Life As We Knew It

Chapter Four: Punishments

Childhood is known to be the purest time of a person's life. It is before the world has the chance to corrupt a person's mind. Before they learn heartbreak. Before they learn evil. Everything a child knows is good. Their outlook on others is pure. I grew up thinking my parents were deeply in love. Like a kind of love you find in fairytales. Until my father left us. I grew up thinking I would live a normal life. I would marry, have children, maybe even get a job. Until that night.
The night the soldier snuck into my bedroom to rape me in front of my friends. That night was last month. He has only come in five times after that, each time being more aggressive than the last.
I empty the rest of my breakfast into the toilet and rest my cheek against the cold floor as I think back on these memories.
"Esme," Alice says with a smile.
"What is it, Alice? What did you see?" Rosalie asks from her spot beside me as she rubs my back.
"Esme, you're pregnant."
I gasp and look down at my stomach.
"No. No it can't be true. They'll kill it. They'll kill me." I sob, rubbing my belly.
"We must hide the baby." Rosalie says, her hands going to my belly.
"Baby?!"
Our heads whip up to the door to find Tanya, one of the other girls on our floor. She glares at us with a smirk on her lips.
"Little Esme. I always knew you were a tramp. I guess now we have proof, huh? How many soldiers have you slept with?" she asks.
"Get out Tanya." Rosalie hisses with anger.
"Please. Don't tell anyone. It's not what you think." I whisper.
"Don't tell? What have you ever done for me except steal the attention. All three of you! I'll be glad when you're gone." she snarls.
"Tanya!" Carmen whispers with anger as she walks in. Carmen is Tanya's roommate. I caught Carmen with a soldier the other day. His name was Eleazar. I promised to keep her secret because I knew what it was like to love someone you cannot be with. My mother. Alice and Jasper. Rosalie and Emmett. I knew what it was like.
"You won't tell." Carmen demands. Tanya rolls her eyes.
"You aren't the boss of me. I could turn you all in. And don't think I won't. In fact, I know just where the head mistress is." she says, turning and walking away. I quickly stand up and chase after her.
"Tanya, no! Please!" I beg as she runs down the hall.
"Tanya! Get back here." Carmen shouts.
"Remember who the real enemy is. We need to stick together." Alice says. We turn a corner and run right into the head mistress who is standing with Tanya.
"What in heavens sake is going on here?" she asks. I duck my head, realizing there is no way out of this.
"Miss Platt, answer me." she demands.
"I know what's going on." Tanya says.
"Esme is pregnant."
I hear the head mistress gasp and orders the guards to arrest me.
"Esme, you've been a naughty girl. I'm realizing that you're worse than we imagined. You are a wolf in sheep's skin. Now we have to remove that skin and remold what is on the inside." she says as the guards hold my arms back.
"Take her to the clean room. And get rid of that thing growing inside of her." she says. I look up and gasp.
"No!" I hear Rosalie shriek. I am tugged down the hall and I watch as each girl watches in horror. The light from the sun blinds me momentarily as we leave the building. When my eyes adjust, I stare at the old building in horror. The windows are boarded up and the brick on each side is faded and discolored. There is grass and weeds growing up each side, making it look like it is hardly ever used.
They throw me inside and I crawl to the nearest corner, trying to hide. I look up at the soldiers and gasp as I see Charles. His gaze is cold and filled with hate. He walks toward me and stares at me in silence. And then, before I can process what he is doing, he kicks me straight in my stomach.
"No!" I scream, trying to protect my baby. He spits on me as the head mistress walks in.
"Please Evenson. Refrain from such behavior, there is at least one woman present." she says.
"Reform school trash." he says to me before grabbing my hand and yanking me toward the shower looking area. I see the leather cuffs that are chained to the ground and begin to pull away.
"No!" I scream. He straps my wrists and ankles down and brings out something that looks like a fire hose.
"Kill the thing inside and then we will work on her." she says. The soldiers in there nod and walk toward me, sporting their batons in their hands. They beat me for what felt like hours, their main target being my stomach. They finally stop when I begin to bleed from my vagina.
"Check." the head mistress says to Charles. He walks toward me and shoves my legs aside before shoving his fingers inside of me and pulling something out. My baby.
"Hose her down." she says.
"No!" I scream louder than I have before. The water hits me with such a force that I am slammed against the back wall. And then it stops. I look up at them with confusion as the head mistress walks to the door.
"What do you want?" she says in an ice cold tone.
"Sorry ma'am. I'm dispatch. I am here to pick up miss Esme Anne Platt for her trial."
The velvet voice enters my ears and I struggle to hide my smile. It can't be him. He said I wouldn't ever see him again.
"Her trial? I thought they did away with those." she says, not believing him.
"They still do it in some cases." he says, handing her a paper. She slowly reads it and looks up.
"When must you leave?" she asks.
"Immediately. The trial is tomorrow in Chicago." he says.
"This is all highly unusual." she says skeptically.
"All I have are the summons and the transport ma'am." he says, finally stepping inside. His golden hair is bright in contrast to the dark room and his topaz eyes seem to warm my soul as they look at me.
"Very well. I will give you one night. No longer." she says, signing the papers.
"We will continue this conversation when you come back." she says as the guards uncuff me. No we will not. I think to myself. I will not be coming back.
Carlisle's cold hands grab mine and help me stand. It takes a moment for me to regain my strength to walk and Carlisle supports me the whole time. He leads me out of the horrid building and into the sunlight. We walk up a path and stop at a van. He opens the door for me but blocks my path.
"Hands." he orders, pulling a zip tie out from his pocket. Charles stops beside us to watch. I ball my hands into tight fists to stop them from shaking. The scars on my hands turn white as I hold them out for Carlisle.
"Make sure it's nice and tight." Charles says cockily. Carlisle snorts and grabs my hands, pulling me toward him so he doesn't have to reach. He puts the zip tie around my wrists and tightens it but places two fingers in between my wrist and the restrain so it's not cutting off my circulation.
He moves aside and I step toward the van before Charles grabs my shoulder and stops me.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye?" he asks, wrapping an arm around my waist. I spit in his face and he laughs as he pushes me away.
"Reform school trash." he says again as he walks away.