Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
She is a liability… Keep an eye on the girl… Trouble…
What I did hear made my stomach churn. Each word was an arrow piercing into my skin, and I knew instantly I shouldn’t have come with him. I should’ve run faster. Hell, I should’ve run as soon as I saw them. I’m so stupid. Just when I get away from one tyrant, I run into the arms of the next. When will I learn? There are no good men, there is no one that is going to treat me the way I should be treated. Lex will be no different than the next. No, he hasn’t hurt me yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
Deciding I need a shower to clear my head, I strip out of my clothes. I avert my gaze, trying not to look in the mirror while I’m naked, but like always, my eyes are drawn to the marks on my back and side.
They’re mostly healed now, but still very much visible. I’m certain some of them will leave scars. Until now, my father has always been careful not to leave permanent marks. Who wants a damaged wife, right?
Since I damaged myself by losing my virginity, my father took no mercy with the last beating he delivered before kicking me out, disowning me as his daughter just like I’d hoped he would. What I didn’t expect was for it to actually hurt.
The sound of the belt slicing through the air meets my ears seconds before it comes down, landing harshly across my back. The pain is so intense I gnash my teeth together to stop myself from screaming out loud. I will not grant them the satisfaction of hearing me scream in pain. I’d rather bite off my tongue before letting a scream pass my lips.
“You are a disgrace to this family!” My father screams, spit flying out of his mouth as the belt comes down on my back and ribs again and again, ripping into my skin with each lash.
Through teary eyes, I look over my shoulder at my mother. She is standing by the wall, her face void of all emotion. How can she just stand there and stare at me? Watching this happen? Not even bothering to protect me.
At least my father is angry, at least he is showing some kind of emotion, but my mother looks like she doesn’t care at all. Like he could kill me, and she wouldn’t even blink.
I didn’t think that part would hurt so much. My mother’s indifference to me getting the hell beat out of me. To me leaving the family, being shunned, and told never to return. We were never close, but she was my mother for Christ’s sake. She could’ve at least shown a sliver of… anything.
Shaking the memory away, I turn on the water and wait for it to get hot. Those people are not my family anymore, maybe they never really were, not as I would perceive a family to be anyway. A family’s supposed to love you, care for you, cherish, and protect you unconditionally. My parents never did any of that. If it wasn’t for the books I’d read in the library, I probably wouldn’t have known any different, but I did, and that was what mattered to me.
As soon as the water is hot, I step under the spray and let it soothe my sore muscles. I didn’t realize how tense I had been until I stepped under the water and let myself relax against the tile. Turning, I find a bottle of shampoo, and body wash. Popping the cap, I give it a sniff and almost choke at the manly scent that assaults my nostrils.
The smell reminds me of Lex, clean and woodsy. It reminds me of our night together. Our night that made me believe he was a better man. Anger and betrayal push to the forefront of my mind. I feel duped. I don’t know why I’m surprised. I shouldn’t be.
Grabbing the shampoo, I wash my hair, and then my body before rinsing quickly and turning off the water. There is a towel hanging on a hook, so I grab it and wrap it around myself. Bending over, I reach to pick up my clothes, only to realize that they got wet in the process of showering.
Great.
I hang my clothes over the tub to let them dry, and I pop my head out of the bathroom to look into the bedroom. Lex isn’t anywhere in sight, so I walk into the room. I should just climb into bed and sleep naked… but I’d feel weird sleeping naked. Especially in his bed. What if his friends come back, and I have to fight my way out of here or make a run for it? No, I can’t sleep naked.