chapter 1

Crash. 

'They're at it again' you thought bitterly, picking on your cold breakfast as you listen to your parents fight in their room. You could clearly hear the words they screamed to each other and you wondered what they were fighting about when all you could hear were profanities. You take a sip of water, focusing on its bland taste as you hear high and low pitched chuckles slowly descending the stairs.  

"Really? That's crazy she must've--- Oh it's you" You scowled, hearing the sickly sweet voice of your sister greet you ever so warmly. She stopped a few meters away from you, her hand around a half ***** man's waist as she rolled her eyes. You cringe as the man dips down to kiss her neck, ignoring your presence completely. 

Choosing to ignore her you finished your breakfast as fast as you can, eager to just get the hell out of the house. You were about to stand up when your 'sister' slapped your hand away from your empty plate making you snap your eyes at her. Your sister's eyes were narrowed down to a glare and her nose flared in anger. 

"You don't get the luxury of ignoring me you brat" she spat out angrily. You held back the urge to punch her and instead settled on a scoff.  

"And you get the luxury to **** random men in the living room whenever you like?" You gritted back out. Your sister's eyes widened and she threw a harsh slap

on your face, the force making you stumble on your feet.  

"You bitch--" She raised her hand to slap you again. You close your eyes and braced yourself for the impact. 

"Babe stop that, the hoe's not worth it" a male voice interrupted. You felt your blood start to boil. 

Did he just call me a hoe? You glowered at the buff man in front of you who was pulling your sister into his chest. Your sister glared at you. "You're pretty damn lucky my man pities you enough to save your poor ***" She barked, kissing 'his man's jaw as she gave him one of her disgusting smiles. You almost gagged. 

"I'd rather die than having a whore save my ***" You emphasized, picking up your bag and briskly walking out the house, ignoring your sister's screams of protest. You could feel your eyes burning with unshed tears but you blinked them back, not wanting to waste tears on people like them. You walked straight to nowhere, your knees getting weaker for every mile you walked. Your cheeks still stung, but it was nowhere near the pain you experienced every single day. 

You snapped out of your trance and found yourself at a park. It was early and only a few people were around which gave you a slight feeling of relief. You took a seat on one of the benches and closed your eyes as the wind blew. You thought about everything. 

Why did you have to be treated like this? 

How did everything end up this way? 

What did you do to deserve this kind of suffering? 

You did everything your parents wanted you to. You were one of the smart students in class, you didn't go to parties every weekend, you made studying your hobby, and you loved them so much. You had rejected confessions from men whom you were actually attracted to, and you placed their happiness before yours.

You didn't know what you did wrong.  

You were lost.  

Maybe there were other things you could've done 

Maybe they weren't enough 

Maybe you had to try harder 

But in the end, nothing you ever did was enough. A single mistake exceeded all your sacrifices and achievements, and all you could do was accept it and start again. You were tired. You were tired of spending hours of endless sobbing in your room. You were tired of being weak. 

You felt tears threaten to spill from your eyes without your consent, but before you could let them fall down, you heard a small whimper. You opened your eyes in curiosity, scanning the almost empty park with a blurred vision and your eyes landed on a boy about your age about 5 meters away from you. He was crouched on the ground and you couldn't see his face with his back facing you. However, you noticed his shoulders slightly trembling as if he was crying. 

Deciding not to interfere with a stranger's business you dragged your eyes away, only for it to be focused back to him when you heard another whimper. He was now trembling more visibly and was whipping his head side to side as if looking for someone to help him. You bit your bottom lip, hesitating.  

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