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I hate carrots. They are always soft in our house, not like the ones they give us at the school cafeteria. I tried those a few times, and they were good. But the ones my mother makes me peel and cut are not like that.
Why are these so mushy?
Rotten.
Everything is in my home. From paint-chipping walls covered in dark moths in the corners to the contents of our fridge and my bed sheets.
Mother says my sheets don’t need to be clean yet. But I don’t know what she means by that.
“What are you doing, you worthless little scum?” The back of my head erupts in dull pain after my mother backhands me. “I give you one task. One small task for your stupid head to understand, and you manage to mess it up. Look at those carrots. They are all out of sorts! Did you peel them with yourfilthy nails? You are six, not three anymore. Start behaving like it.”
I remain quiet, hoping today will be one of those days where my silence gives me freedom.
“Answer me!” she bellows, and I already know my knees will sting from being put in the corner on them for half the night. Only making the wounds on them from a few days ago worse.
Today is not one of those days. Today is a bad day. A day when my mother and father expect guests, and I didn’t cut the carrots into perfect one-fourth-of-an-inch slices.
That is what my mother always required. Always one-fourth.
Suddenly, the palm of her freezing cold hand connects with my warm cheek. The resoundingslapsound fills our old kitchen. “I. Said. Answer. Me.” The heat on my soft skin quickly turns burning, but I can’t touch it. I can’t soothe the stinging pain. I can’t show that it hurts, or she will make it worse. Her eyes tell me so.
She’s got them crazy eyes tonight. I should’ve seen it sooner and hid. I always hide when her eyes turn crazy, but I didn’t.
“S-sorry, mother,” I whisper, even though I know better. I know she hates mumbling, but I am trying not to cry. She hates that even more.
Another slap to the same cheek, but this time, it’s a lot harder, and I taste that metallic blood in my mouth. I know this taste very well.
“Enough with the mumbling! Leave my sight and don’t come out until you are told to do so.”
I gathered all the courage I have left and use my big girl voice, “Yes, mother.”
Chapter five
Kira
Song: Halsey – Castle
Beep, beep, beep.
The constant beeping of my phone pulls me out of my nightmare. Or shall I say, a memory. Dark, painful memory. One I haven’t thought of in many years and would like to keep it that way. Thank you very much.
Unknown:Hey, beautiful.
Unknown:This is Steven.
Unknown:I don’t have a game tonight.How does dinner with me sound?
Unknown:Or we can skip the dinner and go straight to the dessert. *Wink emoji*
Unknown:I miss you, baby. Don’t forget, you are mine.
I see the messages that woke me up and decide I won’t get mad at whoever had the audacity to find my phone number and bother me because they saved me from what comes next in that memory.
Saved me fromthem…and for that, I will simply ignore the idiot, whoever he is.
One day later…
Unknown:Kira, come on. We were great together! Go out with me!
