Chapter 8

This chapter contains violence, strong languages, vulgar words and it has sensitive contents, offensive contents, and brutal contents—that may be disturbing and offensive to some readers. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

•••

Third Person's Point of View

"Smile!" That one photographer said while taking a photo of a family.

Governor Maveron Blaze Samchez are with his wife, Beatrice Sanchez and with his two children. The older one who's looking at the camera with her poker face, known in the public as Maxen Blair Sanchez and in her side is her brother who is smiling in the camera named Mauve Blive Sanchez.

What a beautiful family.

The whole world knows how beautiful their family are, in the publicity.

They were all wearing a formal attire. His father and Mauve are both wearing a white long-sleeved partnered with black pants. While Maxen and her mother are wearing a white plain dress with a small details of puffs in it.

"They told you to smile, stop looking at the camera like that." Governor Maveron whispered to his daughter while still smiling at the camera. Preventing the authorities to see them having a little father and daughter conflict.

Maxen didn't listen, instead a little tears drops from her right eye. She wiped it with her little arm and held her brother's hand.

Maveron took Maxen's hand aggressively and they decided to go home without their friends and the authority notice.

PAK!

A loud slap Maxen got from her father, she fell onto the tiles and held her right cheeks while closing her eyes and enduring the pain.

"What did I told you?! Do you want them to think that I am scolding you that made you cry?! Stop crying in public! Understood?!" her dad shouted at her.

"Y-Yes, D-Dad." Maxen said while stuttering.

As she was crying, she can taste somewhat metallic taste in her mouth. She wiped her mouth and saw a blood in her fingers.

She was trembling as she stood up and went in her room.

Maxen was just a seven years old back then. But she encountered a lot of pain from her father's hands.

•••

It was late in the evening but then she heard a noise coming from the another room. Maxen's mother left yesterday since she needs to deal with a lot of businesses.

As she walk through the dark hallway, she saw the door of her father's office slightly opened. She walked quietly and looked at the door slowly.

She saw her father with another woman. At first, she thought it was her mother but this woman's different, and her mother's not here.

The woman are smiling from ear to ear while her father held the woman's right hand and gave it a kiss. Maxen is not that dumb to realize that her father's seeing with another woman. She knew her father's cheating.

The floor creaked and Maveron looked at the door. As soon as she saw Maxen, he furiously walked towards her and drag Maxen to her room.

"Y-You're cheating!" Maxen shouted at her father. She knows the consequences of meddling, but it is her parents after all. Maxen don't want to be blind, not this time.

"What?! Watch your tone!" her father shouted at Maxen and cuffed her both cheeks aggressively.

"Y-You..." Maxen can't talk and cried in pain when her father tightened his hands.

"YOU. SAW. NOTHING." her father said with an authority while his jaw's clenching.

"UNDERSTOOD?!" her father shouted once again. Due to pain and fear, Maxen gently noded.

Maveron let go of Maxen and slapped her.

That night, Maxen was beaten up again before her visions turned black.

•••

Maxen turned ten this day but all she felt was a painful beat up from her father. Since her father got mad at her, it continued for years of her getting beaten up.

Bruises, scratches, and wounds, the most thing that she can found on her skin. Her body was aching and her heart is breaking.

Maxen and Mauve's go to same school. Maxen's feeling safe when she's always with her brother. She has no friends at school, it was only Mauve.

Her bruises are hidden up from her uniform—a white long-sleeved and a navy blue coat, partnered with navy blue shorts between her knees. She also wears a long socks to hid her wounds. Mauve's wearing the same thing, but Maxen can't wear the same smile Mauve has.

As she entered her classroom, she can feel her loneliness again, that's what she's feeling everyday.

"Maxen? Are you okay?" Maxen's teacher asked. She can see how pale Maxen is, Maxen's eyes are swollen.

Maxen nodded and after that she fell to the ground and her visions went black.

Maxen woke up in a clinic inside their school. She saw her teacher named Ms. Genivive Castro waiting for her to wake up.

"How are you feeling?" Ms. Castro asked, she gently touched Maxen's shoulders but then Maxen winced and her eyes tears up.

"W-Why? Are you hurt?" Ms. Castro asked but Maxen didn't talk. She just looked in the ceiling.

Weeks have passed and Ms. Castro observed her student. She's badly worried to Maxen since she's not speaking up.

Ms. Castro called her parents also, which caused a lot of trouble for Maxen.

"Are you trying to tell us to your teacher?!" Mr. Maveron shouted while they were both inside Maxen's room.

Maxen shook her head while she can't stop her tears falling.

"WHY DID THAT TEACHER OF YOURS CALLED US! BAKA NAISIP NA NON NA MAY HINDI NANGYAYARING KAAYA-AYA DITO SA BAHAY! PAANO NA ANG POSISYON KO?! HA!?" Maxen's dad shouted at her.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry." Maxen cried.

Mr. Maveron took his belt off and swung it to Maxen's arms. Maxen cried even louder when she felt another strike of metal coming from the belt hits her skin.

•••

Ms. Castro's got Maxen's trust. So she asked Maxen if something's wrong inside their house. Maxen is so scared that she can feel her lips trembling.

"It's okay, I won't tell anybody." Ms. Castro said as she caressed Maxen's hair. Maxen told everything that had happened to her since she's a seven years old little girl.

"Is it okay if I'll take off your coat?" Ms. Castro gently asked Maxen. Maxen simply nodded.

Genivive gently took of her coat and she can she Maxen winced. So she put more gentleness while taking off Maxen's white long-sleeved, leaving her white sando.

Genivive eyes widened when she saw a lot of bruises that almost covered Maxen's both arms. There is a fresh wound on Maxen's shoulder that looks like metal from a belt. She covered her mouth trying so hard not to cry. As she looks at Maxen, she can see how tired her face and body was.

"Who's doing this to you?" Ms. Castro asked. Maxen shook her head and stopping herself for saying a word.

Genivive kept her promise for not telling anyone about Maxen's situation.

•••

Maxen was busy looking at her window when she heard someone talked beside her.

"Aren't you mad at them?" that one girl asked.

"Why would I be mad at them?" she questioned back to that girl.

"Because they kept on hurting you. Your Dad's abusing you and your Mom's ignoring it?" the girl said while pointing the door.

"I love them, I can't get mad at them." Maxen said.

That girl who's about her age lend her hand and said something, "Come and see."

Maxen held the girl's hand and for the second time of her life, she felt like she's safe, she felt like she's loved not just by her brother, but by anyone who she didn't know and just showed up in her bedroom.

They headed downstairs and Maxen saw her Mom and Dad's arguing over something.

"I can't hear it," Maxen whispered at the girl while the girl's still beside her watching Maxen's parents.

"You don't need to hear it, let's keep going." the little girl said and led Maxen outside.

"What's your name?" Maxen asked.

The little girl smiled at her, "Jorjet."

"Where do you want to go?" Jorjet asked. Maxen was about to answer but she brought back where she was earlier.

She's inside her room again and she felt a pain in her left cheek. As she raise her sight, she saw her father furiously looking at her.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you staring at your window and you didn't even blink for a lot of minutes!" Maxen's dad shouted at her. Maxen didn't answered and looked everywhere.

She can't see Jorjet, "Where is she?" she asked herself deep inside.

"Answer me!" her dad shouted at her even louder.

"I-I..." Maxen can't open her mouth.

His father looked at her table and took the wooden ruler. He is hitting Maxen while Maxen's blocking it with his arms.

After that night, she got another bruises again. But this time in her left and right arm.

While crying, Maxen's trying to think where did Jorjet go? And how did she went from outside to room?

Is she sleeping? Is she sleepwalking?

On the next day, when she woke up the morning she saw Jorjet playing in the corner of her bed.

"Good morning Maxen," Jorjet greeted her and continued playing. Maxen asked her mind again if Jorjet slept with her or she went early.

Maxen stretched her arms and she winced when she felt it throb. She took a look at it and saw a raw bruise and a dry bloods in it.

"Look what they've done, they did it again." Jorjet said to Maxen.

"How did you know?" Maxen asked Jorjet.

"Just taking a guess," Jorjet said and smiled at Maxen.

After a minutes of driving, they went down and entered inside the school.

She was about to went inside their classroom. But in a snap, she felt someone's poking her arms.

She looked everywhere and saw no one, but then when she blink she saw herself inside her room while Maxen's sitting in the center of her bed while she was staring at the ceiling.

As Maxen look at her side she saw Mauve's poking her arm. He was curious about Maxen's bruises and wounds.

She was so curious about everything's happening to her. Earlier she is already at the school with Jorjet but now, she's inside her room.

"What's happening to me?"