Behind the Mask (Book One)

Chapter 1

~One Year Later~
(Adrien's POV)
"Miraculous Ladybug!"

Ladybug throws her Lucky Charm into the air after defeating another akuma. We do our usual fist bump and my ring beeps, signaling my soon-to-come detransformation.

"Well, looks like I better take my leave. Until next time, m'lady," I say goodbye to my partner before making my way back to my house... Or hell, as you can call it.

~

I jump through my window and into my room. Right as my transformation is undone, I hear what sounds like a glass bottle shatter. Oh no. I tell Plagg to hide as I hear my father's footsteps on the stairs, the smell of alcohol becoming stronger the closer he gets.

You'd think he wouldn't go farther than a slap to my face, right? Because parents shouldn't hit their kids, right? You thought wrong. It started off with the small slap, but it's gotten worse ever since he started drinking to forget Mom.

My door flies open and my father steps in, eyes red with a rope and whip in his hands. I stand there shaking with fear as he lifts his whip.

"Father, please..." I beg, voice shaking, "N-Not again"

His whip lashes across my skin, causing a scream to escape my lungs. The whip hits me again and again as I fall to my knees, shivering from the pain. My father then takes the rope and ties my wrists together behind my back.

"You deserve this," his cold voice hisses as he shoves me out of my room and throws me down the stairs.

My father stands over me, looking down with an evil smirk. He kicks me in the stomach. Hard. I grunt in pain as my back hits the wall. I sit up as my father takes steps towards me.

"Please, no more"

He grabs me by my shirt collar, "This is my house. Therefore, I do what I want"

He drags me to the room that he uses to torture me. The "torture room" as I like to call it. The room is soundproof, which is why he uses it. He doesn't want the neighbors hearing me scream and calling the cops on him. Not only is it soundproof, it's also dark- with the exception of a lamp so dim, the light is barely visible when my father turns it on.

You would think Nathalie (father's assistant) or Gorilla would stop him, but they don't live with us. They just come over during their "working hours" and then leave.

My father throws me onto the floor and shuts the door before continuing to whip me, telling me how useless and worthless I am. That I deserve to die. My screams of agony echoed throughout the room.

"If you won't stop, at least get rid of this rope," I say, weak from the pain.

"You want me to get rid of the rope?"

I nod, "Please"

That's when my father's smirk comes back as he grabs a lighter. My eyes widen with fear as he brings it closer to the rope. I feel the hot flame spread through the rope and come into contact with my wrists. My eyes tear up as I let out an ear-piercing scream that can be heard from thousands of miles away... If this room wasn't soundproof.

My father pours a bucket of water on me, distinguishing the flame and stinging the new scars he made. I gasp from the sudden pain and coldness it brought throughout my body. My wrists were no longer tied together after the rope was lit on fire, but now they're burned.

"Go back to your room," my father demands.

Thank god it's over. I limp my way out of the room and up the stairs, finally reaching my room. I close the door and sit down on my bed. Plagg, noticing my clothes were wet, grabs me some new clothes. I thank him and step inside the bathroom to change.

I look in the mirror, noticing a small gash on my cheek. I look at all the cuts and bruises around my chest, stomach, and back. I lightly place a finger on one of my burned wrists, wincing from the pain. I place bandages around my wrists and change to my new clothes.

Why is this happening to me? Why can't I just die? I don't want to live anymore if this is how my life's gonna be. I'd rather be dead than continue living like this. I deserve to die, I don't need Father reminding me about how worthless I am.