Natasha quickly moved and got the broom from the storage. She swiftly cleaned the floor and threw away the broken vase pieces. She then stood in the corner again and saw her mom with her dads belt. She knew what was coming for her. This was nothing new to her. Every time something broke in the house, her mom would hit her with something. This time it was the belt again. Then she would get hit thrice. How many times she would get hit depended on which weapon her mom.was using. Didn't matter who did the mistake. She was the one always bearing the punishment.
"Turn around. Don't you dare make a sound! I don't want your sister to get scared"
Natasha turned around quietly. Her mom hit her thrice and pretty hard. She winced at every hit she got. She would have to check her wounds before going to school. She needed to make sure that no one at school would notice anything. Her mom left after hitting her. She quickly went back to her room to check her wounds. They weren't bleeding but they looked hideous. The bruises were swelled and were streaked with a tinge of red.
She took out a box from under her bed and put in on the bed. She opened the box and looked through it. The box was filled with ointments, antiseptic solutions, cotton balls and bandages. This was her first aid box. And she was habituated to mending her wounds. She cleaned the wounds with cotton and antiseptic solutions. Then she wore her uniform and went downstairs to go to school.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Zeno woke up from his sleep feeling pain all over his body. But when he woke up, there was no pain. It felt like it was only an illusion. But he was sure that he saw the new girl, Natasha in his dream.
Natasha tried to be helpful to him. But he didn't want any help from anyone.
He got up and removed the curtains from his window. He saw that the sun was yet to rise. He changed his clothes into sportswear to go out for a run. He saw that it was six in the morning. He left the house after wearing his shoes.
He started slow and gradually fastened his speed. The house he lived in was his fathers. This was the old mansion they lived in. He lived here since he was born. He has memories of his happy family here. He spared a glance at the house and ran around the estate.
The old mansion estate was huge. It had a big garden in the fron yard and a pool in the backyard. He used to go to the garden with his mom for a walk. He would sometimes help her look after the small plants in the garden. The garden was taken care of by the gardener. His mom wasn't there anymore but the gardener still came everyday to take care of the garden.
He kept running untill 7 am. Then he came back, took a shower and got ready for school. He went to the garage and took his car. He got a driving licence as soon he turned 18. He didn't want the chauffer driving him around anymore. All he wanted was his fathers love. But he stopped expecting it since he turned ten.
All he got from his father now was money. His father didn't care about anything related to him. His fathers assistant would come to him every year on his birthday and give him a gift. In the past, the assistant, uncle Qi used to say that his father got it for him. But he exposed uncle Qi's lies when he turned 10 and saw his father drunk out his mind on his birthday being helped home by the chauffer. That's when he stopped having expectations. He didn't have any hopes from his father anymore.
He went to pick up Darren on the way to school. He would have his breakfast at Darrens place. Ever since his mother died, he would mostly eat out, eat at Darrens place or not eat at all. At first he would go without food, not touching anything anyone else made. But after Darrens parents gave him the familial love again, he started eating at their place. He was really indebted to them for loving him this much and trying to help him get out of the darkness.