I Don't Deserve Love: Alternate Ending

Chapter 1: Parting Ways

I huddled on my bed with the lights off, the blanket over my head, headphones in and blasting as loudly as they could manage. Still, it wasn't enough to block out the sounds of my parents yelling since the door was cracked open the way my father demanded it. Shivering, I pulled the blankets even closer around me as the memory of the day I had locked my door surfaced for a split second before I forced myself to concentrate on the music and chased the awful memory away.

The sudden crash of shattering glass caused me to violently flinch and whack my head against the wall, making one of my headphones pop out of my ear. I sat up, still hiding under my blanket, and rubbed my head as my mother's shrill voice penetrated my vulnerable ear.

"That does it! I will not put up with your stupidity a moment longer!"

I gasped and quickly covered my mouth while turning off my music.

"What are you planning to do then, model?" My father's scornful voice had a hard edge to it that caused me to break out in goosebumps. I could picture his striking brown, nearly black eyes narrowing dangerously while his mouth screwed up into an ugly sneer that would cause the small scar on the left side of his mouth to turn white (a stark contrast against his tan skin). It was a look I knew all too well but one that, to my knowledge, my mother had never seen.

I felt my eyes widen as I heard a soft chuckle coming from the other room. Silently, I crept off my bed and fluidly slunk over to my cracked door. Being careful to control my breathing, I leaned against the wall with one ear towards the opening. I realized that the chuckling was coming from my mother and it was getting louder. Soon she was outright laughing and I felt a wave of fear for her. A loud thud suddenly sounded as if my father had punched the wall and I gulped past a lump of fear in my throat.

"Use your words, not your fists, you thug. I'm disappointed in you, Aaron," my mother's musical voice lashed out like sharpened knives. I heard my father growl menacingly to which my mother scoffed. "It's over, Aaron. I refuse to live with you a moment longer. You've got your precious karate school now, so you don't need my money anymore. There's no reason for me to keep pretending I have any feelings for you."

"Your father will never allow you to leave me." I winced at the smug tone from my father and was utterly shocked when my mother let out a harsh laugh.

"Oh yah? You may have saved his life, but I have him wrapped around my finger. If I tell him you've been mistreating his little girl he won't think twice about me leaving you."

A barking laugh thundered for several seconds. "Little girl? Have you looked in the mirror lately, model?"

A sharp 'crack' rang out from flesh slapping bone. My father roared and it was soon followed by my mother's shriek of pain. My hand went to the doorknob involuntarily, but I paused when she began to laugh again.

"Thanks for the evidence, Aaron. Don't worry, Daddy won't press charges. He would never let his friends know his rescuer abused his daughter, but you and I are finished. I'll send you the divorce papers tomorrow. See you at court."

I heard her stomping down the stairs and then the front door slammed shut so hard I thought I felt the house shake slightly. My hand slipped off the handle. Like a robot, I took three steps back, clasped my hands behind my back, spread my feet apart, and fixed my gaze straight ahead. A rush of air hit me like a slap as the door flew towards me and crashed against the wall, deepening the circular dent where the doorknob collided all too frequently with the wall. I blankly stared at my father's chest, not daring to move a single inch.

"So, you heard?"

"Yes, Sensei."

A horrible chuckle caused his chest to rumble. I blinked slowly, willing myself to remain calm even as the terrible noise jarred against my nerves and made my muscles tense. I slowly assumed a defensive karate position, still not daring to look Father in the eyes.