Broken smiles

Flashback two

TW: abuse and death

Chains
The clicking and clacking of the chains on my hands and legs keeping me from escaping was what held me, Nack, Elia, Kendal and Avam from escaping. Me, Nack, Elia and Kendal were only 8 covered in brusies and blood barely being fed after a month of this torture
Avam was only 10 but basically being the parent we never had giving us the power to start a group of left behind kids called the rejects.
We were on the edge when Avam found a Bobby pin on the floor and started to undo our chains. Just as she started undoing the 2nd set
of chains she heard screaming and realized that people were looking for us and you could hear sirens and screaming cops and people.
We started screaming back while Avam kept undoing the chains when all of a sudden the once quiet basement was overgrown by the sound of a roaring flame and Avam quickly instructed us to get out through the windows and she finished undoing the 4th kids chains and as soon as she finished the fire grew and with all Avams last strength that she had she pushed the 4th child out the window handing them a necklace making them the next leader of the rejects as painful screams were heard and Avam was burned the 4th child was forced to stand there and watch the most important thing to them being burned alive while begging people to save her and no one doing anything
The 4th child screamed their throat raw fighting to go back for their friend until they were pulled back towards safety.
It then hit the 4th child that this was what happened when u let people too close. When people get too close they die for you
They die trying to protect you
They die because you can't protect yourself
They die because you cant do anything to save them
The 4th child finally closed off trying to be free from that curse
The child became the leader of the rejects promising to protect all of them and promising a better future
When she made this promise someone quoted Avam "Never let your smile die, for most people it is the only light in the dark"
The 8 year old child decided that even though they were hurt that they would try to hold on
Try to be stronger
Try to protect
Forcing themselves to perfect as to never get hurt again
Making sure they didn't get hurt
And keeping a permanent smile no matter how much it hurt as a way to get there
That was the start of the broken smile
And with no way to escape it
The child gets trapped in it

That 4th child is me. Kay.