𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎? 𝚈/𝚗 𝚂𝚋𝚒 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 (UNDER EDITING)

8 - Flashback

TW // Mention of Physical Abuse, Yelling, Cursing, Drunk People

I unpacked all my stuff. I hung my clothes up neatly in the wardrobe, hoodies and t shirts at one side and my trousers at the other. I had my green dinosaur teddy, which I set up in between the pillows on the bed. I wanted to bring everyone over to show them the house, but I didn't want to seem rude towards Phil, having people over on my first day.
I looked over to the door and saw Techno standing leaning against the door frame.

"So, how do you like it so far?"

"It's better than any other foster home I've been in."

"Can I come in?" I nodded, and he came in, shut the door, and sat on the edge of my bed.

"How are you feeling about school?"

"Bad. No offense but when I googled the school everyone there seemed like a posh twat."

"Yeah that's just people there I guess. You'll soon learn how to deal with it."

"Are the teachers stuck up?" I asked Techno. If there was one thing I hated it was a stuck up teacher thinking they are better than the pupils.

"Yes sadly. Nearly all of them are from down south and have posh voices. They don't tolerate shit from anyone. Don't worry, you'll soon learn what winds them up and then you can use that against them if you need to."

"Oh god. I know I'm not going to last more than 3 days there. I'll be chucked out before the day even starts."

"Just need to watch what you say and where you say it." He leaned closer and lowered his voice to an almost whisper. This was a bit of a red flag, but I didn't say anything.

"Phil, he's really strict about school. Like really strict. He's chill at home, but when it comes to school, he gets annoyed easily if he finds out we've done something wrong or something that could jeprodise our education. Even if it's just being sent to isolation, he goes off his head."

Alarm bells were going off. I had so many questions. Did Phil hit them if they weren't doing well at school? My face went all panicky. Techno saw this, and his face quickly changed to a look of concern.

"No, don't worry. I know what you're thinking. He doesn't hit us. Never has, and Phil never will. When I say strict, I just mean like we got lectured for an hour and then get grounded. There's nothing like what you're thinking."

"That's strict??"

"Yeah to us anyway."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Thinking about it, Phil, he's the chillest guy you'll ever meet. He just wants us to do well."

"Fair enough."

Techno stood up and left my room, leaving me to settle in a bit more. I still couldn't believe that being lectured and getting grounded was 'strict' to them. If I had done bad at school at any of my other foster homes, I'd get beaten to the point I wouldn't be able to stand...

Flashback
"You little shit. GET IN THE CAR NOW!" His voice boomed through the carpark. I flinched at the sound.

My foster dad was screaming at me after picking me up at school from a fight. It was my last year of primary school. I'd got into a fight with the school bully, and I'd won.

I ran to the car and got in the back seat. It stank of alcohol and there were empty beer bottles and mouldy McDonald's food lying everywhere.

"You're getting your ass beat when we get home." My foster dad said angrily. He was drunk. The only reason he was mad was because I crashed his party, and everyone at it had to go home.

I just sat in the back seat with tears streaming down my cheeks. I didn't want to go back.

I was sitting in the school office begging them not to phone my foster dad and begging them not to let my foster dad take me, but they had to call him.

The ride back seemed shorter than normal, which was just my luck.

I didn't want to get out of the car and had locked myself in but forgot to lock the other side. My 'dad' came around the other side and dragged me out. As soon as I was standing, I'd got a slap across my face for locking myself in. It was nothing I wasn't used to but it still stung like a bitch.

I got dragged into the house by my ear kicking and screaming. I got shoved into the cupboard under the stairs which was my 'bedroom' all it had in it was a few blankets and a pillow and all my stuff.

It was too cramped for me to move around properly.

My dad had locked the door and told me to wait in there. I was still crying but was trying to pull myself together so I'd get off lighter.

Suddenly the door opened I got dragged out again. Before I could even stand up properly I had a stinging sensation on my back. I quickly looked around and saw that my dad had a belt in his hands.

I tried to run but he grabbed my t-shirt, pulled me back and kept hitting me with the belt. I was too weak to fight back or even stand, so I was curled up in a ball on the floor with my arms round my head, willing for it to stop.

After around 5 minutes, I felt him pick me up and throw me into the cupboard. I think I had fallen asleep, but when I woke up, I had scars all around my body, and everywhere was stinging.

I was listening to see if I could hear my 'dad' anywhere but I couldn't. I tried opening the door, but it was locked. I looked around to see if there was anything I could use to bust it open. I then realised I had long nails, so I was scratching at the door. I was still wearing the blood-stained clothes from yesterday.

Eventually, I scratched a hole big enough for me to get through. I grabbed my stuff and went and tried both doors, but they were locked.

I went into the living room and opened the window just wide enough for me to climb out of. I ran back to the orphanage as fast as I could.

When I got in, I ran up to Jack and hugged him like I never hugged him before begging him not to let me go back there. He kept me safe.

Flashback Over

I didn't realise, but by now, I was lying on the floor of my room in Phil's with my breathing heavy and uneven.

I had ringing in my ears and was screaming for help.

Techno and Phil came running and tried to calm me down. My vision was blurred with tears.

"Y/n, calm down. Now look at me. What colour is my hat." I heard Phil say. The only words I could stumble out were;

"I-I-I can't see."

My words were choked out, and my breathing was still heavy. Everything was a blur. I saw Phil reach out. He gently wiped away the tears from my eyes. I flinched at the touch but then realised it was just Phil and was ok.

Techno was doing breathing exercises with me, which was helping a bit.

"Y/n what happened?" Phil and Techno said at the same time.

"I-I-I."

"Take your time." Phil said calmly. There was something about his voice that was soothing.

"I had a flashback to one of my other foster homes. I don't want to go into detail."

"That's fine. You're calm now, which is good." Techno replied.

"Want to come help me and Techno set up the dinner table?" Phil asked. It didn't look like I was getting a choice. I didn't mind, though. It might take my mind off it for a bit.

"Yeah, okay."