Why me? (1D Fanfic)

Chapter two

Mali's POV

"Mali! Mali! Mali, wake up! Please wake up Mali!"

Joe's voice brings me out of my nightmare. Although, I guess since it actually happened, it's not really a nightmare.

I shoot up in my bed, scooting back against the headboard, bringing my knees up to my chest as I do so. I look up to see Joe sitting on the side of the bed, just like every other time I've had one of these flashbacks. I'll thrash around in the bed for hours on end sometimes. Other times Joe's able to get me up within minutes.

After my father killed my mum, I lived with him for four more years until I escaped. I was put in an orphanage and my father was put in a jail. I was ten when I escaped. I've been in the same orphanage for three years, except for a few occasions when I have been adopted, but they either send me back after realizing that I don't talk at all, or they beat me for it and then send me back. After the first week I was in the orphanage, Joe came. He's sixteen, whereas I'm thirteen, but the lady who owns the orphanage, Mrs Blake, put him in the room with me, the girl who was abused by older men for four years. But she didn't know that because of that, I don't trust any man, especially not older ones.

It turned out that Joe was okay with me not liking him, he respected that and kept his distance. The first time he made any move to talk to me was when I had my first night terror. I woke up screaming, he woke up to and tried to console me, he didn't know what was wrong though, and I wouldn't let him near me. I was just scared though and it didn't seem to me that he would hurt me, so I let him cradle me until my sobs grew quite and I fell asleep.

I snapped back to the present to find myself, once again, in Joe's arms. I was still sobbing, I couldn't help it, I always woke up like this, every night, and Joe was always there for me.

Joe's the only person I let come near me. All the other kids think I'm a freak for waking up screaming pretty much every night. That's the only sound that's come out of my mouth since I was six, screaming and sobs, when I'm around other people.

When no one's around, I sing. I also play violin, piano and guitar, but that doesn't require my voice so I can do it around other people. And by other people I mean Joe.

I get off of Joe's lap once my sobs die down. I hug him quickly before pulling back and looking at the clock. It's about 7:30 in the morning, so after giving Joe a quick peck on the cheek, I go to the closet that we share, and grab a bra, dark grey long sleeve shirt, grey and blue checkered flannel shirt, underwear, and some old jeans with holes on the knees from wearing them to much. I also grab a towel and my toiletry bag with all my shower things. I walk out of the room and down the hallway to the girls bathroom and into one of the many shower stalls.

I hear snickering as I hang my towel on the hook right inside the curtain, along with my bag of clothes and my toiletry bag. All the girls here make fun of me, usually behind my back. They call me the freak, the screamer, and for those who fancy Joe, the boy stealer. I don't like Joe though, and he doesn't like me, he's more of an older brother to me, and I a younger sister to him.

I strip off my pajamas, which consist of basketball shorts and an old t-shirt of Joe's that doesn't fit him anymore, and turn on the water, which is as cold as always. I quickly shower and dress myself, before wrapping the towel around my hair, grabbing my shower things and my pajamas, and walking out of the bathroom and down the hall to mine and Joe's room.

I walk in to find Joe sitting on the bed in fresh clothes, having just taken a shower himself. I sit next to him on the twin bed we have to share, which surprisingly I'm fine with, it just means that I get to fall asleep every night feeling safe, curled up in a ball with his arms wrapped around me. I dry off my hair a bit with my towel and braid it to the side. I have dark brown, almost black, short hair, pale skin, and greenish-bluish eyes with the bottom half of my right eye completely dark brown, brown fading out from the pupil, and a dark brown, almost black, ring around the iris. Joe has dark brown hair, slightly tan skin, and deep brown eyes. As I finish braiding my hair, I put on a pair of socks and my black converse. Joe looks up from the book he'd been reading to look at me. He just sort of stares at me for a second. I give him a questioning look until he talks.

"We have an open house today, Mali," he says. I nod my head to show him I understand. "Mrs. Blake said you have to come down with me this time," he continued. I sigh. I knew this would happen sometime soon, I never go down for open house because that means that couples are here, and couples mean men, and I don't do well with men. We have open house every Saturday, all day long.

We go down the stairs, me clinging to Joe's hand. I look up at him worriedly, he sees and bends down to my level, seeing as how he is almost six feet and I'm just under five feet, and gives me a quick peck on the forehead before straightening up. He leads me to a chair and sits down, pulling me onto his lap. I curl into a ball against his chest as he hums quietly.

A couple approaches us, a tall blonde woman and a tall, muscular brunette man. I curl myself up tighter against Joe, my heart beating erratically in my chest. The man starts talking to me and I start having a panic attack, Joe realizes this and quickly excuses us, picking me up bridal style and running up the stairs to our room.

He runs in and shuts the door behind him, sitting on the bed and rocking me back and forth, cooing in my ear that he won't let anything happen, that he won't ever let any man come near enough to hurt me. He tells me that when he turns eighteen, he's going to adopt me and that we'll always be a family, he won't let anyone change that. And I fall asleep in his arms believing that.