BOUND AND ETCHED

Chapter5:SilentBirthday

Athena’s POV

“Hi diary…” I penned down in my diary.

“Guess what? Today’s my birthday… another silent one.” I stopped. Contemplating if I should go on or not. Years before now I used to think I wouldn’t make it alive.

“No one cares if I lived or not. Life couldn’t be worse with the Emrys…I’ve been through alot in these past years, but it’s not something I’ll put down in detail darling.” I wrote in the next paragraph.

“I have learned to find joy in the little I did. Sometimes I wished my parents were alive.

Would I have been working tirelessly at 19?

But anyways, it’s not like the Emrys had hated me badly. They just never really cared.” I wrote in the next page.

“After I had turned 16, the same year dad died, and the same year I graduated. I had to fend for myself little things a girl needed.

Sometimes I close my eyes and pray for a whole new family. The Emrys saw me like a burden.

Yeah, that’s what I was to them.” I think I’m done writing for now.

I watched the day slowly coming to an end without a happy birthday wish…not like I had told anyone though.

I picked up the phone boss gifted me years ago to check the time, and my heart shred into pieces.

Because the truth actually was I had no one to call—maybe dad…so I can cry to him how hard life had been to his baby.

Maybe oneday it’ll be important. But for now…it was useless so I kept it back.

***

It’s been 5 months after I turned 19, and all I can say is just fine.

Yeah, fine because in midst of the harsh words and chaos, I found little peace. At least from Calistus or his mother.

Well today, I found out why they had taken it a bit light on me.

You see, living with the Emrys—my so called foster family…you couldn’t predict what next they might pull up.

You just have to keep walking on the eggshell—and carefully too.

The last time Calistus nearly raped me, his abominable parents said I had made it up. Keeping him in the right and I in the wrong.

But anyways I’m glad he didn’t succeed, because the story might have been different.

He had always been the perfect only child. He was 3 years older than me but yet he acts like a spoilt brat.

“You w-what?…” I screamed.

It is a random warm evening in Madison, Chicago. I didn’t expect to come home from my peanut-sized-salary job and hungry to be hearing this.

“I don’t know what the big deal here is Athena.” Calistus added. “You should count yourself fortunate you were chosen. If I were a lady, I would jump into this opportunity.”

That’s a bloody lie. Nobody would accept to be used as a collateral for paying off debt. Not just debt. A gamble debt.

Never.

“Jesus c-…” finding it hard to digest this evil.

“Don’t call Him in this darling…I mean He put this together. He saw it coming.” Quinn interrupted me.

“You’re using me to settle a debt…uncle you can’t do this.” I cried. I call him uncle only when I want to address him…asides that, he’s just Harper.

“Athena. If only you could see from my own perspective.

Understand me.” His eyes glistened with tears.

It was obvious Quinn was the mastermind behind this…with a touch of Calistus.

Yes Harper might have brought this upon himself. But…there were going to be other ways if we checked.

What happens to my dreams? My massive fancy wedding that I had always fantasized about? All crumbling again?

Just to fail again when I thought I was getting it through…Omg.

“It’s going to favor you…I mean, imagine, being the best he ever had.” Quinn said as she walked over to me.

Wait, had? The don or whoever he was had a lot of women, and I was going to be one of the sneaky link?

The thought of this unclean relationship blurred tears in my eyes.

“But I’m just 19…” I cried.

“Now that’s the fun of it.” Quinn interrupted.

“Catch-Them-Young.” Quinn emphasized on the catch them young as she brushed off the hair on my face. “You’d be fine…just the way I married your uncle at 17.” She turned to walk away.

“I’m not you! I have dreams.” I blurted out before I could stop the words.

And she turned. I shouldn’t have said that.

“You were never going to get to that dreams of yours. You owe the Emrys.

How long can you pay…how long Tena?” Her tone was harsh.

I didn’t move a muscle.

“You owe us pretty girl. Now it’s time to help us too.” Calistus added as he stood to walk over to where I stood with his mother. “We gave you a house, food and basic things over your pretty head.” He added sarcastically.

“Are you going to do this?” I left them to where Harper sat on the old and falling apart couch. At least he might change his mind.

“I would work hard to repay…don’t do this to me. Please,” kneeling before him.

He only shaked his head and rubbed his temples. His eyes had a lot of things—pity. Guilt. Apologies. And fear. Everything.

Anyways not like he had always had a say in this house. Quinn was the bob in the building. Harper never worked, and today I’ve seen the reason why—

He was a gambler.

“You wanna run away? It’s the goddamn don…he’ll find you.” Quinn growled.

“You don’t want to do this. You will regret this.”

“I would do it over and over again…without regret.” Quinn added, unapologetically.

And yes she was right. If she had her way… she might have given me to a brothel earlier.

***

It didn’t take up to 2 hours for me to realize that Quinn was this wicked. She wasn’t joking when she said she’d do it over and over again.

If actually they had known since…why were they telling me now? At least time to get prepared and made up my mind to accept my fate.

A knock came on the door. Just twice…a formal knock. The one that spoke domination.

Calistus hurriedly opened the door. Four hefty men on black suit entered, and Quinn stood up to welcome them…but they ignored her completely.

“Athena Grayson?” They asked looking in Harper’s direction, who was lost—maybe guilt.

“There she is,” Quinn pointed at me.

The guns, the black glasses, and the ominous tone screamed danger.

At this moment the dam I’ve been holding for a long time, broke out of my eyes as one of them stomped towards my direction.