The Ones Who Failed Us

Chapter 16

Teddy and I had been living with our brothers for two months, and Christmas was in almost three weeks. I had just finished receiving for the scarring on my back, leaving only a few small areas of scarring as a reminder of the pain inflicted by Sir.

My relationship with my brothers was improving each day, but Alessandro was still making Teddy and I go to therapy, not that we were saying anything. My brothers were all becoming suspicious of what we were hiding, especially with the amount of time I had been spending on my computer trying to find any information regarding his search for me. There was no doubt he was in the process of tracking Teddy and I down, but the anticipation was truly making me nauseous.

My brothers were trying to make us open up, but no matter how much I trusted them, I would never tell them about him unless something were to happen.

Little did I know that some events would occur that would destroy all trust between my brothers and I.

I was walking from the bathroom to history where Raphael already was. I think I had a stomach bug or something because I had been feeling nauseous all day.

For the past week, we had a substitute teacher because the original teacher had a family emergency and wouldn't be able to teach for the rest of the year. Today, we were going to meet our permanent teacher for the year.

When I walked into the classroom, I saw a man who I hoped to never see again. It was one of Sir's friends, Seth. Sir would invite him over to help with my punishments and to inflict more pain to my body. He was the one who bought Sir the whip that struck my back more times than I can count.

Upon meeting my eyes, he smirked at me. My body was shaking as I took a seat in the back of the class next to Raphael.

"Aves, you okay?" Raphael asked.

"Y-yeah, Raph," I answered. "I just feel a bit light-headed and nauseous."

"Oh, okay. You're looking a bit pale," he said worriedly.

The bell finally rang, signaling the start of class.

"Hello, class. I am Mr. Davis, your new history teacher. I made a seating chart to make it easier to memorize your names. Could everyone grab their things and walk to the front of the classroom?"

He started assigning the seats starting at the far end of the classroom. I was the last one to be assigned my seat, and the only seat available was the one in front of his desk. Life really hates me, doesn't it?

Throughout class, I tried to focus on my breathing to prevent the anxiety attack I felt building up, and it was kind of working. Or at least it was until class ended.

When the bell rang, our new "teacher" said, "Thank you for making my first day amazing. You are all dismissed. Ms. Russo, could you stay behind? I want to talk to you about something."

Raphael shot me a concerned look, which I brushed off. "I'll be okay," I said. "I'll see you in English."

After he left, my breathing became ragged. I don't know what this man wanted to tell me, but it was worrying me. Would Seth disclose my location to him? This thought was scaring me, and I knew I had to do something about it.

"You know, I forgot how amazing it felt to have a weak little girl like yourself trembling before me," Seth said sadistically.

Walking behind me, he roughly squeezed my shoulders, causing me to let out a whimper. "W-w-what do y-you w-want?" I stuttered.

"Don't be like that," he taunted. "Aren't you happy to see me? I know I'm happy to see my favorite little girl."

Every word he spoke added to my already present nausea. I didn't say a word, but even if I tried, I don't think any words would come out. I was panicking.