THE GREEKS OBSESSION

A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST

10 YEARS AGO

LEAH’S POV

"No Dad, Please!!" I screamed with fear at the sight of the shovel in his hand, he dragged it along as he walked towards me. He'd tied my hands and legs together, I couldn't move or run for my life.

"Shut your mouth!!!" I warned you not to give that useless mother of yours food. Didn't I?" He shouted angrily as he slammed the shovel hard against the wall.

"B..But Dad she's sick. She hasn't eaten for days. she might die-"

"I said shut your mouth!" He said as he grabbed my hair. "I was going to let you be but you just kept on interfering in my business and did exactly what I asked you not to do. Now your only way out is to feed this to your mom."

"No..No I won't!”

"You won't?!" He shouted angrily and this time he slammed the shovel hard against my back. Pain crept through my veins as I screamed out, I could hear my ribs split up in two and my bones crack into pieces.

"I warned you but you refused to listen. I think it's time for me to shut you up for a very long time, you've irritated me enough."

He grabbed me by my hair and dragged me down the stairs leading to the room where he'd kept mom for years, after she'd threatened to divorce him if he didn't stop bringing other women home.

At least that was what I assumed to be the reason until I'd heard his conversation over the phone with his so-called lover months after mom went missing.

He kept on telling me mom went on a very long trip each time I asked about her, I was only eight at that time I believed what he said and waited day and night hoping for my mom to return.

Years passed by and I started hating her because she left me here all by myself with no one to run to when dad comes home drunk with his mistresses.

When mom left he transferred all his aggression on me, he beats me up every night and made me serve he and his friends alcohol till they passed out. Which makes me spend all night cleaning every corner they had thrown up, I missed my classes almost every time and couldn't write my exams. My teachers complained every time I came to school, because they kept on seeing bruises on my body and I wasn't always active in class like I used to.

I couldn't confide in anyone of them and tell them what I'm going through, if I did they might end up calling dad which might later lead to me suffering more than I am.

I had only one person I could talk to my Neighbor 'Sophie'. Sophie had come to introduce herself as the new neighbor one night, I refused to talk to her and asked her to leave but then she forced her way in and started telling me all about herself. Which, of course I found annoying.

Sophie is the only child of the Keith's family, she lost her mom in a car accident at the age of four and ever since then she lived alone with her dad, who raised her to become a spoilt brat.

I couldn't bring myself to continue listening to her endless talk, so instead I kept myself busy and hummed out loudly. That was rude I know, but even with that she still didn’t keep quiet or leave. She just kept on going on and on.

Dad barged in with two ladies minutes later. One of them wore a very short black leather skirt and a very small top. While the other wore red from head to toe, even her hair and her teeth were painted red, she looked like a horse except horses had better taste and do not wear red braces. They were different from the other ones he brings home, they looked like drug addicts.

"What are you staring at?" He said; as he grabbed my hand forcefully and pushed me to the wall.

One of them walked up to me and placed her rotten finger on my face, then drew a line with it till she reached my neck. She moved back a little and laughed out loud, then she placed it on my neck then scratched me up to my jaw. I flinched and screamed out in pain, it was sharp this time around. I looked at her hand and saw it was a blade she'd used to cut me, I cried out at the sight of my blood.

Sophie screamed and ran out of the house with fear and She never came to visit ever since then.

He would tell me the different things every night. "Your stupid mother ran off with her lover, you see it was all too hard for her to handle. She clearly wasn't ready to raise a pig like you." It was all too much and I didn’t know what to believe. Those words remained tattooed in my brain.

But all that changed when I found out we had a secret room in our house, there I found mom tied up to a chair. "Mom!!!" My heart ached at the sight of her covered in blood and I couldn't breathe or cry. Her body and face were disfigured, she had bruises all over her once flawless skin and her beautiful face was totally disfigured, the dress she wore was torn and covered in dirt.

When I found her, I thought she was dead until she blinked. I untied her and cleaned up her wounds. But she couldn't move or even lift her fingers, all she did was stare at me as I fed her, and then tears rolled down her cheeks as if to say she was sorry.

I ran out immediately and tried calling the cops, my throat felt tight and I couldn't speak well. "M..My mom…needs help." I finally managed to speak and explained what had happened to them.

I stood outside and waited for them till they got to the house. "Where's your mom?" One of them said. "She's inside." I said as I directed them to the door.

"Leah? Oh my baby. Your father and I were worried sick about you! What are you doing here?" A lady said.

"Who are you?" I asked, confused.

"Oh Officers! I'm so sorry. You see my daughter is kind of ill and she says weird things at times." Dad said as he placed his hands on my shoulder firmly.

"No! I'm telling you the truth. I do not even know this weird-looking woman, I -"

"Leah… Why would you say that? I'm your mom." She said and placed her hand over her face, faking tears.

"Hey, it’s not safe to make pretend calls to the police, okay?” The cop said and left after talking to dad without trying to investigate what a twelve-year-old told them.

Dad pushed me in immediately they left and locked the doors, he took off his belt and lashed me all over. I screamed, cried, and begged for mercy but it seemed like he wasn't going to stop until I lost consciousness.

He'd warned and threatened to kill both me and mom if I ever went to the cops again. Ever since then, I've been secretly feeding mom and hears as he shouts and beats her up every night.

"Now both you and your useless daughter are going to die. You know I kept you alive just because I enjoyed seeing you in pain and begging for mercy but now, I’m tired of all of that. It would have been nice if you didn't try to stop me from doing the things I want, just because the house belongs to you. It is mine now and I'll do whatever I want to do with it!

So who is going first, you or her?" He untied her and pushed her to the floor, standing in between.

"Go…to…Hell," I looked up at my mom where she was as she spoke. I haven't heard her speak for four long years. Her bruises had gotten worse and there were several marks on her body compared to how she was earlier this morning.

He took the shovel he'd used to hit me earlier and smashed her head with it. "No, No! Mom!" Her eyes were slightly opened and blood streamed down her face. She didn't move or shout out in pain, she only stared at me, the same way she had when I first found her.

He didn't stop there, he continued to hit her continuously till she was completely covered in blood. Like that wasn't enough, he stabbed her in the chest. "Die! and let me live my life in peace." He shouted as he continued to stab her.

I sat there and watched the man I used to call my father, kill the woman who had given up everything for him.

"Why… Why are you doing this?” I finally managed to say after a while.

"Why? You want to know why?" He laughed out devilishly. “She was too greedy and proud. Just because her family was wealthy she looked down on me. How dare she do that to her husband?!”

"Y..You killed her just because of that?!" I asked, confused.

"If she had listened to me, all of these wouldn’t have happened. Now, all that doesn't matter, she's dead and you're also going to die now."

He walked towards me with the knife he used to stab mom, the look in his eyes spelled anger and hatred, and the devilish smile he had on terrified me.

I screamed with hope that someone might hear my cries and come to my rescue. "Keep your dirty mouth shut!" He said with so much disgust in his tone. "No one will be-"

He got interrupted by the sound of the siren and he swore out loudly, “s**t! What the f**k are the cops doing here?!" His eyes were filled with a mix of anger and surprise as he looked at me, a silent storm brewing in his eyes. With a promise that sent shivers down my spine, he said, “I’ll be back for you.” He dropped the knife and quickly rushed out of the room.

I struggled to move to where mom was and grabbed her hands, her hands were so cold. "Mom, you can wake up now. He's gone, get up." I trembled with fear at the sight of blood and then used my hands to stop the blood from gushing out.

"Leah… Leah!!" Sophie called out as she entered, walking down the stairs with the cops. "OMG! Leah, are you okay?" She gasped as she saw what I'd been staring at and untied me quickly.

I moved closer to mom and kept her head on my legs, she was so cold. "Soph… Sophie, she won't wake up. I tried waking her up, but she won't wake up, do something Sophie. Why… Why won't she wake up? And her hands… they are so cold. Do you have your hand warmer with you? Mom gets cold-"

"Leah! I'm so… sorry." She said as she moved me away from mom. "Why are you sorry? Mom is okay, she's just a little bit cold. Let me… let me get her jacket-"

"Leah! I'm so sorry." She said as she hugged me tight. "I'm sorry."

That was when reality hit me hard, mom isn't going to wake up… She's gone. Everything around me became dark and quiet, and all I could see was my mom laying on the floor COLD, DEAD, AND COVERED IN BLOOD.