M'lady

VIII

A year has passed, Almost two years

Luca has returned to Spain, My father began his normal behavior of abuse

I still dream of that night

I still dream of Elijah

'Jaelyn come here!'

'Yes sir?'

He strikes me across the face

And then again

'You said to not touch Abbie, So you will get every single punishment of hers'

He backhands me, I stay quiet

The pain makes me feel something other than emptiness

'Go do something, I have work to do' I nod and head to my room, Texting a few friends of mine

My friend lia comes to visit, She is the only one who knows about my mothers drinking so it's easy to blame the marks on my face on her accidentally thinking I was someone else

We talk while walking around the garden

'Why does your mom keep drinking?'

'Because she is an cunt?'

Lia giggles and looks at me

'You seem really different.. Are you okay?'

'I'm fine lia'

She sighs and we spend the rest of the day together

'Hello girls' Luca enters my room which causes lia to squeal, She has always had a crush on him

'Hi, Luca!" She says

'Hey' I greet him

'What's wrong?'

'Don't know, She refuses to tell me' Lia huffs

'What happened to you!' Luca asks, Sprinting to me as he examines my wounds

'Just mom...' I lie

He sighs and lays down

'I ran into Elijah' Luca says

'Where?' I ask

'The airport, He was there with someone when I got off my plane'

I glance away

He probably moved on

I can't blame him

I begin to cry which causes my friends to comfort me

'Dad did it' I admit to them

'Dad always hits me once no one will see me

'He hits Abbie too'

I needed to tell someone what my father is truly like

Lia stares at me, and Luca stays quiet

'I'm sorry Jae, I don't believe you..' Lia admits before leaving

'What?' I say quietly before covering my eyes

'Your dad is a good man...'

'Luca not you too..'

'You don't get to be queen..'

'So you are calling me a liar?' I shout at him

'No, but... But It is reasonable that you would hold that grudge'

'Get out!" I scream at him, Tears covering my cheeks

I lay on my bed, Sobbing

I knew this would happen

Luca has seen how evil my dad can be

Lia can hate my mom but not my dad?

Yet they still believe the king

And just like that

Contacts began disappearing from my phone, I assume lia has spread what I shared, Causing my friends to all betray me

My chest feels tight as I begin to panic, My father will find out that I tried to expose him

Shortly I hear loud banging on my door as I open it, My hands shaking

'Come see the new painting!' My drunken mother says with excitement in her voice

I sigh as I am relieved that it wasn't yet my father

I follow her down to the dining hall as she grabs onto a sheet

'Here it is' She pulls the sheet off of the painting revealing a painting just like the one Elijah showed me, But more recent and better

'It was called dream girl' My mother fans over the painting

My heart drops as I give a fake smile 'It's wonderful'

My mother smiles before dismissing me

'Oh wait dear!"

'Do you want to read what came with it?'

I sigh and walk toward her, Accepting the paper she was handing me

~ Out of all of the women I've painted, Met, and that I've loved

None of them compare to this one

This one taught me dreams can come true

This one taught me that life has colors, And paintings can mean so much

But

Most importantly

This one taught me that I truly

have never loved anyone

That was until I met her~

I tear up reading the note from the painting

'I know, It is so sweet!'

I nod and run to my room, Sliding down the door as I begin to cry

I grab my phone and desperately search for his name, I need to see him...

"Elijah Hayes"

I see if there are any art parties coming up

And there is one

April fifth

Next week...

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(657 words)