chapter seven
1153 Words
CHAPTER SEVEN
A mothers promise
Eliana dreamed of her mother.
She was standing in a field washed in warm sunlight, and somehow, everything felt peaceful.
Then she saw her.
“Mom?”
Her mother smiled.
Eliana didn't walk toward her.
She ran.
She threw herself into her mother's arms and held on as tightly as she could.
For the first time in years, Eliana stopped pretending.
“I hate my life.”
The words came out between sobs.
Her mother held her tighter.
“I hate going home. I hate school. I hate being scared all the time.”
She wiped her tears.
“I try so hard, Mom. I really do. I study. I work. I clean. I stay quiet. I try not to make Dad angry.”
Her voice broke.
“But nothing ever changes.”
Her mother gently lifted her chin.
“You don't have to earn the right to be loved, Eliana.”
“But I'm tired.”
“I know.”
“Can I stay with you?”
Her mother's eyes became sad.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
“Please.”
“You still have a life to live.”
Eliana shook her head.
“I don't want it.”
“You don't know what your future looks like yet.”
Her mother placed a hand against her cheek.
“There will be a day when you wake up and realize that this house was never the whole world.”
Eliana stared at her.
“There will be people who love you without asking you to become someone else first.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Her mother smiled.
“So keep going.”
“I don't know how.”
“Then take one day at a time.”
Eliana hugged her again.
“Don't leave.”
“I'll always be part of you.”
The sunlight suddenly became brighter.
“Mom?”
Her mother's figure began disappearing.
“Mom!”
Eliana reached for her.
Her alarm went off.
Eliana's eyes flew open.
She sat upright.
Her bedroom was empty.
Her heart pounded.
She touched her cheek.
For a moment, she could still feel her mother's hand there.
It had felt real.
More real than any dream she'd ever had.
Eliana whispered,
“I'm going to try.”
She didn't know how long she could keep going.
But she knew she needed to get out.
She needed money.
She needed school.
She needed a future.
Until then, she would do everything she could to avoid making her father angry.
She slowly pushed herself out of bed.
Pain immediately overwhelmed her.
Her knees gave way.
She fell back onto the mattress.
A sob escaped her.
She covered her face and cried.
Not for a few minutes.
For what felt like hours.
Eventually, she forced herself upright.
“Painkillers,” she whispered.
She needed them today.
She dressed and stood before the mirror.
The reflection staring back at her looked exhausted.
She stared at her face.
Ugly.
That word had become so familiar that she barely questioned it anymore.
But her mother had always disagreed.
You're the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes upon.
Eliana wished she could see herself through her mother's eyes.
She couldn't.
She pulled her oversized hoodie over her head.
Then she went downstairs.
---
David was already awake, a mug in his hand.which was mostly vodka as the water and coffee as a mix.
Eliana froze when she saw him.
“Good morning, Dad.”
He ignored her.
She quietly began preparing breakfast.
Her hands were trembling.
Then her foot caught against something.
She grabbed the nearest shelf.
It wobbled.
She tried to steady herself.
The shelf gave way.
CRASH!
Plates shattered across the kitchen floor.
Eliana's heart stopped.
Wrong move, girl.
David appeared in the doorway.
He stared at the broken plates.
Then at Eliana.
“Dad, I'm sorry.”
His expression hardened.
“I didn't mean to—”
He moved toward her in a sudden rush, grabbing her arm hard enough that she gasped, his fingers digging in as he yanked her away from the counter. Eliana stumbled, trying to pull back, but he shoved her against the edge of the kitchen surface. Pain shot through her side as she cried out, the sound breaking into panic.
“Stop—please, I didn’t mean to—” she choked, fear rising sharp in her throat.
He didn’t listen.
His grip tightened again as he dragged her closer to the stove, her breath hitching as she struggled against him. In the chaos, her belly brushed against something hot—metal searing into her skin for a split second before she jerked away with a scream that tore out of her chest. The pain was immediate and blinding, mixing with pure terror as she clutched her stomach, a fresh burn mark already forming on her belly.
The next moments became a terrifying blur.
There was shouting.
Fear.
Pain.
Eliana cried and pleaded for him to stop.
But he wasn't listening.
The kitchen that had once been an ordinary room became a place she desperately wanted to escape.
She curled into herself, trying to protect herself from what she couldn't stop.
And then, eventually, it ended.
David walked away.
He didn't look at her.
Je just kicked the kettle and the hot metal touch her again making her wice in pain.
He didn't show any form of remorse either.
He simply left the room as though nothing had happened.
Eliana remained on the floor.
Her tears fell silently.
She looked at the broken plates around her.
Then she looked toward the doorway where her father had disappeared.
Something inside her finally gave way.
Not her body.
Something deeper.
For years, she'd carried a tiny belief that maybe there was still a father somewhere inside him.
Maybe one day he'd regret everything.
Maybe one day he'd love her.
That morning, Eliana finally stopped waiting.
She understood that she couldn't make him love her.
She couldn't make him kind.
She couldn't fix him.
And none of it had ever been her fault.
She pulled her knees toward herself and cried.
“I just wanted my dad.”
The words were barely a whisper.
That was what hurt most.
She hadn't wanted money.
She hadn't wanted expensive clothes.
She hadn't wanted a perfect life.
She had only wanted her father to love her.
And now she wasn't even sure she remembered what that was supposed to feel like.
Her mother's words returned to her.
Your story isn't finished.
Eliana closed her eyes.
She wanted to believe them.
She really did.
But for the first time, she couldn't see the brighter future her mother had promised.
All she could see was darkness.
And for that moment, she had nothing left except the smallest, exhausted wish that somehow—somewhere—her mother's promise would eventually become true.
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