Broken But Strong

CHAPTER 1

Beep...Beep...Beep...

"Ugh!!!" Annoyed, I grabbed my alarm clock and threw it across my room. Satisfied, I laid down and tried going back to sleep. Key word being 'tried'. No matter how I tried to make myself comfortable, sleep just wouldn't take me. 

I sat up groggily, finally deciding that I would just wake up. Today was another day at hell's hole. School. Sighing, I got out of bed and went to the washroom. I wasn't one of those girls who woke up looking beautifully messy. In fact, I was one of the few who woke up looking like I had not showered for a year. I was a brunette, with an average height of 5'4. I was pretty thin, as I didn't have food on a regular basis. If I made a mistake, I wasn't allowed to eat. I stared at myself in the mirror. My brown hair looked like a bird nest, my face was swollen, and my body was sticky and sweaty. I shredded my clothes and got into the shower for a quick bath.

After I showered, I quickly put on my usual grey hoodie and black skinny jeans. I ran downstairs, knowing I had very little time to prepare my stepfather's breakfast. His normal breakfast consisted of two scrambled eggs, three pieces of bacon and a glass of lukewarm coffee at the side. Glancing at the clock, I cursed under my breath, realising I only had ten minutes to prepare the breakfast. Samuel, my stepfather, always came down at 7.25am. Not a minute more, not a minute less.  I swiftly fried up the bacon, scrambled the eggs and made him a cup of cappuccino. Hearing his bedroom door open,  I speedily went to stand at the side. I was only allowed to leave the house when he was satisfied.

Beads of sweat were tumbling down my face as I stood to the side, letting my hair cover part of my face and looking down. As Samuel walked into the kitchen, I bowed my head. According to him, people like me shouldn't be able to breathe the same air as people like him. I was supposed to bow my head towards him every single morning to show him 'respect'. 

Samuel sat down on the table, and took a bite of his bacon. He then proceeded to eat the scrambled eggs. Appearing satisfied, he waved his hand at me, telling me that I could go. I thanked him by bowing my head and was stepping out of the kitchen when I heard a growl.

"What temperature is this coffee at?" Samuel growled at me.

"Um, Its your normal lukewarm coffee, sir." I instantly replied. Although I kept a calm facade outside, my insides were tumbling, afraid of what was to come.

"You lying piece of shit! This is hot coffee! I scalded my tongue because of you!" Samuel exploded, stalking towards me.

"I'm sorry, sir." My face turned pale as I slowly inched backwards.

"You should have checked the temperature of the coffee before serving it to me. Since you didn't, I guess you think that I'm easy to fool, right?" Samuel towered over me, spitting at my face.

"No sir, I'm sorry sir. I thought it was lukewarm." I rapidly defended myself. I had a gut feeling this wasn't going to end well.

"You thought it was lukewarm?" Samuel screamed at me. In a flash, he grabbed the cup of coffee and poured it on my arm. I screamed in pain, clutching my arm as tears ran down my face. The coffee was scalding hot. Samuel slapped me once on the face, stopping my screams immediately. I whimpered as the coffee seeped into my skin. Happy that I received my punishment, he sent me a cold smirk as he walked out of the kitchen.

I slumped onto the floor as I heard his car roar to life, before slowly inching out of the driveway. I had neither strength nor willpower to get up. I sat there, my burnt arm falling limply to the side. I crawled to the drawer and took out the first-aid kit. I always had many first-aid kits hidden everywhere in my house as I had no idea when or where I would get punished. I pulled out some bandages and wrapped my arm, before covering it  with the coffee-stained hoodie. I then placed the first-aid kit back to its place and picked up my school bag. Glancing at my watch, I realised it was already 7.55am. School started at 8. There was no way I was going to get to school in time. However, skipping school wasn't an option as I would die if Samuel found out. Literally. Blinking back more tears, I slowly slipped out of the house and made my way to school.