You will be Mine

Chapter 1

His fist strikes me across the left side of my face the pain spreads like wildfire and blossoms over my cheek. My legs are shaking and I'm struggling to stay on my feet. My head starts to spin, so violently that I can't decipher the stream of drunken slurs that my father is hurling at me. Only a few words make their way through the pounding in my head "idiot," he snarls "useless." He launches a final kick into my stomach and I double over in agony. I drop to the cold floor of the basement, biting my lip to stop the cries of pain from slipping through my lips.

Satisfied with what he's done, my father lumbers towards the staircase, carelessly spilling his beer along the way. I listen as he clambers upstairs. Only when the sound of his footsteps are gone and the sharp sting of his alcoholic breath has faded do I dare to gather myself off of the ground.

I make my way towards the bathroom, my chest aching with every step that I take. I fumble around, looking for the light switch. When I find it, the room is swallowed in light and for the first time, I notice the streaks of red that are covering my hands. Blood is gushing out of my nose and it has started to creep into my mouth, which fills my tastebuds with a gross metallic taste. I tug my shirt, which is already ruined, over my head and use it to stop the blood.

I turn on the faucet, scoop up a handful of cold water and throw it into my face. The water turns a dark red color as it swirls down the drain. The tips of my blonde fringe are soaked with water, I shake them out of my vision and look in the mirror. I must admit; I've looked worse. My chest is a canvas of purple patches, but my face has been left unscathed accept for the sleepless nights which have settled underneath my eyes; but there's nothing I can do about that. Hot tears start to prickle in the back of my eyelids. I don't notice them until one rolls down my cheek. I quickly ball my hands into fists and scrub away the weakness as fast as I can.

I grab a fresh shirt from the pile of laundry in the corner and throw it over my head I creep over to the staircase, straining to listen for my Father's footsteps above. I hear nothing, maybe it's safe. As quietly as I can I make my way up the stairs into the kitchen and through the hallway. I peer into the lounge. My Father has fallen asleep, sprawled out on the sofa.

I make it into my bedroom, I ease the door shut and exhale a sigh of relief, it's over. The walls of my bedroom are an ugly, light brown colour and I have posters plastered everywhere to cover up the holes that have been made by poorly aimed punches. The floor is a wasteland of mess, I can't even remember the last time I cleaned my room. My entire body is aching and I gravitate towards my bed like it's a magnet but the alarm clock on my bedside table has other ideas. The big red numbers,8:00 are staring me in the face. I can't afford the luxury of sleep, I wish it wasn't Monday.

I scrape yesterday's outfit off of the ground and sling my school bag over my shoulder. I don't bother to check if I have the right books before I trudge out of the door. At least I'm going to school. After a few minutes of walking in solitude I spot my friend Kat. She's standing on the corner of the street, staring down at her phone which is decorated with a kilogram of novelty keychains. She looks up and sees me.

"Hi Oliver," she waves tossing one of her blonde ponytails.

I say "Hi," back and that's the last thing I manage to contribute to our conversation. As we make our way to school Kat tells me about all the things she did in the weekend. I don't mind listening.

We make it to school and Kat leads me over to her locker. She need to deposit the mountain of books she took home with her for 'weekend reading.' While she is stuffing them into her locker I realise that in my haste to leave the house I forgot to grab a pen. I cross the hall to my own locker and punch in the PIN. The door doesn't open. Strange. I try again, it still doesn't open. Frustrated I rattle the door, why won't it open.

"Excuse me," a dark voice says from behind me.