Motherless

Unexpected Encounter

I wake up to the sound of someone touching me lightly and whispering to me. I open my eyes, but a headache makes me quickly close them again. I let out a loud sigh and slowly stood up, not even opening my eyes.

I can't even hear my mother's voice above the deafening hammering in my brain. "Are you alright honey can I help you?" Seeing that my mother's voice sounded strange, I furrowed my brows.

How come she sounds so pleasant now? Is it my imagination, or am I dreaming?

"Darling can you open eyes and look at me or say something please?" I carefully open my eyes, taking care not to cause any additional agony.

My moth--wait, that's not my mother. I jumped swiftly, forgetting about the stinging pain. "Shit," I grumbled to myself.

"Hey honey, it's okay, I just want to help," the lady says as she walks closer me. I take another step back. When a cool breeze touched me, I became aware of my surroundings. I'm in an alley. How did i get here?

In a desperate attempt to figure out why I'm here, I search everywhere. "Do you know how you got here?" I think the woman noticed my perplexity as she asked.

I turned to stare at her. I study her features before uttering a word. Her hair is crazy curly and her eyes are huge and emerald. Her complexion is honey brown. Her arms and legs are also very lengthy.
She looked like a librarian, but not the kind of old woman librarian you would expect. The one who would compel anyone to visit the library, if only to gaze upon them.

I brush my thoughts aside with a shake. I answered tremblingly, "U-Uh n-no I don't know." "Well, that's alright. Could you please tell me your home address so I can take you there? Most likely, your guardian or parents are quite concerned about you." She comes over to face me. This time, I didn't move.

I begin to move by her and say, "That's really nice of you, but like you said, they're probably worried sick so I have to go." Before my punishment gets any worse or she calls the police, I have to hurry home.

Even still, I would much prefer be in a jail cell than return to that flat. I turned to look behind me because I felt someone grab my arm. She took her hand off of me.

"I'm not going to let you walk alone. "Either you let me take you home or to the hospital," I begin to respond, but am interrupted. "The only choice you have in this situation is the destination. Now, tell me where we're going."

She says, crossing her arms. staring at my feet, I let out a sigh. "I'm heading home," I said, without raising my gaze. 
My head elevates with a finger under my chin.  During a conversation, look the other person in the eyes. Understand?"  Feeling ashamed, I nod.

Putting her arms folded, she says. I let out a sigh as I glance down at my feet. "I'm heading home," you say without turning around.
I elevate my head with a finger beneath my chin.  "When you or the other person is speaking, look directly into their eyes. You get it?" Shocked, I nod.

"All right. Let's head to my car now," she says as we make our way to her vehicle. I gave her a fake address when she asked for my home address to enter in the GPS. "Don't forget your seatbelt"

~ Eventually we reach the false address. It's only a few blocks from home, nothing spectacular. I give her sincere gratitude for the bringing me "home". I hear the seat belt being unbuckled then turn to face her as she prepares to get out of the vehicle.

"Where are you going?" She raises her head with a pout. "I'll take you inside," she adds nonchalantly. "That will not be required. "I'm a big girl, and I could go by myself."

"I could see you're a big girl but I just want to be sure that you're okay," she says with a smile, and I can't help but smile back. Why does she care if I'm okay? I'm not deserving of concern.

I can't let her in because she'll realise it was all a lie, and she'll probably call the cops and ask, "Hey sweetheart, where did you go just now?" I disregard her question and swiftly exit the car, closing the door behind me.

"I appreciate your assistance. I wish you could come inside, but we have a pitbull who is wary of strangers. He bit our neighbour in the ass yesterday, and I don't want it to happen to you or worse." The expression on her face was priceless.

"OK, then," I mentally complimented myself. "Please stay safe and I'll see around I guess" she murmured. "Umm... yeah sure," we said our final goodbye, and she drove away.

Dash home after I'm sure she can't see me and has been awhile since she left.

Time Skip

Generally speaking, I wish for the best when I sense problems ahead. which is always ineffective, so let me try crossing my fingers. I carefully open the door. Then there's a strike to my face that knocks me down hard. I keep my head down while holding my nose and see all the blood flow out, nearly covering my palm.

All of a sudden, I'm grabbed and forcefully slammed against the table. "Where fuck you've been ?" I remained silent. I'm being pressed harder and my back hurts. "Open your fucking mouth and say something you little shit"

I choose to ignore him. There's no need in answering because I'll be penalised either way. My mother emerges from her room and says, "What's going on, I'm trying to get some beauty sleep."

Bitch please look in the mirror it didn't work.

Her expression, which was once one of shock, soon turned to one of rage. "Talia where the have you been." I muttered, "Nowhere" in response to this predicament. "Where you with a boy?" She gestures towards me with her finger.

"Bill, let her go." He drops me. "No, I wasn't," I yell. After that, my left cheek started to sting. "Don't you ever in your fucking life raise your voice at me again you slut."

I suppress my tears so they won't see me at my worst. I dare not satisfy them in that way.

"Everything needs to be spotless when we return because we are going away for a few days. If not, you'll kneel on grits while I beat you with the wire. Do you hear me? In order to avoid getting slapped again, I nod and respond. "Y-yes"

They shove me aside to make room for them to go. My mum passed away without turning to face me. I assumed she would have enjoyed witnessing how she and her partner messed with my face. Billy came to a stop in front of me. I could smell the alcohol and feel the heat of his breath because he was so near.

"Don't worry, Daddy will be home shortly. You're a good girl. I'll treat you, and if you're a terrible girl, I'll punish you. You hear me?" I moaned, feeling hung over once more.

He gave me a peck on the cheek before shutting the door behind him. I winced. I strolled to the restroom to throw up and assess the harm. Fortunately, I just have a displaced nose and a nasty bruise forming. I inhaled deeply before. "Son of bitch," I said as I adjusted my nose. I'm soaked in blood, but I'm in too much pain to take a bath, so I just wash my face, take off my clothes, and lay down in bed.

How sweet that woman was makes me sigh. It is my hope that she will not come back to find me.

I should be in school right now, but whatever. My gaze grew heavy.