The hand merely rested on Lisa's shoulder, yet it felt like it was scalding her shoulder skin.
Lisa might have grown up physically, but the conditioning she had received up until now made breathing harder. Her head swirled at her mother standing so close to her.
'No, I need to calm down. Mother is sober right now. She will not hit me in a place where people can see.'
Lisa made a conscious effort to calm herself down. She focused on regulating her breathing and pushing the fear out of her system.
Despite the burning sensation on her shoulder, Lisa stood her ground. She was determined to find an excuse, no matter what.
"Tsk, so you won't answer me? What did I even expect from a useless thing like you? Fine, I will look for that money myself. Just make yourself scarce and don't return home today.
My boyfriend said he would be here tonight, and I didn't want him to catch sight of you."
Lisa remained like a statue, letting her mother's hand grip her shoulder. The hand slithered like a snake, its warmth sending shivers down Lisa's spine.
And just as quickly as that hand had appeared, it also retreated.
Her mother walked past her, now having lost interest in Lisa's existence. But this was fine!
In fact, this was better than Lisa could have hoped for.
She had sustained no lasting damage - physical or emotional - from this exchange, and her mother had not demanded her to do anything but stay out.
Finally, Lisa left her home with her head covered to hide it from the harsh sunlight.
School was half an hour's walk away from her home, and it would leave Lisa winded to make this walk.
But taking public transport requires money.
And Lisa did not have any money to spend on such a task.
Unfortunately, Lisa had to walk through the shady parts of her community to get anywhere.
Her house was in the middle of the 'playground' where the local gangs and various scummy people gathered. No one knew each other, and no one was safe either.
The only protection Lisa had was her mother's name and reputation as being a big-shot current girl.
However, hollow titles such as 'being the boss's current girl' did not last long. It would not be long before the boss found another girl as his 'side piece,' and her mother would lose her mind.
Lisa was lucky enough to be invisible in such a setting.
Most people did not even know her name, but they called her a 'Witch' because of her quiet and gloomy personality.
That and the rumors surrounding Lisa did not help her case.
'It's good that people do not want to be associated with me. It helps me avoid so much unnecessary trouble. I don't even get dragged around to serve the 'elite' of this place.'
Lisa passed quietly and ignored, walking to the too-dark places.
You see, there were a few rules to navigate such a place. The first was not to stick your nose into any business that was not yours.
So, when Lisa heard a loud shout coming from the alley she was crossing, she decided she would not enter it…
…
But in the end, she could not ignore that she did not hear the voice calling for help. Lisa tightened her hand around her bag's strap before looking inside that dark alley.
A group of people was dragging something huge behind them. The bag that contained that 'something' tried to pull them back.
It was ten against one, and the 'thing' was likely sedated and outnumbered.
Despite that, Lisa felt a shiver go down her spine. When she looked at the bag, her instincts told her she needed to run.
One of the men decided to kick the sack they were dragging, and he also made an annoyed face.
"Tsk, this bitch does not know her place! We spent a fortune on buying all the suppressants, and she is still alive and kicking. We better get compensated well for our troubles."
Lisa heard the loud growl from the sack, and her legs felt weak. Her body had lost all its strength as soon as that noise hit her.
She was not the only one who felt the impact of that noise.
The others surrounding the sack went down, but their recovery was much faster than Lisa's. He also cursed while trying to get his legs to work.
'I should not get involved in this. I'm sure I'll die if I step into this alley. I've done a fantastic job of keeping myself out of trouble. I do not need to endanger my record-"
There was a difference between what Lisa knew she did not need to do and what her body was currently doing.
When Lisa realized what was happening, her body started moving through the shadows, and she reached for the sack holding the monster inside it.
The sack was large enough to hide Lisa's small form behind it, and Lisa tried to feel around to see what kind of material made up the sack.
It had a smooth texture, and it did not feel like any cloth Lisa had ever touched. But something about that material made her heart skip a beat.
'Alright, this should be simple. No matter how hard this material is, my cutter should be able to cut a hole in it.'
Lisa brought her handy tool out of her bag and made a small cut.
Golden eyes instantly looked back at Lisa from the small hole she had made. The intensity of that creature's look made Lisa's heart thundered in her chest.
The thing looking back at Lisa looked like a monster, but she could tell that it was a calamity.
'Run! I need to run!…. But why do I want to run?'
The more Lisa looked at those golden eyes, the less she wanted to leave this creature behind. She could feel something reaching out to touch her, and her body unconsciously leaned toward it-
"Shit! Boss, we have an intruder! This rat dared to sneak in upon us."