Problems of adults

Chapter 5 : Punishment

The day at school had been too short for Max, she wished she wouldn't have to go back home this soon, and none of her friends were free to hang out with her after class. Now she was in her bus in direction of the building she was living in, a knot in her stomach for company. She got out of the vehicle one stop before hers to extend her trip. She walked a little bit before going in her favorite store: Kangaroo Jack. It was a shop for skateboards, bikes, BMX, scooters, and things like that. Max was feeling great in this place, it was totally her environment. And the owner knew her well, he was a very nice man around forty years old, always happy to see her.

- "Hello, Miss Max, what can I do for you?" Jack asked.

- "Nothing special, I'm just watching," Max answered.

- "Alright, have fun!"

- "Thanks."

Her skateboard was like an expansion of her own feet. It was her way out to forget all her problems and her obnoxious and toxic family. But today, she didn't even have that; Neil broke it to punish her for being disrespectful towards him. She just refused to eat as much as he wanted, but it was apparently not the right thing to do. Now she could only look at her way out without enjoying all the sensations she used to feel.

She arrived at the session she was leading to. There was a board that she was dreaming of: woods of maple tree for the outside, and birch for the inside, bearings in ceramic, and wheels in polyurethane with wheels in different sizes. It was the Nimbus 2000 of skateboards. But it was costing 105 dollars, she couldn't buy it, even if she was saving for it. Maybe one day. She knew she would find a way to buy it. She could easily imagine herself on it, trying new tricks or just riding down the streets, the wind caressing her skin, the sensation of speed making race her heart, and the feeling of flying while she was doing her tricks, increasing her adrenalin. She had to buy it; she couldn't see her life without it.

All her happiness decreased when she realized she had to go home. Even a skateboard couldn't protect her from what was waiting for her. She said goodbye to Jack and left the store. She walked a few minutes before arriving to her building. The corridor from the elevator to her apartment seemed shorter than usual. She put her ear on the door and tried to hear something. It was quiet. It could be good or bad. Whether the apartment was empty or there was just Neil inside. She raised her numb arm and placed her hand around the knob. Her body began to shake, and the air was hard to breathe. She was repeating again and again that she could do it, trying to convince her it would be okay, but it wasn't working.

After a few minutes in front of her door, she finally opened it. It wasn't locked, which meant there was already someone inside. She looked on her left, where her opened kitchen was, but no one was there. She kept moving her eyes on her living-room, but it was empty. She closed the door without making noise and began to walk on tiptoe on the carpet in direction of the corridor between the kitchen and the living-room. The bathroom on her left was empty, same for the bedroom next to it, but she didn't dare to look at the bedroom on her right, preferring going directly in the one facing her, her bedroom. She, strangely, had the biggest room. On her left was her wardrobe, on her right was her desk, and on the top right corner was her bed with a window above it. She was feeling safe in there, it was her own place.

But she heard noise coming from the corridor. Her heart began to beat so loudly that she thought it was in her ears. She was unable to move, there was no way out. Maybe her window, but Neil would know she ran away, it would make things worse. She heard heavy and slow steps coming from the corridor, increasing the stress inside her. Her breathing was becoming more and more jerky, like if she was lacking air, her hands were clammy, and her legs were shaking, almost numb. She was feeling tears coming in her eyes, but she managed to hold them, creating an unbearable headache. Her brain was compressed by her tears, preventing her from thinking correctly.

She heard her doorknob being lowered before feeling the grinding noise of her door travelling her own skeleton. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was; she could smell his cologne from where she was. She heard a friction and then a jingling.

- "Look at me," he ordered.

Max started, making fall some tears. She slowly turned around, holding tight her bag in her hand like if it could protect her. Neil was holding his belt in his hands and was looking at her with an angry face, smokes getting out of his nostrils.

- "You've been a bad girl today, Maxine. Do you know why? Huh? I don't hear you. Say it. Tell me why you've been a bad girl and why you need a beating."

- "I, I, I..."

- "Say it! SAY IT!"

- "I punched someone," she said, feeling a pain in her chest.

- "Exactly. I'm ashamed of you."

- "I know..."

- "You need a lesson, to remember where your place in this world is."

Neil barely finished his sentence that the palm of his hand was already slapping the redhead in front of her. The hit was so brutal that Max got dazed and fell on the floor. She was sure she lost some brain cells. Her ears were buzzing so she didn't hear what he was saying, but the belt whipping her arms made her understand that it wasn't something nice. She tried to protect her face the best she could, sadly, Neil was aiming the rest of her body with his foot and belt. She stopped holding her tears, feeling too much pain inside her. The kicks were so violent that she thought she would puke her organs on her floor. She waited for his rage to disappear, but it seemed never-ending. She had already seen him being like that toward Billy, but now that she was under his beating, it seemed so much longer than for her stepbrother. Her belly was burning while her hands were bleeding. She didn't even try to ask for help, she knew no one would move for her.