Loving Marianna

Chapter Eighteen

Tw: child abuse, abuse, violence, smoking

"Mom! You're finally home! How was Switzerland? I missed you so much! Did you eat any Swiss cheese?" 11 year old me jumps into my mothers arms immediately bombarding her with questions.

"Yes I had a lot of different cheeses my sweet girl. But most importantly I brought you a little surprise." She places me down and reaches into her purse pulling out a box of Swiss chocolate.

"Thank you mom, they look so good can I please have one?" I plead.

"Well of course that's what I got them for silly." I give her another hug trying not to shudder when she places her hand on my back right where my stepfather Aaron burned me with the poker from the fireplace.

"Are you okay?" She questions looking concerned.

"Yeah I'm okay just got a little rough with some of the neighborhood kids." I skillfully lie.

"Aw let me see baby." She tries to turn me around and lift my shirt but I pull away before she can.

"It's fine mom Aaron helped me take care of it." I say.

"I still want to see it Marianna. I may be gone for work a lot but I'm still your mother let me see it now." She says growing suspicious.

"What's the problem in here?" Aaron says walking in agitated.

"Marianna got hurt and won't let me see it. She says you helped her and it's fine." My mother answers.

"Oh yeah, she's fine! There's nothing to worry about. She's a tough little girl." He says cheerfully.

She looks at him suspiciously.

"Let me see it Marianna." My mother demands.

"She's fine Ophelia." Aaron sneers dropping his facade.

"Please mom I'm okay." I plead with her.

She looks at me and nods her head.

"Okay baby. If you say so."

"Wake up Ana." My mother shakes me awake whispering in my ear. I open my eyes quickly and see her dressed to leave and our bags packed.

"Get your stuff on quickly we're leaving." She doesn't have to tell me twice, I get on my stuff and grab a few things from my room my mother didn't.

We move as quietly as we can towards the exit. But just as my mother is about to open the door we hear him.

"Going somewhere?" Aarons voice pierces through the dark.

My mother pulls me behind her back and pulls a gun out of her purse.

"I will kill you." She says with a shaky breath but steady hands.

"You and me both know you're not capable of that Ophe-" she shoots him in the leg. He doesn't hesitate and throws himself at her before she can shoot again. They wrestle for the gun sending stray bullets into the ceiling I scream and cover my head, he eventually gets it from my mother and points it at her while holding his bloody leg with a deranged smile.

"You got me good Ophelia I didn't think you'd actually be able to do it." He laughs moving closer to her he hits her with the gun and she falls to the floor.

He stomps on her head and I let out a blood curdling scream looking right at him, when I let this scream out it doesn't sound like a normal scream, then I see it, his skin melting off his face he tries to hold it up but can't, his own face melts through his fingers and all his face muscles and bone is exposed. He falls over my mother covering her in his blood. She rolls his body off of her and throws up.

I start crying hysterically and throwing up uncontrollably.

"What did I do? What monster am I?" I blabber almost incoherently. When my mother finishes puking she gets up and holds me.

"You are not a monster my baby. But we have to go right now." She says shakily grabbing our things. She wipes her hands clean of his blood and writes a note, saying: didn't want to wake you so I drove Marianna and I to the airport for our trip to visit family. Please pick up the car I left the keys under the passenger seat. I love you I'll see you in 2 weeks!

We leave and stop at a shady looking place where my mom drops off the gun and we go to the airport. She leaves the keys under the passenger seat and we head into the airport.

"Flight 278 to Greece."

4:07AM

I wake up with tears running down my face. I remove the limbs sprawled all over me and quietly climb out of the couch bed. I roll a couple joints knowing I won't be able to go back to sleep and head up to the helipad.

"I should've done this the first time." I say to myself when I see the view.

I sit down with my legs hanging over the edge. I light my joint and feel myself relax.

"Fuck you Aaron I hope hell is especially hot for you."

"Who's Aaron?" I shoot my head back and see it's Sam.

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Good it's just you."

"Just me? I'm hurt." He laughs grabbing dramatically at his chest.

"You know what I mean." I laugh and roll my eyes.

"So who is this Aaron?" Sam questions.

"He was my mothers boyfriend, my stepfather? Whatever it doesn't matter. He beat the shit out of me when I was a kid because of my soulmarks. He didn't have any and the only reason he was with my mom was because her soulmate died so in his deranged mind he thought he had someone guaranteed forever. I killed him when he hurt my mother and almost killed her." I mutter taking a long drag off my joint.

He looks angry, shocked, sad, a mess of different emotions. He pulls me to him. I look at him and see tears running down his face.

"Please don't." I say quietly.

"Don't pity me like that."

"Im sorry. I just- I love you so much and the thought of someone hurting you is unbearable." He says sadly.

"Im sorry." I whisper.

"No don't you EVER apologize for what happened to you. He should be the sorry one. He got off too easy." He says cradling my head.

"I melted his face." I look up at him.

"You.. melted.. ha.. haha.. hahaha." He cracks up. I look at him with slight concern.

"You're not horrified?" I ask confused.

"He BEAT you Marianna. You were a kid. He could've killed your mother. I feel no remorse for sewage. In my opinion he still got off too easy. He should've suffered. Just like you did and worse."

I hit my joint and a tear falls down my cheek.

"Thank you." I whisper. He sits with me in comfortable silence until I finish my joints and we watch the sunrise together.