Deals with the devil : Chess Pawn ( book 1)

Deals with the devil:S1Ep1

I'm Thato ....
I'll save you time and tell you now.. I'm.. boring. Nothing much to see here, move along .

I wake up every day and it's like I'm living the same day over and over and over again . I'm just stuck ...in my own little shitty part of the world and tbh I hate it here.

I'm the oldest of 5 kids , all girls and one boy ; his the youngest.  I live with just my mother and my siblings in a small two room house in soweto and I'm deputy mom. I've always been and quite frankly I will always be ...or so it seems . When I was younger we all lived with my grandmother and she passed when I was 13 . Since then I cook , clean and take care of the kids while my mom is working for the most part. Mom is very hard working but it's been clear over the years that nothing I ever do is enough for her. She reminds me every day when she gets home from work; she goes out her way to find something that's out of place or not done right or not done at all. When she does I drop everything I'm doing and move as quick as possible and quietly get it done.  It's of the utmost importance to move quick and never talk back and get it fixed before her next breath ....or else you may end up with a couple of scars.  I think my moms favourite weapon of choice has to be something hot ...she must like burning skin. She burnt me twice ( I was a little  more rebellious when I was younger you see ) so she threw a pot of boiling water at me for choosing to eat before cleaning when I was 12 and once she burnt me with an iron on my arm for similar reasons ....something to do with girls not sleeping past a certain time especially in her house .

So I have burn Marks on my breasts well they've healed pretty well over the years now I call them my leopard spots and I have an iron stamp on my arm ...you can see it way more clearly than the leopard or Cheatah spots and so it's the scar I hate and cover up the most .

Schools great ....School is amazing . I have a very good friend at school ;one of the most beautiful girls you'll ever meet. Usually people as beautiful as her are the cruelest creatures but shes the opposite. She motivates me to want to be a better student although ...the motivation is clearly in vain because I never touch my books , unless totally necessary and she just makes life easier nje .

Growing up my grandmother stayed home and took care of us ...my mom came home late from work during the week and was out living her best life every weekend.  Only returning for emergencies or ....whenever she pleased.  She never missed a day of work though no matter what . And she always made sure the food was on the table when we needed it and we were well taken care of .

My Grandmother was a strong , gorgeous coloured lady. She went to church looking her best every sunday .By the way she aged like fine wine. She was a major perfectionist maybe even OCD but never diagnosed.  She taught me everything I know about cooking and cleaning and taking care of the kids.She taught me but she still did most of it herself .
Until she died from Cancer ...breast and lung stage 4 .

Mom happened to break up with my step dad  ( whom granny didnt like ) after my grandmothers passing and had to be more present in our lives ....and I happened to have to step up too ... I guess. 

To be honest the transition was hectic to me and I wasnt having it . This lady had never shown me any consistent attention growing up and I had felt she picked that man ( my step dad) over me  all the time . Before my siblings it was just us 3 ( granny , mom and I ) so my siblings may not have seen much but their father used to beat mom up every now and again. His family treated her so cruel , they didnt like her because she was a bit older than him I guess and they preferred the previous baby mama . One time he beat mom while she was holding my younger sister who was a baby at the time right in front of his father and I at his family's house. The old men did not get up his chair to stop this he just sat and watched till she( my mom ) gave the baby to him ( the granfather) and he carried on hitting her till he was content.  That day I felt my blood boil while I sat on that couch feeling helpless....I couldn't even move or see . My vision blurred.  I vowed on that day as well as other occasions that if a man ever hit me ...I'd kill him. I would beg my mom to leave this man . Beg and beg and beg ...but she never did and when she did she went right back .

My mom was constantly having to baby that man. He came from a very well off middle class family and he went to all the best schools and spoke amazing English.  He was very intelligent and a " man of God" but he kept walking away , quitting or losing jobs , cheating , beating her , drinking way too much and starting up new businesses that never materialized.  He was "too good " for every job and was running his fathers carpet business to the ground . I could tell that man was a waste man at 10 my grandmother didnt have to tell me ( but she did ) but my mother couldnt . She stayed and stayed and stayed . Till around my grandmas passing .

I started distancing myself from her after I realised that she had picked a side and made it clear . I stayed hom with my grandmother more and learnt not to go around chasing her around because I'd always end up in uncomfortable situations...and so years and years passed in that order .