Sweet Sin

Aurora's POV Mom's scream filled the whole house. Immediately, I heard it, and I froze for a few seconds as fear gripped me. My heart started racing as I tried to figure out what could have happened. Zooming out of my room and down the stairs as fast as I can only to behold the sight…………. I was in my dimly lit room, sitting just beside my study table in my spinning chair. I had my headphones on as usual, listening to “Bored” by Billie Eilish while casually sketching with my pencil and sketchpad on my right leg which I placed on the chair while swaying it side to side. My room is what you can call a typical teen room. It's not really spacious; the bed occupies most of it. Then there's a built-in wardrobe for my clothes and shoes, my dressing table which I use for dual purposes - to sketch or probably read. Above the table is a dressing mirror, and it also comes with a drawer for my cosmetics and a few items. Just a few steps away from my table is the door to the bathroom. As someone not into girlie aesthetics, you could tell from how the room looked and the careful selection of dark colours. Steel cloud grey colour painted walls, black drapes, white bed sheets and Pillow cases, and a coffee brown duvet. Photos of Billie Eilish were plastered here and there on the walls. That very night was my birthday eve. I just finished having a birthday dinner with my mom and my best friend, Cerys. They had insisted on planning the whole dinner even if I told them not to. Cerys didn't even want to hear it. She had been looking forward to today and how to make my 19th birthday special. So by 6:15pm, she had already arrived to help with the preparations, and by 7pm, we were already dining, talking, and laughing. By 9pm, we were done, dishes cleared, gifts given, and she left just a few minutes after 9pm. It was then that I kissed my mom goodnight and retired to my bed. She waited for my stepdad to return. While sketching and listening to music, I couldn't stop wondering what age 19 would feel like, even though I didn't feel any different, as I expected to. It was then I heard it - a loud bang on the door. And a few minutes after the door locked, my mom screamed. Without thinking, I flung my headphones away. As I sped out of my room and down the stairs, my heart couldn't stop racing. My stepdad had a belt in his hands while his eyes were angrily fixed on my mom, who was sitting on the floor and fearfully drawing back from him with tears in her eyes. “No, please…… don't do this. She whimpered”. I couldn't bear to watch the scene as tears gradually welled up in my eyes, I was scared for what he was about to do to my mom. And just as the belt in the air was coming down at my mom with much force, I ran over to him and grabbed his hands. Before I knew it, he violently yanked me off him to the ground. I groaned in pain as I clutched the side of my abdomen, which was hit by the ground. Barely trying to catch a breath, he came closer and stood, causing his figure to tower above me, staring at me with disgust. “You horrible looking creature. Not only are you a weirdo, but you are a stupid b***h just like your mother”. He said these words while lowering his big figure to where I still lay on the floor, shaking in fear. Pulling me by the chin with his large hands, he sneered. “By the time I'm done with you and your mother, not even in your next world will you attempt to challenge me”. He dragged me off the floor while pulling hard on my hair. Just then, my mom rushed to his knees and started pleading. She held his leg and cried for him to show us mercy, promising not to repeat what had happened. Surprisingly, he released his strong grip on my hair and adjusted his shirt. Now I didn't know what to expect from him, likewise my mom. Her face, which was now wet with tears and had red marks from the slaps she received, hair rough from the dragging, and eyes shining while she looked up at him, was still on her knees. Still standing at a corner, my teary eyes began scrutinising him. He wasn't drunk, and he didn't reek of alcohol either. All I could see was pure burning rage and frustration. “What did Mom say to him that infuriated him this much?” I thought to myself. Just then, his voice thundered, interrupting my thought. “I regret the day I met you”. He said, facing my mother. “You and this creature you call a daughter have brought bad luck to me since you walked into my life”. He spat. “For your information, we'll soon be kicked out of this house or probably be killed”. “They really think they can strip me of everything I've worked for all these years, but I won't let that happen”. He said this, laughing with pain in his voice. “What do I do? What do I do?”, he continued as he paced around the living room, eyes shining like a desperate hunter while muttering those words. “What do I……”, he stopped pacing and turned around, staring at me with eyes wide open. “I have the perfect idea”, he said as he let out a wicked grin. He grabbed a bottle of alcohol and a glass, went to sit back in his chair with legs crossed, and poured the drink into the glass. My mom and I were still on the floor, with our backs against the wall, still trying to figure out what evil he must have thought of. “ You will join the new girls I'm recruiting at the club to dance . I'll have to double my number of girls for extra cash, and you will be among them”. He finally said while grinning. “I never thought you would be useful until now, congratulations”. He continued as he burst out laughing. I shook my head repeatedly while tears fell down my face. “Please, I can't”, I muttered shakily. He swiftly turned in my direction and thundered, “What did you say?” And before I could open my mouth to repeat those words, my mother's hand had immediately come against my mouth, shielding the words from further coming out. “ Sh..h..he will do it”. My mother shivered as the words escaped her dry, scaly lips. “As expected”. He replied rudely before standing up and leaving for his room. …… I was on the floor, still in disbelief at how the whole event played out. I turned to look at my mother's face with tears flowing down my cheeks. “Please, you just have to”. These were the words she said. I immediately stood up from the floor and ran to my room without looking at her while she called after me. ….