Editing Buddies

~Chapter 16~

"Now, where should I put it?"
Walking over to you, she looked at you head to toe. "Maybe, I should put it on your legs? No, too obvious. Hmm... Maybe your stomach? Nah, that won't work. I know! How about your side? That way, you'll remember easily not to lie." She smiled.
You just looked away, biting your lip. She lifted your shirt and looked at the scar you had. "Oh yeah, maybe I should put it on the scar? Wouldn't that double the pain?" She said aloud. She began to press the hot metal against your skin, on the scar, burning you. It hurt like hell, if not worse, but you didn't want her to see.
She kept it pressed against your side until it lost its red glow.
"There! Now, will you lie to me again?" She asked. "No.." You looked at her, trying not to cry or show weakness.
"Good girl. Now, clean up the blood. Also, you can go when you do. I'm going back to bed, goodnight."
"Goodnight mom." You said, looking at where she branded you.
When she closed the door, you broke down in tears. "This is fucking why I wanted to leave this hellhole!" You yelled at yourself. "The money and fame has gotten into her fucking brain!"
Trying to find a med kit, you only found some alcohol and bandages. Tearing some of the bandage, you dipped it into the alcohol and rubbed it against your wound. Then you wrapped it up with what you had left of the bandage.
You then walked upstairs to the bathroom and began cleaning the visible blood off. When you got done, you awkwardly walked back to bed and laid back down beside Barry.
Snuggling up against him, you gradually fell asleep.
You woke up to Barry sitting up. "Morning Bear." You yawned. "Did I wake you?" He asked stretching. "No..." You said, turning onto your back. "Need help up?" He asked, looking at you slowly rise like a zombie. "Maybe~..."
He helped you sit up and you stretched, but as you did, you felt a sharp pain in your side. Flinching, you stopped, trying not to alarm Barry.
"So, what do you want to do today?" You asked him. "I don't know, what does the royal princess want to do?" He smirked. "I don't know... Let's just go eat! I'm hungry.." You playfully pouted and he chuckled. "Okay, little miss hungry, let's go get breakfast."
You jumped off the bed and took his hand, walking out of the room. As if on cue, Suzy walked out of her room. "Hey you two!" She greeted. "Hey Suze~! We're going to get food, wanna come?" You asked her. "Sure."
The three of you walked downstairs and into the kitchen. "Okay! What do you want for breakfast?" You asked them. Suzy walked over to you, "Hmm... We could probably make pancakes." She said. You went into the freezer, "We also have bacon!!"
"Breakfast figured out! I'm going to go sit on Arin while I wait. Peace!" Barry said, walking back upstairs.

When you and Suzy finished breakfast, you saw Barry return with a sleepy Arin. "Why'd you sit on me..?" Arin asked Barry, clearly still half asleep.
"Because I wanted to. I guess that was payback for you sitting on me once." Barry said, looking at what you and Suzy made. "That looks delicious..."
Arin just sat down and his head fell against the counter. Barry sat on the barstool next to Arin, "Bro... You okay?" He asked Arin who just grunted.
Suzy poked him and Arin looked up. "Is food ready?"
"Yes, food is ready." You replied. You placed a plate in front of Barry and Suzy gave Arin's his.
You sat beside Barry, "So, where do you guys want to go today?"
"To be honest, I want to go mess around." Suzy said sitting beside Arin. "That sounds fun." Barry agreed. "Sure." Arin said in the middle of stuffing his face.
"Okay! Its settled then." You smiled and began eating your breakfast.

When you guys were done with your breakfast, the four of you ran out of the house. While you and Suzy watched Arin and Barry be idiots in front of you two, she stopped you.
"Hey, (Y/N), you've been acting a little off since last night. Even your walking is a little off. What's wrong?" She asked, looking at you worried. "Gah, I can never lie to you Suzy... Promise not to tell Barry or Arin? Or anyone in fact?" You asked her, with a very serious tone.
"I promise." She said, and you faced her. "Don't freak out.." You said as you lifted your shirt, showing the poorly wrapped bandage. She gasped, "What happened!?"
"It should have stopped bleeding by now..." You took of the bandage and showed her the brand your mom gave you.
"Oh my god! Who did this!?" She said, kneeling down to get a better look. "The scar was from my ex a few years ago and the brand is from my mom last night... For lying to her." You explained to Suzy.
"(Y/N). Please explain everything to me. The boys can wait a bit, just tell them me and you need to do something real quick." Suzy got up.
"Okay... HEY YOU TWO! SUZY AND I NEED TO DO SOMETHING! GO ON AHEAD OF US!" You yelled and Barry gave you a thumbs up.
"Okay, do you still promise not to tell anyone?" You asked Suzy; she nodded.
"Okay, this also explains the tension between me and my parents. When I was little till I moved out, my mom would punish me by locking me in the basement with no food. She'd starve me till I was almost dead. Then she'd give me food and tell me not to disobey her again. Disobeying or backtalk earns no food, pissing her off earns a beating, and lying earns a branding." You told Suzy.
"Oh my god! And you haven't charged child abuse!?"
"If I do, she'll kill me! The fame and money got to her head and made her feel all high and mighty. If I don't become famous or rich like her, she said she'd disown me! My dad has tried to help me many times, but she found a way to get him to stop. I just don't know what to do anymore..." You said, feeling lost.
Suzy hugged you gently and you hugged her back. "I really needed to get that off my chest, thank you." You said and she began rubbing your back, trying to calm you down.
"What if I filed the report?" Suzy asked. "I don't know. I really don't."
She let go and took your hand, "Well, let's catch up to the guys. We need to have some fun."

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Okay, I'll be honest with you.

The branding idea came from a dream I had last night.

Sweet dreams, right?

:)
~Stormi