The sun penetrated through the curtains in the room, and the alarm by Chloe's bed rang.
She stretched her hands to dismiss it and shut her eyes for a while, but moments later, the alarm rang again.
'S*it!' She cursed as she slowly stretched before getting down from the bed. Rubbing her eyes, she slowly walked to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Her mother, Lisa, was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, and Chloe could smell the aroma from up in her room.
She quickly took a bath and dressed, and for a while, she stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself in admiration and hatred.
She took a makeup brush and started applying foundation, but when she got to her neck, she stopped for a while and tilted her head just a little to look at the bruise she had on her neck.
The bruise reminded her of a part of her she wished to forget. She felt tears forming in her glands and rage boiling and rising within her.
She slowly touched the bruise, and though it was still fresh and painful, she derived some weird satisfaction from the pain.
The day after her argument with Steph, she had gotten home tired and disoriented, and more than anything, she wanted to cry her heart out and sleep as soundly as a baby.
"Stop!" She remembered pleading while kneeling down.
Both of her hands were folded in a sign of prayer on her chest and hot tears were freely rolling down her chubby cheeks.
"Why? I'm doing everything I can for you. You have everything you need, and your stupid mother won't let me see you. Do you think I deserve that?" The man whom Chloe only knew as Martin said in a loud thunderous voice that sent shivers all over Chloe's body.
Martin took large steps towards Chloe, and the floor he was walking on shook in vibration.
He had a large body, and Chloe had often found herself wondering if he wrestled for a living.
Chloe sadly looked at her mother, who was lying on the floor, and felt pity and compassion for her wash all over her.
"Beat me if you want, but please don't harm her. She is all I have," Chloe pleaded.
Martin got down to her level and tightly held her on the neck, and scratched her using his long nails.
"No, dear. You don't deserve that," Martin said as he slowly let go and rushed out of the room. But not without throwing one last look of disgust at Lisa.
"Who is this man? Why does he keep coming here? Why is he treating you like a piece of s*it?" Chloe asked in anger as she got up and rushed to Lisa.
"Why did he say he gives us everything and that you don't want him to see me? Is he my father? Did you lie about my father?" Chloe asked in a rush as she helped Lisa sit up.
Lisa's whole body ached, and Chloe rushed to get a piece of cloth and ice to soothe Lisa's bruises.
"You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine," Lisa said as she shut her eyes and wreathed in pain.
'I'm so tired of this life! I don't like being at home. I feel so stuck and everything feels wrong when I'm here,' Chloe said as she applied makeup to cover the bruise on her neck.
She felt a tang of guilt, realizing that she secretly nursed a desire to run away from home and leave her mother alone.
She heard footsteps approaching and was brought back to the present. She hurriedly got up from her dressing table.
"Chloe! Breakfast is ready. Come down," Lisa said in a very clear voice, and Chloe softly scoffed.
"I'm coming, mum," she said as she closed her bedroom door and walked down the stairs.
Xxx
Freedom park. The park had a small creek running through the middle. It had a horse park, a pond, tennis courts, a pool, and a gold course.
There were a lot of grassy areas to settle into with a beautiful picnic basket.
Dylan sat on the grassy areas on a piece of a shawl. Beside him, there was a picnic basket full of snacks he had bought on his way to his and Amy's picnic.
He looked at the time on his watch and sighed in exhaustion. He looked around the park to see if Amy was walking through any of the entrances, but he didn't catch sight of her.
He unlocked his phone to look at the last message she had sent him and felt fear creeping into him.
'10 minutes late? Something must be wrong. Amy is never late. Punctual might as well be her second name,' he thought as he dialed Amy's number.
It rang, but she didn't pick up, so Dylan called her again immediately.
"Hello, where are you, Amy? Are you okay? I have been waiting for you," Dylan said in a concerned voice when the call was received.
"Hello, Dylan," he heard a different voice instead, and with a lot of discomfort, he shifted his seating position.
He scratched his memory while trying to figure out who had picked up the call.
Could it be Amy's sister Mabel?
'No, it can't be her. She isn't visiting. It's also not Steph,' he inwardly thought.
"Who is this, and where the hell is Amy?" Dylan asked in a trembling voice. Sweat had started trickling down his face, and his heart was pumping fast.
"She is okay. I just wanted to scare her a bit," the female voice said in a mocking tone.
"What!"
"I want her to warn that stupid friend of hers to stay away from Ivan," the voice said in disgust before the call was disconnected.
When Dylan called again, Amy picked up the phone. She was trembling, and her voice was shaking though she managed to assure Dylan that she was fine and that she would be with him as soon as she could.
The ten minutes it took Amy to get to Dylan felt like a century. He paced up and down the pavements in the park, and when his eyes finally landed on Amy, who was staggering towards him, he rushed towards her and hugged her tightly with all his might then gave her a peck.
"Who was that? What was that about?" Dylan asked after they got out of the embrace.
Amy was quiet for a while before saying, " Don't worry I'll deal with them. "