Beautiful misery

Part 9

Maya's P.O.V

I felt my dads big hands around my waist, pulling me away from my only escape. There was also one of his hands covering my mouth tightly. I could smell the alcohol, the smoke... What had my dad become? A question I had asked myself so many different times.

My memory quickly switched back to a few minutes ago, when my dad was pulled me into the house and slammed the door behind me. That little moment between getting pulled in a having the door shut. Those eyes that met mine for only a second, I recognized them straight away, Giovanni... What was he doing here? I thought I had told him to go home! I was thankful my dad didn't notice him. I didn't even want to think about what he would've done.

"slap!" my dads hand met my cheek with a huge amount of force causing my head to turn, bringing me back to reality in the tick of a clock. It took me a moment to feel the pain wash over my cheek but it came, and it didn't come nicely.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" my dads voice boomed, giving me goosebumps. 

"I W-was at school," I stuttered moving back against the wall in the corner as far away from my dad as possible. 

"AFTER SCHOOL!" he shouted, moving closer and closer.

"I w-went to a f-forest," by this time I was slowly crouching down to the ground, bringing my hands up to protect me against the upcoming punch, kick, slap... My dad was planning on giving me.

But instead he just stood there, staring down at me, his eyes somehow seeming to soften up and he actually looked away as if living a memory he had forgotten about. 

"D-dad?" I whispered un-sure.

His head snapped back to me and his look of sorrow suddenly changed to a familiar look of fury.

"YOU KILLED HER! YOU'RE THE REASON SHE'S GONE, AND FOR THAT, YOU DESERVE TO SUFFER! YOU TOOK AWAY THE ONLY LIGHT IN MY LIFE AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT!" He screamed at me. 

At that he brought his foot back and swung it toward my stomach as hard as he could. The pain swooped all the way up to my throat causing me to choke on my breath, and then for a few seconds I couldn't breathe. When I looked back up my dad was gone. 

All of a sudden I heard the front door slam shut and the car engine come to life. He left. 

I quickly got up holding my throbbing stomach tight. I managed to make my way up the stairs to my room as I collapsed on my bed. 

It was so unfair, I didn't kill my mum! Why would he think that?! I imagine he's now out getting drunk again. 

I thought about how, when I said I was in the forest, my dad seemed to have a flashback as if that forest meant something... But what? Today when I went there, I did feel something, but couldn't quite grasp what the feeling meant. Maybe my feeling and his flashback had a connection? 

As I thought about all of what had just happened I slowly fell into a deep sleep. 

=*=

"Giovanni, help!!!!" 

I watched as he just stood there, his back to me, looking at the stars. 

"GIOVANNI!!!"

He didn't move. I don't think he was even breathing! He was as lifeless as a rock. What was going on?!

I felt my body sink lower and lower into the quick sand and felt completely hopeless. My hands were gripping a tree branch as hard as possible but I could feel the branch slowly part from the tree.

That was it. In just a few seconds that branch would snap and I would have no choice but to let the quick sand swallow me up and take my life away from me. But just as I was ready to let go of my life and surrender to death, a voice coming from nowhere whispered in my ears:

"Don't give up! Remember, you promised you would n't let anyone or anything get to you. Keep the promise and get your life back together, don't let it fall apart." 

The sound of his voice calmed me down, and seemed to let out a new energy that went in through my ears and traveled down my throat to my stomach and lower to my legs all the way through to my toes. After just a moment, the energy had empowered my whole body and I found the strength to push myself out of the quick sand. When I started running towards Giovanni, I looked to where he was standing the last time I had seen him but found the spot empty. It was like he had disappeared into thin air by giving me all his energy.

I could sense it, he had left this world... for good.

He was dead.