Her Savior

Chapter 5

*Harper’s POV*

“Wake up!” I heard, along with a ringing in my ears. The crack of a leather whip on my legs quickly brought me back to reality. My eyes are forced open, my vision is blurry and my whole body aches. My feet are heavy, my stomach empty, and my mouth dry. I’m not sure how long I’ve been down here, but it feels like days.

I slowly lift my head and look up into my dad’s dark, empty orbs. There used to be love there for me, but that’s all gone now.

I glanced at the leather whip in his hand and I knew the real punishment was about to come. Keeping me in the basement, tied to chains, is not a punishment in my dad’s eyes. That was just a fear tactic in anticipation of what was to come. This is not the first time.

“Please…” I begged, with the little energy I had left. I don’t know why I even bother, because I know it won’t make an ounce of a difference.

He walks behind me and tears my shirt down the center, leaving my back open and exposed.

“Begging is going to do nothing for you. . .” He says carefully, walking around to face me again.

“I'm s-sorry!” I added. I really am. I'm sorry I dropped food all over him. I’m sorry I let my guard down around Cole, even for a second. I’m sorry I’m getting punished when Tyler gets all the praise. I’m sorry I can’t give my stomach what it craves. I’m sorry I’m not perfect. I’m sorry I’m not more like Tyler. . . But most of all, I'm sorry Mom died instead of me. . .

“You will get 10 whips for your incident earlier, and then I expect you to march upstairs and clean up the mess you made. Do I make myself clear?”

I gave a weak nod in response. “Y-yes, sir.” I barely got out. I blink my eyes to dispose of the sweat clouding around my eyes. Everything becomes a big blur, but I don’t have to see my dad to know what is coming next.

I feel the first harsh sting on my back and I scream with all the energy I have left. My sore wrists rub against the handcuffs with every small movement, making them burn. I wince, trying to prevent myself from crying out. When the second strike comes, the pain is too much to bare. My body is shaking in pain as the tears freely flow down my face.

“I wouldn’t have to do this if you weren’t such a f**k up.” The third strike comes at the end of his sentence and I grip the chains above me to keep me steady.

The fourth blow had me crying out in pain. I don’t know how much more my body could take. This is exactly what he wants. He knows depriving me of food and water for hours on end makes me weaker, decreasing my pain tolerance. He wants it to hurt...

The next two strikes continued to tear up my back. I can feel the blood trickling down into my open wounds, causing a burning sensation. I try to breathe through it, but the pain is just too much.

“P-please. . . No more. . .” I pleaded, trying to breathe through it.

Normally, I can handle a good amount of pain, but with my body being as weak as it is, my strength reservoir was completely depleted.

He ignores my request and delivers the next hit that slices down the center of my back, making me cry out.

“Why do you make me do this. . .” He circles around me before delivering the next hit.

“Aaahh” I screamed out, in pain. I’m openly sobbing now.

“Why can’t you just do things right the first time?” The next hit comes, and I am writhing in pain. My wrists jerk, rubbing against the cuffs, only intensifying the pain.

“I’m. . .sorry. . .” I said, completely exhausted, in pain, and nearly out of breath. The final blow comes and I let all the tears I have left rush down my face. The relief finally came when I heard the key to the hand cuffs. The metal cages open and my hands are freed. My legs buckled under the pressure, causing me to crumble to the floor. I’ve never felt so much pain and relief at the same time. I hold myself in a ball, on the cold concrete, trying to relax my body from the beating it just took.

“Hurry up and get ready for school.” He remarks as he throws the bloodied whip in the corner of the room.

So he left me here all night. . . That's the first recognition of time that I have received since I've been down here.

I do everything in my power to force a nod in acknowledgment. As I slowly made my way to my feet, I felt a sharp pull at my hair.

“Ahh” I whined as I moved my head back in the direction of the pull, in order to ease the pain. He leaned in close, making my eyes go wide, terrified of what was next to come.

“You speak even a word of this to anyone, and you will regret ever being born.” He says through gritted teeth.

Too late. “Do you understand me?” He asked, pulling my hair even tighter. I gulp hard and wince as my scalp feels like it’s on fire.

“Y-yes. . .I understand.” I obediently replied. I know he would love nothing more than to put me out of my misery. At this point, I would welcome the freedom from this life. At least I know I would get to be with Mom again...

He lets go of his grip and I cower back to the ground, attempting to recover. As soon as I hear his footsteps ascending the stairs, I can officially relax. Minutes later, I hear the front door slam shut, and I know I am alone. I let fresh tears fall down my face and into my hands as I sat there and sobbed. I knew that I couldn't be late for school, or I'd get it again, so I quickly wiped my tears and slowly made my way to my space in the attic. I cleaned and treated my back and wrists before putting on a sweatshirt and jeans.

I grabbed my backpack and a quick drink of tap water from the sink before rushing off to school.

“Oh look who it is. . .” I hear the all-too-familiar voice of Cole as I am walking across the parking lot, towards school.

“God, does she ever have any decent clothes?” Bianca remarks and her two girlfriends next to her laugh. I keep my head down, walking past them. I ignore their comments, knowing they are just trying to get a reaction from me.

Before I can get any further, Cole jumps out in front of me, blocking my pathway. I side-step and he does the same. I try moving the opposite direction and he copies my actions. He won’t let me pass.

“P-please. . . I don’t want. . .any trouble.” I said. I just want to get to class before I am late and in even more trouble.

“What’s the hurry? Will you be in trouble if you’re not to class on time?”

“Y-yes,” I nodded, not revealing the kind of trouble we both know to which I’m referring.

“Well, we wouldn’t want the little princess to get in trouble,” he taunts as he moves out of the way. I move to walk past them and Bianca reaches out and knocks all of my books on the ground. “Oops,” she says as they all laugh. I held back my tears as I moved to pick up my books as quickly as I could before darting off to the building ahead. I didn't see Tyler or Talia... They probably ran off somewhere together to be alone.

Luckily, I made it to my first class on time. The rest of the morning went by without incident. I just kept my head down and tried to stay out of everyone’s way. To half of the student body, I am a target and to the other half, I’m invisible. I used to have a small group of friends I could confide in and hangout with, but we all kind of drifted apart. Talia is dating my brother and hanging out with the cool group by association. Amber moved to Texas because of her dad’s new job, and Jessie got accepted into the cheer leading squad, so that’s now her clique, leaving me with no one. It might be better that way. I don’t want anyone else to be a target because of me. I just can’t wait to leave this town after high school. I applied to several different law schools, hoping I'd at least get accepted into one so I could move far away and forget about everything and everyone.

I dropped my books off at my locker before heading to lunch.

“Hey! Harper!” I turned around to see who was calling my name. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Dawson walking up to me.

“Hey,” I said, shutting my locker.

“You want to eat lunch with me and my friends?” He asked, seeming excited. Wow, he has already made friends. That’s impressive.

“Sure!” I said, glad to have someone who actually wants to be around me. Maybe I'll even make some new friends, but part of me thinks that is just wishful thinking.

I shut my locker door before we walked down the hall together, making our way to the cafeteria. We talked about our different classes on the way to lunch. He was so easy to talk to, and he actually seemed to enjoy being around me. I smile, enjoying this new feeling. He showed me the way to his table in the far corner of the cafeteria. I notice everyone stops to stare at us as we walk by. Everyone in our path quickly moved out of Dawson’s way when he approached them. Others are seated at their respective tables, whispering to one another. They are probably wondering why we are seen together. Oddly enough, I wondered that same thing. Dawson is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and I'm just me. What could he possibly want with little old me?

We grabbed food and continued in the direction of his table.

“These are my friends." He announced as we approached his table. "From right to left you have Blake, Justin, Irene, Alex, and Zeb.” They all waved ‘hello' in return.

“Hey,” I greeted them all with a wave and a smile.. They all seem very nice and welcoming.

“Everyone, this is Harper. She will be joining us for lunch. I know you will all make her feel welcome.” Dawson says, with an air of authority - almost like a warning. They all nodded in acknowledgment and smiled in my direction. Dawson definitely seemed to be the leader of this group.

“Blake and Zeb are also from California with me, and we met the rest when we got here.” Wow, he makes friends fast.

“And Justin and Irene are dating.” I smiled in their direction, knowing their joint hands were a dead giveaway. Even after seeing them together for 5 minutes, anyone would be able to tell the level of infatuation they share. The way they look at each other...It must be nice to have someone by your side like that. Hopefully, I’ll have that one day. . .

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” I said as we took our seats.

“You too,” they all seemed to say in unison.

“So, tell us about yourself, Harper.” Zeb inquires.

“Well. . . What is there to tell? I’m a senior. . . I want to go to law school when I graduate. . . “

“Oh, law school - you must be smart!" Irene exclaims.

"What do you like to do for fun?” Alex asks.

“Oh, well I like to read and I. . . I used to golf. . . But I don’t really do that much anymore.” I don't think I have golfed since I was 8, but I have had no other recent hobbies to speak of.

“That’s awesome! Justin and I go golfing all the time. That’s what he is hoping to get a scholarship in for next year. We should all go golfing some time!” Irene suggests, and we all nod in agreement.

I don’t remember the last time I did something for fun. I’m not even sure how I would get it past my dad. . .

The conversation changes to how terrible the lunches are here, and I just listen and nod as I continue to eat the cardboard meal in front of me. It is pretty awful, but I’m just grateful I get to eat a meal without interruption.

It seems Tyler, Cole and the crew are staying away from me during lunch. I find the courage to glance over at their usual table and I notice they are both glaring back at me, so I quickly look away, down at my almost empty plate.

“Everything OK?” Dawson asks. He must have noticed.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” I say, trying to sound convincing. I’m worried I may be in a world of hurt later. . . They must be mad that they can't bother me with Dawson around. Something I am very thankful for at the moment.

“Who are they?” He asks, seemingly worried about me.

“Oh just my brother and his friends,” I say nonchalantly, but inside I’m nervous about what this means for me later. Did I just make everything worse for myself by trying to make friends?