Fear is Power

1

I started this book April 2018

Alright so this chapter is mostly just a summary or introduction to the main character, to help give an understanding as to why he might make certain actions or decisions in the future.

Phoenix's POV

They are always arguing. All I ever hear is them screaming at each other. Over and over again. Day after day, night after night.

My stepfather Malcolm who moved in with me when I was little, was fighting again with my mother downstairs in our living room. The room was littered with receipts, beer bottles and unpaid bills. I always locked myself in my bedroom to avoid adding to the fire, but the time for hiding from him was overdue.

I was only five years old Malcolm moved in. Since my father had left us, my mother struggled to raise me on her own. She found it hard to get a job, as she couldn't work long hours, and we were limited when it came to our supply of money. At first Malcolm was always kind to me. He bought me presents and chocolate and acted like my real dad. I was so happy. We would go on trips to the beach, fancy restaurants, and he had a posh expensive house. I knew my mother was beautiful and perfect in every way, but I was too young to understand just how far Malcolm would go to get a perfect wife, to uphold his perfect reputation.

As I got older, and my mother fell in love with Malcolm and the wonderful life he could offer us, and she became naïve. He slowly started to reveal the true side to him, but out of mother's sight. At times when mother was at work, he would snap at me. I, being as young as I was, did as I was told. But little did I know, whenever he told me to go to my room, he would disappear. I would call out to him to ask for forgiveness, as he had of course sent me to my room, but I would hear the front door shut, and he was gone. I never knew where he went, but this was where the arguments started.

Once my mother got dismissed early from work, and she came home to find me, yet again, locked in my bedroom with no sign of her husband, and she got furious. She was calling and calling him for hours, but there was no sign of him until 10:30PM when he finally stepped back into the house. He smelt of alcohol and smoke, and strutted unsteadily through the door with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. His other friends laughed loudly behind him, clinking their glass bottles and discussing inappropriate topics to emphasise their masculinity.

Mother couldn't believe her eyes. This wasn't the husband she married, this wasn't the husband she loved. She screamed at him, hot tears dripping down her cheek, as she finally realised who her husband really is, but she could never risk leaving, she had no money, and nowhere else to go.

His friends just laughed at her, as in his eyes, she had no purpose other than to sit there and look pretty.

He stared at her with utter disgust, commenting on her tired bare make-up free face and clothes that didn't satisfy him, making her uncomfortable and embarrassed. His friends just laughed at his jokes, encouraging him to carry on, but mother was appalled and offended at Malcolm's distasteful remarks, desperately trying to get her loving husband back, and so she tried to hit some sense back into him.

Suddenly the laughter stopped. And everyone just stared at mother, in complete silence. Slowly Malcolm put his glass down on the polished brown table, making sure to hold her gaze, and spoke to mother in a stone cold voice.
"Now listen very carefully to me. I understand you are confused, but you need to be disciplined. You have crossed a line, and you shall not cross it again. Understood?"
Mother just stared hopelessly into his eyes, obviously not understanding the importance of the situation.
"I said," Malcolm explained, through gritted teeth, "Do you understand?!" He slammed his hand hard on the table making the glass shake and mother reluctantly take a step back. "ANSWER ME WOMAN!" He bellowed at her, making her mouth open in shock.

Mother's facial expression suddenly changed, as she refused to show weakness, and acted more confidently, looking Malcolm firmly in the eye.

She whispered, "Do not talk to me like that." Her voice steady and strong, but she wasn't expecting what came next.

Suddenly Malcolm picked up his empty glass from where he previously placed it on the table, his friends gasping at the sudden movement, and hit her violently across her smooth forehead, scraping her skin and almost definitely leaving a permanent scar.
"You need to learn to keep your mouth SHUT." He growled again and pushed her against the white tiled floor. She let out a stifled cry but his hand wrapped around her mouth so she couldn't breathe.

Malcolm friends crowded around mother and took turns threatening her, each threat more corrupted than the previous.

She was wheezing and her eyes were starting to close as her body screamed for oxygen, but Malcolm held on, desperate to show his dominance. After a few seconds, mother's struggling stopped and her arms went slack, leaving her an unconscious heap on the floor, her happiness leaving her as suddenly as it came.

Okay please vote or comment your opinions on this book! I'm trying to make it the best I can and want as many ideas as possible.