in another life - dnf

7.0 ; the final night

tw ; mentions of an abusive [physical & mental] household and alcohol

georges' pov

i got home at 3pm, and dad was furious. mom was standing a little behind him, mouthing "i'm sorry," and gave me a sorrowful expression.

dad walked towards me and without warning, punched me across the face. that was sure to leave a mark.

this hurt a lot more, dad was drunk, and no longer tired. he put so much force in the punch, i toppled over onto the floor.

he then started kicking me in the stomach, as i begged him to stop.

with each kick he'd say something.

"YOU," kick  "WORTHLESS," kick  "PIECE," kick  "OF," kick  "SHIT!"

he looked like he was about to pounce on me, but instead, he just walked away.

mom rushed over to me gave her apologies.

she offered to assist me aid my wounds, and so she helped me over to the bathroom.

it hurt so much to stand up, i could hardly keep my balance.

my stomach was in agony, and i could already see the bruising on my face coming along under my eye. 

mom told me to sit on the tiles and quickly and quietly went back into the kitchen to retrieve some ice from the freezer.

when she came back, i told her she can go back out, and i can manage myself.

mom told me to stay in the bathroom until he's finished icing his wounds, as she wasn't sure how his dad would react if he saw me trying to make them feel better.

when she left, i locked the door behind her, and that's when some muffled sobs escaped my mouth.

it made no sense to me. why couldn't she just leave him? it's so painfully obvious that he's hurting myself, and her.

about 10 minutes into icing myself, i hurt some faint shouts coming from the opposite side of the door.

"did you know?" dad said.

"sorry dear, know what?" mom replied with.

"i think you know damn well what i'm talking about... that george left today? who knows what he could've done, or told!"

"well, yes, i did know, i didn't think i should've bothered you by telling you about it."

i could hear moms' fake smile when she spoke.

"DON'T PLAY ME LIKE A FOOL!" dad responded, and i could hear a smack on the other side.

i just sat there, in shock.

dad had never done that to mom before.

i could hear dad grunt and then footsteps could be heard going down the hallway.

i opened the bathroom door and made my way over to mom.

she was still bunched up on the floor and she made some whimpering sounds. "i'm so so sorry," i spoke.

"no, this is my own fault. i promise you we'll get out of here one day," she whispered back.

i didn't say anything after that, i just gave her a weak smile.

"george, will you get me some ice?"

"oh yes, of course."

and i made my way to the freezer to get what mom had requested. i walked back over to her, and heard loud footsteps coming through the hallway.

it was my dad. "you're both pathetic," he spoke with a smirk as he approached the couch. "GET ME A BEER GEORGE." my father said to me.

i quickly gave the ice to mom and went to the fridge. i got a can out and handed it to my dad.

he just grunted as a response.

i turned around and noticed mum wasn't on the floor anymore. she must've moved to ice her face in the bedroom.

i went over to her door and walked in and questioned her. "mom, why don't you just leave him?"

"because i'm scared. he may not let me leave, and he might try find his way back if i ever do. he's a very strong man, and he can hurt us."

"but he's already hurting us!" i whispered, ensuring he wouldn't hear us.

"i know, i know." she said, "but it will only get worse if i leave."

i just nodded and headed out of her room.

i was so exhausted from all the arguing and fighting. my mom deserved so much more than this.

i walked up to my room and laid down on my bed, being surrounded by boxes. i closed my eyes, and i unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

tomorrow, i will be leaving. this is my final night here.

// 720 words //

a;n

omg, i can't believe people have actually found my book! i'm so so excited to see where the future of my book will go, as i do have quite a bit planned for it! sorry for the short chapter, it was a bit more of a filler chapter, but it will definitely get more interesting when george finally gets to america. ;) the book is already half an hour long and he is still yet to be in america HAHAH i wonder if george will ever get to see his friends again 🤔

i'm expecting this book to end up being quite long, so i hope you enjoy longer books. :D
once again, i'm so grateful people have ended up looking at my book, i really didn't expect it at all!