Hunted - A Pentatonix / Avi Kaplan Fanfiction

Chapter 1 - Nightmares

Avi's POV

The unbearable stench of alcohol was the first sign that he was coming. My mom quickly pushes me down behind the kitchen counter, trying to hide me from him. My 'dad'.

I hear slow, heavy footsteps vibrating through the floor as he staggers into the kitchen, drunk.

"Whadda ya doin' here, woman?" He roars at my mom.

"N-Nothing..." Her shaky voice replies.

I crouch down further behind the kitchen counter, shutting my eyes and wishing that everything would just go away. I'm only 11, why does this have to happen every day?

It's only a few minutes before my parents are having a full-out row. My mom is screaming that he doesn't care for her and me, and he's screaming back with some unintelligible stuff about how he earns money for us. I mentally give a bitter laugh, sure, he earns money, but he just spends it all on alcohol.

I get into a comfortable position on the tiles of the kitchen floor, this could go on for a long time. I've even fallen asleep here once before.

But after a while it becomes apparent to me that this argument is different. it's much more intense than any of the other ones, and I can hear that my mom is getting angrier and angrier.

I hear the cutlery drawer rattle open, and then the clinking of metal as something is removed from it.

What?

I peer over the countertop, and have to stifle a scream when I see that my dad is wildly waving around a bread knife. My mom notices me and desperately gestures for me to get back down, but she isn't quite quick enough. I see my dad's eyes follow my mom's gaze, and I freeze like a deer in the headlights when his eyes meet mine.

It's not unusual for him to hit me, I'm used to it by now, but this time he has a knife. My heart pounds against my chest, the sound filling my ears as my mouth goes dry and my legs tremble underneath me.

He doesn't say a word as he walks towards me. I wonder if I should run, but there's nowhere I could go. The silence is palpably tense as he towers over me, the knife still clenched in his hand.

"David..." My mom says in a dangerous tone, but he ignores her.

The next few seconds is a blur. One second I'm standing, and the next I'm on the floor, clutching my stomach in agony, warm blood seeping out onto my fingers.

"What have you done?!" My mom's shrill scream echoes around the kitchen.

I think that I can hear her coming towards us, but I can't be sure. The only thing I can be sure of is the burning agony where the knife slashed my body.

And then, in a split second, it happens. He kills her.

My whole world comes crashing down in that moment, and even the horrible pain goes away for an instant.

He did it.

He killed her.

He killed my mom.

I'm no longer aware of my surroundings, and the only thing that jerks me back to reality is the sound of police sirens wailing outside our house. They're here for him.

As my dad is dragged out of the room by two policemen, he looks back at me and mouths one sentence.

"I will come for you."

I can't keep it in any longer. I start screaming. I don't even know exactly what words I'm screaming, I just need to let out my despair and anger.

Paramedics are leaning over me trying to get me to calm down, but I refuse. The next thing I know, a needle is jabbed into my arm, and the world melts into nothingness...