The Girl Who Had Wings

Chapter 17

      I don't know how long Max and I sat there chained to the wall but it felt like forever before he started his story.
     "My father, he's always been like this and that's why I stay in the woods. Ever since I was a child and my mother left because he was abusive he took it out on me."
     "Since that happened I used the woods and the mini dock as my escape where he couldn't get to me. He's never really cared about me or what I did so all I did was ignore him."
     "Then one year he couldn't send me to school and I've never gone again. I've been able to take care of myself but he sometimes comes home really late at night and hits me until I can't move."
      "Ever since I've met you though, it's been better. He's been leaving me alone but I guess that's all over now," he says as he finishes his tale of despair. I feel really bad that his life's been like this the entire time and that I didn't know.
      After he finished we were silent for a long time. There was nothing to do except worry about my wound or lose myself in my memories. I chose the latter.

                                  >>><<<

      "Come on Grace! Hurry up!" Max yelled at me so that we could set up faster. Tonight it was warmer out and I had found a movie we both liked as well as a projector in the attic while I was bored. Since we had nothing planed we decided to do a movie night on my platform, setting up a sheet to use as a screen for the movie.
      As I flew up the platform with the last load, the snacks, he was just finishing hanging up the sheet on the tree trunk and setting up the projector. As he finished up I set out the snacks we picked. A few Hershey bars, buttered popcorn, and two cans of sprite for both of us.
     When he sat down I popped the disc in the player. It was 'The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride'  and we both coincidently liked it.
      About halfway through we were almost done the snacks and we had pulled out a ton of fuzzy blankets to keep us warm. We had started to hum along to one of the songs, 'Upendi', before simultaneously bursting out into song and matching the movies tune. By the time the song had ended our smiles had spread across our faces. After that we watched the rest of the movie quietly.
      When the movie had ended we gathered all of our supplies and Max climbed down the tree. I swept down to the ground with the supplies in the two backpacks and we started walking to my house. When we finally got there, he helped me set everything down inside before turning back to me.
      Right before he turned to leave he leaned in and gave me a hug before heading back to the woods, disappearing into the night.

                                 >>><<<

      As I came back into reality, I couldn't help but smile at the memory. It was our first movie night and we had some more planned in case of more warm evenings. As I looked up I glanced towards Max.
      He was slumped in the floor but didn't look too uncomfortable as he has apparently done this before. His eyes were closed like mine were a few moments ago and I wondered what he was thinking about or if he was remembering something.
      After another period of time that felt like eternity he finally sat up, opening his eyes. We talked until we heard rattling of a key being jammed into the lock of the door blocking our exit to freedom. As I turned to look I saw Max's father entering the room with a ring of keys. He walked over to his son and unlocked his wrists before handing him a medical kit and leaving the room. The clunk of the lock sounding telling us we were still locked in the room. 
      Max picked up the medical kit and walked over to me and kneeled down before me to opened the kit.
      "Close your eyes Grace, I don't want you to see this but it'll hurt a lot." I wonder what he is going to do but I close my eyes anyways. I feel his hands on my injured wing and before I could register what was happening he snaps my wing back into place. I couldn't help but let out a yelp, though I keep my eyes shut letting Max continue.
      I can hear him rummage around in the medical kit until he grabs the material he needs. I can hear him peel back a strip and wrap whatever it is around my broken wing. Once it feels like it's secure and I hear I final rip I open my eyes.
      My eyes flit over to the injury and see that he set the bone and wrapped it up to keep it in place. I look over to Max, "thank you."
      "No problem, anything for a friend," he says before sitting down next to me against the wall. "Though there may be a problem. I don't know how long it will take for that wing to heal so I recommend not flying until you know that it's completely healed."
      "Oh, ok," was the only thing I could say. I hoped I could heal fast enough. We need to get out of here and away from that person who holds the title of Max's father.
      Soon after the door opens again, and this time Max's father walks in, but this time carrying a whip. He grabs Max by the neck of his shirt with my protests ringing throughout the room. He throws Max to the ground and roughly takes Max's shirt off, revealing multiple scars crisscrossing their way across his back. I didn't know what would happen before I saw the whip raised above my best friend.
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Hey guys!!! Sorry for the late update but I needed to completely finish this chapter for you guys. What do you guys think about Grace's situation? Max's situation?

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I'll see you guys next time my Wattpad Friends

Hugs and lemons🍋

- TorTor