you flinched as you heard the shattering of glass from downstairs.
it was 2 a.m. in the morning and you couldn't sleep.
though you were pretty used to it as your parents fought every day, it still made you scared sometimes.
plugging in your earphones to hopefully block out the noise, you were rudely interrupted by the intrusion of two angry giants.
your door flew open abruptly, and in came stomping the two giants.
gulping, you slowly removed your earphones yet again as you scrambled off the bed hurriedly, greeting your parents with a slight bow.
"who said you were allowed to listen to music? you should be doing your work!" your mother's loud voice boomed.
although your parents fought with each other, they were very good at teaming up and bullying you.
you remained quiet as you pretended to act guilty, silently praying that they will leave you alone.
you didn't want to get more scars.
"bitch!" your father snarled at you.
removing his belt, he ordered you, "kneel down now!"
you timidly followed his instructions, squeezing your eyes shut as you prepared for the incoming blows.
first blow,
the stinging pain hit you, but you bit on your lip to prevent the screams.
second blow,
you felt tears brimming your eyes as you resisted yet another hit.
third blow,
you let out a muffled groan, the third whip making you clench your fists in pain.
fourth blow,
you could feel the blood dripping from your bottom lip, as yet another hit pierced you.
fifth blow,
this time, you let out an ear-piercing scream, as a sharp kick on your lower abdomen made you jerk up, your mother sneered at you, "keep your mouth shut!"
sixth blow,
your tears ran down your face freely, the taste of coppery blood filling your mouth.
seventh blow,
you stopped yourself from crying out, digging your fingernails into your own skin.
eight blow,
the floor in front of you was soaked in your blood and tears, causing you to feel faint.
your mind was becoming fuzzy from all the pain and you couldn't think straight, the number of times the belt whipped you was more than uncountable.
"that should make you re-think about having that boyfriend of yours." your mother spat out suddenly, which immediately caused your father to stop.
"boyfriend? did you just say boyfriend?" your father growled, turning to face your mother.
"yes, and its all your fault for not teaching her well." your mother snapped.
"how dare you blame it on me! mother-daughter all alike, both of you are bitches!" your father screamed, eyes filled with rage as he pushed your mother out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
you slumped to the floor, your whole body numb and you were too worn out to move a limb.
the only thing that made you stand up was the thought of running away from this family,
this cursed family.
runaway to somewhere safer,
somewhere which to you,
was truly home.
in your heart you knew where that was,
and you were going to do it.
limping towards the table, you slipped your phone into your pocket, pulling a sweater over your head.
you escaped many times before, so you knew the quickest way to climb down from your second level bedroom window.
you jumped down and landed swiftly onto the concrete floor, immediately breaking out into run when you heard more shouts from your house.
wiping the blood off your lips using the sleeve of your sweater, you let your legs lead you along the familiar path towards mark's house.
knocking on the door, you waited with bated breath as you heard footsteps from the inside of the house.
"hello?" mark asked, stumbling out of the house sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.
you bit on your lip as mark noticed you and immediately became extremely alert.
"(y/n)? what's wrong? why are you here so late-" he trailed off when his eyes landed on your bloody sleeve.
"are you injured? who the hell did this to you? i swear i will-" he growled, but you stopped him mid-way by simply falling into his arms, wrapping yourself around him.
"mark." you whispered, tears forming in your eyes as you pressed your face into his chest.
he was your rock,
your anchor,
your home,
and you believed that the only place you would ever call safe was in his arms.
"(y/n).. are you okay?" he asked, pulling away to look you in the eye.
mark had figured out that it must be your parents.
you had told him about it before but refused to let him do anything to help you.
"i don't know.." you mumbled, his warm arms around you made you feel sleepy.
"is it okay if i stay here?" you asked hesitantly.
"of course, you're always welcomed." he replied, pressing a kiss on your forehead.
"forever?," you asked yet again, " i don't want to go back, its not my home anymore."
"i offered to allow you to stay here last time, why didn't you just agree? what did they do to you now?" mark whispered, pulling you into his arms carefully as if you were an extremely fragile item.
"just the usual, the- the belt." you mumbled, even saying the words made you scared.
sighing, mark soothed, "its okay.. you don't have to go back there anymore, i don't care what your parents say, but you are going to stay with me for the rest of your life."
"i love you.." you whispered, your eyelids droopy as you felt like you were being pulled into a deep slumber.
"i love you too (y/n)," were the last words you heard before passing out.
