When we finished our breakfast (some type of bread, and suspiciously chunky orange juice), I pulled out the cleaning supplies, and handed Bryton a broom.
"Do you know how to use this?" I asked as he gingerly yanked it out of my hands.
"Yes," he growled, which just made me laugh. I grabbed the furniture polish and a few dirty rags and headed to the lounge. Blondie was still scrolling through everything on my iPod. He wasn't wiping it, he was playing with it. He was reading my private stuff.
"Xzavier, is that really necessary?" Bryton groaned as he walked into the room.
"Is what necessary?" Blondie replied, not looking up from my iPod.
"Looking through her private property." I had almost forgotten that these people were Bryton's family. He knew them. Also, Xzavier? What kind of a name is that?
"It's none of your business what I'm doing," Xzavier retorted, still not even looking at Bryton.
"What is wrong with you?" Bryton shouted, his eyes brimming with tears. "I'm family. You're my family. Why are you doing this, to me, to Ava? You aren't kidnappers, you're family." I actually think he was crying. I completely understand why. He was betrayed by his own family.
"If you shut up now, I won't beat the crap out of you again," Xzavier said, with no hint of emotion in his voice.
Bryton turned on his heels and ran down to our room, sobbing all the way down. Xzavier groans and stands, making his way to the basement.
"Just leave him!" I shouted, surprised at my own courage.
"Do want me to beat you again?" he growls, but I don't back down.
"Do you need me to repeat myself?" I shocked myself at how menacing my voice sounds; I'm beginning to scare myself.
"I dare you."
"Leave him alone!" I screamed. He lunged for me, grabbed my wrists tightly, and pulled me down the hallway. We entered a room I had never been in before, and Xavier tossed me carelessly on the ground. When I look up he's holding a knife.
"W-what?" I stammered, my voice giving away my fear.
"You were asking for this," he growled. He really should stop talking like that. It makes him sound like a bulldog.
He tied my wrists and feet down, then climbed on top of me, lifting up my shirt. He slowly pressed the knife to my stomach making me cry out in pain. He only pushed it in deeper. I could feel the knife slowly moving across my stomach in a diagonal line.
Pain. That's the only word I can use to describe it. I was screaming and thrashing around, begging him to stop. He only pushed it deeper and went slower. I felt the knife lift off me, but he wasn't finished. He started at the opposite side of my stomach this time, making another diagonal line.
"Stop, please! Stop! I sorry, I swear I won't do it again!" Tears were streaming down my face.
Finally, he finished the second line. Satisfied with his work, he untied me and dragged me out of the room and all the way to the stairs of basement. I stumbled down the stairs and into my room, collapsing on the floor.
"Ava!" Bryton shouted, running to my side. I groaned and tried to stand. I vaguely heard the door locking behind me.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," I tried to reassure him.
"What happened?" He interrupted. Slowly, I lifted up my shirt to reveal the wound, still not looking at it.
"Xzavier," Bryton growled.
"How did you know?" I asked stupidly.
"Look at it. Look what he did."
I looked down at his masterpiece, and almost threw up. I was staring down at a bloody X carved into my stomach.
YOU ARE READING
Kindness
Mystery / ThrillerWhen Ava is kidnapped by a group of men who used her to get away from the cops, she is faced with a dilemma. She has always grown up wanting nothing but to be kind to everyone around her, especially the ones that are mean to her or hurt her. But can...
