyed my time alone to some extent. It was nice not to have an annoying 28-year-old breathing down my neck every second.
However, my good mood came to an end late Sunday afternoon. I sit lazily on the couch when the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway draws my attention away from the TV. I sit up, feeling my heart stop. It's not Aiden, I know that. He's out of town. That means one thing - They are home.
My thoughts are proven correct as the door slams open and the person that haunts my dreams crowds the doorway, anger practically pouring off him. It can't be. They're not supposed to be home today. It's too early.
Oh, God. What am I going to do? I'm trapped.
"Ocean," he snarls. I shake with fear. I can't breathe, can't see. I can't escape. I stumble back on shaky legs and fall against the wall. I squeeze my eyes shut and grip my arms tightly, my nails sinking into the soft flesh, hoping and wishing this is just another nightmare. I open my eyes again only to see that everything is the same and that he's getting closer and closer.
Black dots dance across my vision. I can hear my heart pounding in my chest, in my throat. Something trickled down my arms. I look down through blurry eyes to see blood dripping down my arms where my nails have dug in. I welcome the pain letting it be my anchor. He is in front of me now. I still shake violently against the wall, unable to breathe, unable to see, unable to scream.
"Ocean," he sneers wickedly. "I thought you were a good girl? So why am I getting calls from the school about you missing school this week, hmm? You know what that means, don't you?" Through the haze in my head, I hear the telltale sound of leather sliding across denim. I jerk violently against the wall in fear. Tears began streaming down my face, blood down my arms.
I know what he means. He means the punishment. The punishment he seems to love giving me. "Ocean," he sings, "You know what to do."
I shake my head furiously. No, no, no, no!
"Do not make me repeat myself or it's not going to be pretty. It's either you do it or I will!" he yells getting angrier and angrier. I didn't want to do it but I had to. Where was Aiden when I needed him?
A sickening sob escaped my lips as he grips my hair in a fist and pulls me away from the wall. "I told you to fucking do something, Ocean and I expect you to do it. You know what happens when you disobey!"
Yes, I do and I hate it. Slowly, I got to my knees my back to him. I knew what was coming.
"Lift your shirt off your back now," he orders. Oh, God. This isn't good.
Hesitantly, I did as he said. A blood-curdling scream escapes my throat at the first lash of the cracked leather belt against my bare back. It didn't stop there. It went on and on as if he were the devil and I was in hell. Maybe he is the devil. Maybe I am in hell.
"I told you, Ocean, to never show your face to anyone and what do you do? You fucking show it to some boys! Why'd you do it, huh? Were you looking for attention? You know the punishment, Ocean. You brought this upon yourself."
How does he know? How does he know? Oh, God how does he know?
He brings the belt down on my back, over and over again. I scream until my throat is raw. I cry until I can't see. In my head, I beg and I beg for this to be over. I tumble to the hard floor unable to hold myself up anymore. But he isn't done. All that could be heard was the sound of my sobs and the cracking of leather against my skin, over and over and over again.
Eventually, I fall silent. No screaming, no sobbing. I just listen to the sound of his belt, his words. I watch, as she sits on the couch, where I was, watching the screen, completely ignoring everything behind her.
I try to breathe, I try to scream, I try to move. But I could do nothing. The black that disrupted my vision began to spread and my eyelids felt heavy. Maybe I was asleep. Maybe this is all a nightmare.
But if you can't wake up from a nightmare, maybe you're not asleep.
~&~
In the early hours of Monday morning, I wake up feeling like death. I lie in the same spot as last night - on the freezing floor. My eyelids are swollen and heavy with exhaustion. With weak arms, I slowly pry myself off the floor. The pain was excruciating but I manage to get up and stumble down the stairs and into my bathroom.
I look like a mess. My dark hair spilled out of my ponytail and my head throbbed where he had pulled it yesterday. I gently touch the spot and wince at the burning sensation. I swallow thickly and begin to pull my blood-stained t-shirt off my body.
A wave of disappointment washes* over me as I look at the crimson stains on the soft yellow material. That is my favorite top and now I'll have to throw it away. Finally, I take a good look at myself.
My arms are stained with dry blood where my nails had dug into my skin and it's smeared over my pale skin. Tears well up in my eyes but I hold them back even if my throat burned. Turning slightly, I glance at the mirror over my shoulder. Deep gashes mark my skin. There is blood all over and it is still bleeding. I touch my back gingerly and nearly fall to my knees at the agonizing pain that spreads over my body.
I drag my eyes away from my back. I'd have to bandage that up after my shower. Seconds later, I step into the boiling hot spray. The water burns my wounds but soothes them at the same time. Red liquid pools at my feet as I wash myself clean. All too soon, the water runs cold. I close the tap and step out.
Somewhere in the house, a door creaks open. Someone is awake. I need to be quick. Hurriedly, I bandage my wounds, get dressed, and escape the house.
The early morning sun warms my cold body as I limp to school. The walk took much longer than I'd hoped and I make it to school later than usual.
Students crowd the parking lot each in their little cliques. Of course, Jenna King and Jason have to be standing right at the entrance. Just my luck.
I glanced around looking for a way to get around them when a group of girls staring at their phones caught my eyes. Wincing, I speed-walked towards them and slipped into the middle with my head down.
I safely made it into the school without Jason or Jenna seeing me and smiled in triumph. Now the only thing I need to do is go through the day the same way - unnoticed. I don't think I can handle any more problems.
❦︎