My face slams against the tile floor hard before I can put my hands in front of me to break my fall. I feel my blood running down my nose and mouth. I can feel my face quickly swelling, I am roughly turned on my back by my hair and I scream in pain. What have I ever done but be a good kid? Why was I dealt with this card? All I have ever done is stay away from them as much as I can because this is a regular occurrence between us, if it isn't her then it's my father.
They are always putting their hands on me, no matter what I do. I don't give them any problems; I keep my head down in school and keep to myself. I do not have friends because with everything going on in my life, they would be too much hassle to keep. When I do fight it is always far away from school and its never me who starts. I do my homework and get good grades in school. I do not disrespect my teachers and I avoid all the drama provoked by kids my age for stupid crap.
All I have ever wanted was for them to love me. To at least show a little affection towards their only child but that's too much to ask. I scream as my mother jumps on me, repeatedly punching and slapping me. "Stop… Please…" I whisper begging her. The music is turned up louder and her friends are edging her on. She grabs me by my head and slams me against the floor. Making me dizzy and nauseous. She gets up off me and begins kicking me, everywhere she can.
"Mom, please…" I beg but she does not listen. I scream louder when I feel her go from her hands and feet to her favorite thing to beat me with. 'The broom stick.' I can feel my skin tighten and swell immediately after the stick meets my flesh. My screams get louder, but I can barely hear myself. I can feel something getting poured over me and by the smell, I know its beer. With my skin wet the pain worsens, I can't hear myself scream, my ears are ringing, and I can feel my body wanting to give out.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I don't feel the stick meet my flesh but that is short lived. I feel someone wrap their hands around my neck and start choking me. I open my eyes and see the blurry image of my mother; I push against her hands and scratch with all my might to make her loosen her hold. I can feel myself losing consciousness from the lack of air going into my lungs. "Please…" I choke. I feel something hard meet my head and I lose the fight with my conscious. A small cry breaks through my lips and I embrace the darkness with open arms.
Darkness… My one true friend…
"We are going to jail." I hear someone whisper petrified as I feel them lift me and throw my unconscious body into something. "What have they done?" I hear someone else say in panic. "These people are crazy; how can they do this to their own flesh and blood? We have to do something." Someone else whispers. "There's nothing we can do; we'll be charged as accomplices for not doing anything, plus she's already dead." Someone answers the last person.
"How can a mother be so jealous of their own child like this? Then for a man that is not even worth it. I heard Samuel call Julia, he told her that the kid kicked Stephen in his groin and ran. He had it coming if you asked me, Stephen and Julia have been a thing for years now. There were never any problems until he started showing an interest in her daughter. Crap hit the fan hard and fast since then, poor kid…" someone else said. I feel a tear silently run down my cheek. Haven't I been through enough?
They never seize to remind me that I was a mistake they have wished non-stop to erase. My mother wanted to abort me but when they found out they were expecting me, it was too late to terminate. My grandmother had me for the first eight years of my life then died. My parents took me back against their wishes supposedly. Ever since then I have wished to have died with my grandmother. I learned at the tender age of six to take care of myself, to clean, cook and wash clothes for my grandmother to help her out.
She was getting sicker as the time went by. When she died, I came to live with them, I started doing the same things to keep them happy and avoid the beatings. It never worked, I would get slapped and kicked here and there when young. When Stephen started showing interest in me at thirteen, the beatings got worse. They would beat me within an inch of my life every day since. I had to start covering myself more to school to avoid the stares but even when they did see the bruises no one would help.
I never wear the school uniform because it is a jumper dress, I wear jeans, the school baby blue polo shirt with its crest on the right shoulder and a hoody. I started losing weight rapidly, they were starving me. I had to eat breakfast and lunch in school. If I had time, buy dinner out and finish it before getting home or go without. After my tenth birthday I started looking for work in anything I could. I did not care in what I worked as long as it wasn't selling drugs like my father or prostituting myself like my mother.
I did everything I could and saved up everything. Only wasting enough to get myself a cellphone, a memory chip and pay the monthly phone bill. I always have it on silent, so they will not hear it. I know I should save absolutely everything I can, but I need to have evidence enough about all the beatings. I upload everything to the cloud in case I lose the phone, I can retrieve it from another. I have everything password protected and I always logout in case the phone is stolen then nothing would be open for the culprits.
I was just waiting until I turned sixteen to go to court and emancipate myself. That was only a week away… Just one more week… Guess I will not get that chance now, I let go of the last thread of hope I had and with it what was keeping me alive. This is all Stephens fault!
It would do you good to make friends with karma…
She will make you pay for all your wrongs and most times painfully.