A Tainted flower

Chapter 1

It wasn't easy to leave him. He said he'd kill me if I ever tried to leave 'us', and he almost did.

He was still screaming, yelling, punching as I tried to back away, instinctively placing shaky hands over my stomach. His heavy fist connected with my nose while I fumbled out the door, face red and spitting in my face. He tried to grab at me one last time as I clawed myself away from him, blood rushing to my head, then my nose as blood dripped down my face and off my chin. He was still yelling as I left the now cold apartment, but the blunt kick I landed at his chest distracted him enough for me to start hobbling down the building, slow as I was.

I must've been a sight to the dozens of people I passed on my way out but then again, the sight of a bloodied and groaning figure leaving a high rise building wasn't an unusual sight in this day and age-the rich got bored easily and would often find amusement in tormenting whatever they could buy with their wealth, especially other people. Still, the weight of their eyes, silently judging me, made my feet feel like lead, the sweat dripping from my forehead like hail against my skin. It was hard to keep walking, floor by floor, but I had to keep going. Even if I had given up on life, my little girl's hadn't even begun so I kept walking. when I heard the faint rumbling of footsteps grow closer, I kept going. As I passed by security that tried to grab at my body, conjuring memories that left me shoving and panting, I kept going. As I neared the exit and felt panic rise up my throat, threatening to spill out, I pushed it down and kept going. It was only as I heavily slumped down into the backseat of the taxi I had flagged down desperately that I finally felt like I could breathe again, though I knew my comfort would be short-lived.

With my head laid against the seat, I bitterly wondered where exactly it had gone wrong, when the lines between love and hate became so blurred that it clouded my vision and trapped me with the type of man I had sworn to avoid.

»»——⍟——«« »»——⍟——«« »»——⍟——«« »»——⍟——«« »»——⍟——«« »»——⍟——««

6 months ago

"Mummm, I don't wanna go today! Can I please just call in sick? I'll do whatever you want, I'll even wash the dishes but I do not wanna go to school today. Please?" My mum let out a sigh, her frown causing the wrinkles on her forehead to crease and her eyebrows to tilt downwards slightly, staring blankly at me as she answered the same question for the 20th time this morning. 'Thelia, no. You can't just miss the first day of school! You already had so many lates at your old school this year, it's a blessing that they still allowed you to enroll with how prestigious the school is. You know how hard we both worked to give you this opportunity. "

"But-"

"Thelia, please"

This time I looked up and made eye contact, instantly stopping myself from giving my latest excuse when I saw the mild pain and desperation making itself visible in her weary eyes. Deep down, I knew it was pure luck that I was able to enroll into Bridge Park Academy, a school infamous for never letting any 'bottom-tier' students enroll into their school. It was notorious for only accepting high-ranking 'middle-tier' and 'high-tier' students, with the student body being mostly made up of the 'gilded tier', aka the children of the most filthy rich people in society with wealth exceeding that of monarchs of the past and prestigue so high that they are almost akin to gods. Of course, there have been some exceptions to their harsh exceptance conditions in the past but I know how hard my Mum fought to get me a place there, remember the humiliation she put herself through that she doesn't know I saw. The more I remember, the more guilt crashes into me like a tidal wave, leaving only remorse behind.

"I'm sorry Mum. "

"I know, sweetie"

"I just wanted your attention a little longer, I was never planning on skipping"

"I knew that too, hun"

"I need to stop being so immature"

"My sweet daughter" She said, placing a gentle hand on my cheek, "Your only 16. I know that I put a lot of pressure on you to do well, but it's only because I want you to have a better life. It doesn't mean that I want you to force yourself to grow up, to stumble in shoes too big for your small body. I'm not mad at you for acting like a kid because your still my little girl, and always will be, ok? "

I felt hot tears well up in my eyes, and I nodded. Regardless of if people spit on me, tease, taunt, or leer I'll still go every single day, so that I live to see my Mum being able to sleep in on a Sunday morning, to buy her favourite foods and finally try seafood.

Today is going to be a good day, I can already tell.