Beyond Redemption

Chapter Thirty

"Cause it's always one step forward and three steps back, I'm the love of your life until I make you mad." 1 step forward, 3 steps back by Olivia Rodrigo.

Phoenix's POV

"Are you deaf?" Her voice boomed through the extensive vastness of the kitchen, hitting my still body like a ton of bricks. "I told you to stay in your room for the day."

My hands trembled in fear. The funny thing about it was that I wasn't as scared as I should be the fact that she was about to beat the daylight out of me. But the greater extent of my fear stood in the idea of me having to go to school, tomorrow or maybe next week with bruise marks seeing all the other kids not having to struggle with this.

To have to wear a mask of indifference and neutrality got exhausting especially when I wanted nothing more than to just spit it out. To tell people how awful Crestview's finest were. A seemingly wealthy, well-off suburban family where the mother beats her child with belts and a father whips his son with his silence and neglect.

I waited with swollen eyes on the beating that was sure to come. I knew she had people over but I was cooped up in my bedroom for the majority of the day without food or water. Those were the rules, I wasn't allowed to eat or drink upstairs and I made certain not to break those rules. And usually, I'd follow orders but today, in particular, I was hungry to the point where I threw up the nonexistent food earlier.

Another one of her rules was that I should never come downstairs when she was with her friends. I didn't see the significance of it since they were always either too drunk or too high to notice anything. But she claimed that even the most oblivious person in the world could sense how much of a failure and embarrassment to the world I was.

Being a nine-year-old, who read books all day long and didn't have much human interaction, I started to believe her.

Normal kids my age were learning things I had read in a book, years ago. Normal kids sat with their friends at lunch while I sat in the corner of the cafeteria with only a book to keep me company. Normal kids had parents who would attend their recitals and school events while my parents didn't even bother to make it their mission to know.

"I-I'm s-sorry." The fear was evident in my voice. I was used to this punishment but that didn't mean that I didn't dread the hot sting of her assault every time. "I got hungry."

"I don't care if you die of hunger," She half slurred, half-shouted as she narrowed the space I made sure to erect between us earlier. "You don't show your despicable face when I'm with my friends."

"Understood. I'll just go back upstairs." I muttered apologetically as I started walking out of the kitchen. What was I thinking? That she would magically not care about the rules anymore.

"You piece of shit." When I thought I may have escaped the battery, she dragged me by the collar, almost ripping my shirt in the process, and pulled me back to stand in front of her. "You don't actually think you'll get away without being punished."

My vision blurred as I tried my hardest to blink back the tears. But with every squeeze of my eyelids, the greater the urge to cry became. I just stood there. Stood there helpless and pathetic waiting for a slap to the face or a punch in the stomach but it didn't come. Instead, I saw her eyes darkened noticeably. I could see the rage and fury stirring in her orbs. Gone was the love and tenderness she had for me as a toddler, all that was left was pure, untameable hate.

She dragged me by the shirt. "You're nothing but a pain in the ass, just like your daddy."

With that said, she threw me to the floor with a great deal of force. A loud thud echoed through the kitchen when my head made contact with the ground. Black spots plagued my line of vision and before I could recover, she pulled a metal tray off the counter to hit me in the head repeatedly.