REMEMBER ME

It was raining on a Saturday morning and Alex could not have been happier. There was just something about the rain that made her feel safe, the way the strong winds blew the leaves and it felt like a sweet rhythm to her ears, the crisp, refreshing breeze that sent shivers down her spine and caused tiny bumps to rise on her skin, the heavy downpour that showed no mercy and washed away all the bad memories. Alex could not exactly remember why she loved the rain so much or if there was even a reason for it. All she knew was that she wanted it to rain all day, but that was not going to happen. She lay on the hard floor not minding the discomfort she felt. As long as she could feel the raindrops on her skin, she could handle any discomfort. She closed her eyes as she listened to the sounds of nature. She gave a sigh of bliss. Alex slowly opened her eyes, she must have dozed off, again. She was not surprised, it happened every time she went outside when it rained. The only thing she was scared of was going back home and getting an ear full. Her mom hated it when she stayed out for too long. She hurriedly walked back home praying to God her mom was knocked out. She got to the front porch and decided against entering through the front door and headed straight for the back door. She stopped and took a deep breath before carefully opening the door so as not to make a sound. Thanking God for a successful entry, the next hurdle was getting to her room without making a sound. It would have been easy if the floors in the house were not so weak, it made a creaking sound whenever people walked on them and it would be more difficult since the house was so dark. Some areas were sturdier than others, but it would be difficult to navigate because she could not see s**t. She had barely made it two steps when she heard a loud thud in the sitting room. She immediately snapped her head in the direction of the sound and realized her mom had just fallen off the couch. What was more surprising was the fact her mom did not move a muscle. "Was she dead?", Alex thought to herself. She would not lie, her mom had a lot of flaws, but she did not want to lose her yet. Her mom was the only person she had, literally. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she heard her mom saying some gibberish. She chuckled softly. Old habits die hard. She continued her trip to her room, sighing in relief for a successful mission, she turned the doorknob of her room only to be met with her room turned upside down. "What the heck happened here", Alex asked, only to be met with silence. She knew her mom was crazy but she had never searched her room. This could only be the handwork of her stepdad. Alex fumed with rage. What frustrated her was the fact that she could not do anything about this. She blamed her mom for marrying shitty men. This was her mom's third marriage and each man was worse than the other. Her mom always promised her each time they moved that it was going to be the last. She had gotten used to the disappointment because it was never the last. She just wished her mom could find a decent man for herself. As Alex thought of all the evil and wicked things she could do to her stepdad, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her hair. She smelt the strong stench of alcohol and realized her stepdad was behind her gripping her hair. She tried to break free but her attempt was futile as he was much stronger than she was. "Where the hell did you keep it", her stepdad growled angrily. "What are you talking about?", she yelled with the same intensity. "Do not act smart with me missy, I know you got money you are hiding. Where'd you keep it?". Alex had indeed been saving some money, but she would rather die than let him have it. "I do not have any money, you took it all the last time". Her stepdad pushed her away with so much force, it sent her falling down the stairs. Alex rolled down the stairs until she got to the foot of the stairs. She felt the stinging pain from the fall but she refused to allow the tears to fall, she was not going to give him that satisfaction. She slowly got up, and saw her mom staring at her with tears in her eyes. "I'm fine Mom, don't cry". Her Mom was about to say something when suddenly a knife flew in the direction of Alex, narrowly escaping her but slightly cutting her upper arm. Her mom screamed and rushed to Alex, seeing the blood flow from her daughter's arm was all it took. She charged towards her husband with the knife in her hand but, unfortunately, he was much stronger and overpowered her. He pushed her towards Alex and looked at mother and daughter with a murderous glint. "I missed once. Next time you won't be so lucky. Get me money, I don't care how." With that, he stormed out, leaving mother and daughter in the dark room. Alex's mom looked at her bleeding daughter and knew she had to do something, "Alex, let's run away".