United

الفصل 1

Everything changed. The way I look at myself in the mirror, the way the people around me act. The way I behave and the way I carry myself in a public setting. But I can't do anything, in fear of my father. My father will do anything to break me, even slapping me in public. But I know he's lying. And he'll do anything to conserve the little perfect family image that he has going on. I mean, fake it till you make it, am I right?

Wrong.

"The box is empty, and glaring, and daring me to choose one. Well, I'm an expert at boxes. My whole life can fit inside it, and I've got it down to a science. I can pack my entire identity in an hour cause where there's roots, there's power-"

"LUNAE!" Quickly, I scramble from my position and throw the book on the bed. I throw a robe on and lower my head. Father hates it when I'm looking at him in the eyes without permission.

My door soon bursts open and reveals my fuming father. He grabs me by my almost dirty blonde hair and yanks me towards him. I let out a little yelp as I smell his breath. Ew, he smells like coffee and cigarettes.

"Get dressed. We are going to meet my new business partner. And don't mess up like you always do. Gosh, your mother would be so disappointed"

He lets his harsh grip on my hair go and slams my bedroom door. I take a deep breath of non-contaminated air and make my way to the shower. While undressing, I try my best to not look at my reflection in the huge rectangular mirror. But a single slip-up has me raising my head.

I look at the person staring back at me with disbelief. Her eyes with big under bags, and her uneven redness on her face. The purple-ish bruising that has formed on her neck, the cuts and the scars. The same scars haunt me at night, as I remember the way they were formed.

Have I really been neglecting myself like this? I shrug off the negative comments and get myself in the shower. I lather myself in my vanilla body wash and wash my hair with some rose-scented shampoo. I walk out, put some lotion on, and look back in the mirror, avoiding my face, but focusing on my hair. Now, how to tame this bird nest on my head?

I end up just brushing it through since I had curled my hair this morning. I walked over to my closet and grab a white and pink dress and some white strap-up sandals that have a bit of a heel on them and sit at my vanity. I choose to keep it simple today since it's Sunday afternoon. I just put on a few swipes of mascara onto my already long eyelashes, and a touch of lip gloss. For the bruises and imperfections, I apply a little foundation and blend it out. I slip on the necklace my best friend Kiandre gave me. We bought matching ones for us with our first paycheck. Mine is blush pink, whilst the other is a dark shade of blue.