Cursed

Chapter 9

Eva's POV
I remember the last day I saw him like it was yesterday, mum had finally had enough of his cruel nature. She didn't want herself or me to deal with it anymore.

The only reason she tolerated him for so long was because it meant we had a house to live in. He lived in Hezra, so for a bit less than a year of my life, we lived there with him. It's the only thing from my past that I haven't gone into detail about to anyone. Only him and mum know all the details of what happened there, mum only told Uncle Maven the basics and none of the villagers know a thing.

The day before we left played a huge part in Mum's decision to leave.

"Come here you brat! How many times do I have to tell you, no wandering off alone. If you get found out, I'm in trouble too," he groaned, tugging me towards him whilst we were in the market. "And what's this? Listen, just because you've survived on stealing before, it doesn't mean I'm going to tolerate you stealing now."
"S-sorry..." I replied. "Please don't tell mum, she'll get mad."

I didn't like it when mum got mad at me, she was always so kind so in those rare moments she was angry, I would get scared. But I knew my uncle was a cruel and angry man, so I wasn't as bothered when he got angry at me. So part of me at the time greatly preferred the idea of him hurting, starving and yelling at me than my mother simply speaking in a stern tone.

"I won't, just don't do it again. Though you understand that you will be punished for it, right?"
"Yes..."
"And no telling your mother about this, right?"
"Right."

When we got back to his house, he hurt me, it wasn't anything new, but this time, there was a large bruise left near the base of my neck, and mum noticed it soon enough when she got home. This whole time, she had been searching around for a job, but it was hard, so all she had was one part time one. But that wasn't a huge deal for me, I just had more time with her then.

"Eva, Jake, I'm home!" I heard mum call as I sat in my room, rubbing my bruises. Quickly, I pulled down my tattered sleeves and ran downstairs to see her.

"Hey sweetie, what's that bruise there? Come here, are you okay?"
"Uh-huh, the kids from here just weren't being very nice to me again. They pushed me over, that's all," I lied as she pulled me into a hug.
"Really, I told Jake to make sure you were away from those kids. Not only are they hurting you, but if you bleed at all, you could be-"

"Is something the matter Alice?" He asked, standing in the doorway.
"The kids from here have been bullying Eva again. I don't have any work tomorrow, so I'll keep an eye on her then," Mum smiled, picking me up. "I'll make some food soon, but for now, how about we go upstairs and read a bit."
"Okay, I like reading!"
"I know you do. We'll be back down in about an hour, maybe more if Eva gets invested enough," Mum laughed.

When we got into my room, Mum locked the door and said, "What has he been doing to you?"

She said it in that stern tone I hated so much, the one I put up with all the beatings to avoid. Though now I know she was just concerned, and knew I wouldn't give her the truth unless she pushed for it.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, trying desperately to hide the truth.

"He's been hurting you, hasn't he? You can tell me, I'm not going to get mad at you, I just dread the idea that he's been horrible to you," she said softly.

Immediately, I burst into tears and told her everything, and about how much it hurt. And the next day, early in the morning, our stuff was packed, and we were ready to leave.

"You'll have to walk a bit, I know you're tired but I can't let him wake up whilst we're trying to leave. So let's get going Eva-"

"Get going? Get going where?"

And there he stood, staring, glaring, his eyes like lasers as they burned into me.

"Home... I know you've been hurting my daughter. I'm not going to make her put up with you for another day," Mum answered.

As she went to grab my hand, he snatched me away from her, and held me up. I looked down, and there it was, the morning sunlight shining off of it. A knife.

"Eva!"

"You're not leaving, don't even think about it or I'll hurt her more than I've ever done before."
"You wouldn't."
"I would."
"You'd be a murderer, you'd be arrested."
"I'd be a hero for helping purge every last half blood. If anything, you'd be arrested, maybe even killed for having her. Do you want that?"
"Let her go... why are you so desperate to keep us here?"

"Why are you so desperate to keep her alive?! You betrayed our family, I thought if you stayed here you would begin to act normal again! But no, you're still desperate to find the brats father again."

"I know where he is... he knows where I am, he just can't come yet..."

"Well you'll have no reason to wait for him if she's dead."

"Alright, I'll stay... we'll stay. Just please stop hurting my daughter. Say what you want about her, but she is your niece, she still has some of our red blood."

Slowly, he lowered me to the floor, and I ran straight into mum's arms, burying my face in her shoulder.

"It's okay, he won't hurt you, it's okay," she whispered as I quietly cried. "Please don't cry Eva, it's okay... please..."
"I-I don't wanna stay, I wanna see Uncle Maven and everyone else again, even if that means sleeping in the tent and being hungry. He, he scares me."
"Eva, I-"

"Just leave."

"What?"

"You want me to consider has as my niece rather than the monster she is. Well if I really am seeing her as family I'd want her to be happy. So leave, plus, I don't think I can deal with her crying anymore."

"Really?"

"Just get it over with quickly. And don't come back, ever, I don't ever want to see either of your faces again. And for your sake, I'll tell the family that you died or something, they don't care about the brat anyway. Now leave."

As mum stood in the doorway, holding our luggage and me, she said: "Thank you."

Then we were gone.

And I'm scared, because he said he never wanted to see either of us again. And now I'm going to be alone in a room with him, even if Cas will be close by.

"So, you're back. God, I was about to tell them this was a bad idea but I know they wouldn't listen. They tried to push Alice on me too, she was brave enough to say no."
"Yeah well... I'm still not very brave. I like to act like it but, I'm shaking right now, you terrify me, to be frank."
"Well, Alice was able to stay with the Suttons, you probably could too?"
"I would... I really would, but I assume there would only be enough room for me, and I have to take one of the others with me."
"How come?"

"It's a bit awkward to explain but... wait a sec! Nevermind I might actually be able to stay there, if they're okay with it."
"They'll be more than okay you idiot. Grab your stuff and go then, your friends will be fine here."

"I wouldn't really consider Cassie and Hunter as friends, but sure. Hey Cas, do you have our bags?"

Quickly, he runs downstairs with the three bags in hand.

"How are you two both going to be able to fit in there?"

"This is how!"

Cas turns into a dragon and perches on my shoulder, leaving me to carry the bags all by myself.

When we arrive at the house, Mrs Sutton greets us eagerly.

"Of course you can stay with us! We're so sorry for pushing the group of you onto Jake, Alice explained what happened when you lived with him but there was just nowhere all of you could stay. Luckily though, the guest room should be perfect for you and this cute little dragon. What's his name?"
"This is Cas, he can actually turn into a human, but dragon is more convenient at times and how he usually sleeps."
"Well come inside you two, I was just about to start preparing dinner, go leave your stuff in the guest room, I'll call you down in a bit."
"Thank you Mrs Sutton, I really appreciate it."
"I'm always happy to help Eva. I'm just glad to see that you're safe."

This should be safer. Warmer. Better than staying with my uncle.