Forbidden Love

Chapter Thirteen

Song: Demons 

By: Imagine Dragons

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Ten year old me is picking cotton. My head quickly turns as I see another one of my brethren get whipped by the new overseer. He was cruel and would find any reason to hurt us. I haven't gotten a lick from his whip, and I didn't plan on it in the near future. I stayed out of his way and out of his sight. Today I wasn't so lucky. The man that he whipped was a few ways behind me.

"Well hello, little one. I'm afraid I haven't seen you before," he says as he looks me over. I don't say anything and continue to do as I'm supposed to. "Well are you going to say anything slave?! Or are you mute?!" He seethes and I don't say anything, scared." Speak!" He says and the whip makes a loud crack as it lands closely to me, causing me to jump.

"H-hi", I whispered.

"That's more I like it. How old are you? Why is someone as young as you working in the field?" He asks.

"I-I'm ten, I-I um I'm the rightful age to work here, I shakily replied.

"You're the rightful age for a lot of things," I didn't like the look he gave me before turning and walking away. After that I made sure to keep a watch out but a couple of days passed by and nothing happened so I assumed everything was fine. I was proven wrong that following Monday. I was working alongside Mama helping her here and there. Today was one of her slow days and out of nowhere there's a crack and I look over and see Mama curled up on the ground, holding in her cries as the man whipped her over and over.

"Please stop!" I cry out as I see blood begin to seep through her clothes.

"You do the work yourself! No one helps!" He says and pushes me aside and continues.

"Please she's my Mother!" He stopped and stared down at me. Without another word he walks away.

"Mama, can you get up?" I ask.

"Yes," she says, as she tries to get up not one or two but four times and falls each time. I helped her get up and with permission I was able to help her to the infirmary. When I came back, he was there waiting for me.

"Come with me," he says and I follow him. He leads me to a part of the field where no one could see us. Take them off, he says and I shake my head.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because I said so!" He says and I shake my head. He threatens me with the whip. I don't budge and go to run so he whips me causing me to gasp and fall to the ground. "You're going to take them off, if not then I will whip your mother to the point where she won't move and I will make you watch every second," he cruelly whispers in my ear. 

Tears fall down my face and I do as he says. This went on for four years. He would always threaten to kill Mama and to protect her I would do as he said. He only touched me, that was it and he forced me to touch him as well. I hated every second of it. Then it came, the day that would cause me to break. I met him where we usually meet, this horrid spot where it all began. If I could burn it down, I would. He arrived but something was different. His blue eyes shone with something menacing, something beyond evil. These blue eyes would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"Bend over!" He orders.

"What?! Do you mean?"

"Do as I said or else." Without questioning it, I bend over. Suddenly something hard and big enters me. I cry out in pain.

"Please it hurts, stop!" I tear up.

"Shut up and take it!" He growls and continues to pound into me, each thrust more painful than the last. He finally stops and pulls out to relieve himself. I fall to the ground and curl up, my sobs shaking my body. He leaves me there. After hours I get up and shamefully dress myself. I wince with every step I took. It hurt to sit, to do anything. I found out later on that day that I was bleeding. I just lied and told my parents that my cycle had come early. I felt disgusted and used. The very next day I refused to do anything with him. My shame turned to anger.

"YOU'RE A WORTHLESS PIECE OF WHITE TRASH! YOU CAN'T GET ANYBODY OUT THERE SO YOU FEEL THE NEED TO DRAG YOUR PATHETIC ASS OVER HERE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY FOLK! SCREW YOU!" I spat on him. He beat me and afterwards took advantage of the fact that I couldn't get up and took advantage of me. Not being able to take it anymore, I went and I told Hazel, making sure to block out the parts where he did horrible things to me but made sure to get the abuse part across. That following morning the overseer came to give me one last visit, he liked to call it. He whipped me, hard. The crack of the whip and sound of tearing flesh entering and claiming the field. Former slaves came over and fought him and held him back, as one of them ran to go and get Hazel so that she may call the police. They helped me up, I could barely stand, my back was in so much pain. As the police came to drag him away he looked me in my eyes and said.

"Doesn't matter if you are freed or not. All they have to see is your back and they'll know all you are is property!"

For months I was bed ridden, having to sleep on my stomach due to the wounds from the whip. His words echoed over and over again in my head. I had nightmares that never seemed to end, and I was jumpy, always jumping at loud sounds, or cowering when someone wanted to lay a comforting hand on me. Afterwards I was reassigned to work in the house. Ever since then I kept my back covered up and did as I was told.

"You probably think I'm disgusting," I whisper to Elijah when I finish.

"Eloise look at me," he says and I try to look away but he wouldn't allow it. He gently lifts up my chin and I look into his eyes to see that he was crying as well. 

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, he is the one who should be ashamed. When I look at these scars I don't see property, I see a beautiful independent woman who has proof that she can not be taken down. She was born to stand up and be a leader. She'll do just that! Stand up for what she stands for and nothing, not even the criticism she gets for her skin will stop her." He says and kisses one scar at a time and it sends a shiver up my spine.

"Now let me show you just how beautiful I think you are," he whispers in my ear. Looks like there was a funeral for two today. One for Mr. Jones and one for the lost girl who thought she would never get found.

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That's the end of this chapter I hope you guys liked it!

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