Reason To Stay

Chapter four

I know I'm not supposed to update until tomorrow, but then again, couldn't wait. Please don't forget to vote, share and comment. Gracias (and no, I'm not Spanish. That's about the only Spanish word I know😬)

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When Pierce was thirteen, he voiced out to someone about the situation at home and for a long time he was not able to get over how they looked at him- like an ungrateful twat who was only framing up his father.

The aftermath of his confession was worst. Words got to his father and that day had almost been his last. It didn't help that Ayomide Majek, his father's arch nemesis and surprisingly, Pierce's mentor had just left their house. Combine his father's pent up anger with his realization that Ayomide was now doing much better than him financially, Xan had almost killed him. Ever since then, Pierce kept shut and didn't bother seeking help. Of what use was it? No one was going to believe him anyway.

Xan was a well renowned man in their town, owning one of their country's largest telecommunication company. He was feared more than he was respected, it didn't take a genius to discover that going against such a man was like hitting a rock with a stone, he would end up shattered instead. How far could his sixteen years old self go? Who was going to listen to him?  In their eyes, Xan was their savior, and was worshiped by the whole citizen. Who was going to believe that such a man was capable of hurting his own son?

Meanwhile, his nanny still hadn't given up and had been pestering him to seek help for a while , exactly why he locked himself self in his room all day.He couldn't show the bruises that had formed on his body to her, he wasn't ready for the lecture that was bound to happen.  'It's only a phase'. He'd say. 'It will pass.' Or so he believed.

He has been staring at the screen of his computer for a little over ten minutes, his fingers hovering over the 'talk to someone' option on the 'Speak up' website Yang introduced him to months ago.

Speak up was a website created by agencies who care deeply about kids and ensure that they are protected and free from violence at home. Most of the organizers were survivors of abuse themselves, and they shared their stories as well as stories of teenagers going through the same ordeal, in order to let them know that they were not alone.

He sighed and shut down his computer. ''No need to create a scene, I'll just leave quietly. After all, I am the problem". He said to himself, mimicking his father's words. Ever since his father has had him questioning his existence, he's been considering leaving home. Maybe things will start to get better for them as soon as he was out of the picture. He thought.

How he was going to survive without them hadn't even been a subject he gave much thought to. His parent were of no use to him to begin with asides from the financial services they provided, and thanks to that, he had been able to save up a huge amount of money even at such a young age. He had always been ahead of his peers academically and was able to complete his high school education a month ago and was awaiting registration into the university he applied to. "I am going to survive without them". He felt the need to reassure himself. He let out a sigh of relief, with a newly found determination as he walked out of his room.

He walked into the kitchen, toward the first aid box in search for a painkiller, He bent down, emptying the content of the box and found nothing of use to him.

"Pierce". His nanny called.

He stilled at her voice. He hadn't planned to be seen, he was trying to come and go unnoticed. He mumbled incoherent words to himself and stood up, his back still turned to her. "Nanny, where are the painkillers, I can't find any here". He called.

"Right". She ruffled through the plastic bag with her, pulling out a small carton, "I am just about to stock them". She noticed he was avoiding her and moved closer to him. She placed one hand on his shoulder, "Pierce". She called, urging him to face her.

He took a deep breath and turned to her, causing her to stumble backward as she took  in the sight in front of her, her eyes zeroing on his bruised neck. "It's your father right? He did this". She exclaimed . "That bastard! I was going to wake you up for breakfast but he asked me not to disturb you". She said, sobbing.

"Give me two tablets there nanny." He brushed her off. He couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards her. Ever since his father had been inflicting pain on him physically, she had never for once interfered or come to his rescue. But then again, a part of him couldn't find her at fault. He probably would have done the same if he was in her shoes. After all, everybody was afraid of Xan, even his wife.

She sniffed, wiping her tears strained face before handing him the tablets. "You haven't had anything to eat Pierce."  She said, walking toward the fridge to get him water.

"I'm not hungry." He said collecting the water from her.

"But you have to-" She continued, but stopped when she watched him swallow the pills.

She walked toward him and engulfed him in a hug, causing him to still at first. After a while, he let his resolve break as he hugged her back, crying in her arms. "I'm leaving home nanny". He said through tears and detached himself from her to look into her eyes.

If his nanny was shocked by the news, she didn't let it show on her face but she wondered just what had gone wrong yesterday night. What had made the little boy who was always optimistic that his parent would come around someday suddenly give up on them?.

"Then I'll come with you." She said, fully aware of the repercussion of her decision if his parent found out. But a part of her was certain she had made the right decision, the part of her that knew they wouldn't look for him if he was gone.

"You don't have to, you know?"  He said, not wanting her to feel pressured about her decision.

"I know." She whispered, smiling at him through tears. "But I want to. There's no use for me here anymore if you are gone."

He sighed, and looked at her, mirroring her smile. "Thank you." He mouthed.

"Now go and pack your stuff, we need to leave as soon as possible."

Pierce felt relieved as he walked out of the kitchen. He decided to go out and take a walk. It will all be over soon, he thought.

He heard sound of laughter from the hallway, and traced the sound to the living room. His eyes almost budge out of its socket as he took in the sight of his mother's head on his father's laps while he played with her hair. He was certain there was a camera somewhere or he was probably imagining things, so he closed his eyes shut and pinched himself.

"There he is." Xan said.

He snapped his eyes open and stared at his father, taking few steps back.

"What are you doing standing there." Elizabeth asked, sitting up. "Come here".

"No, thank you." He murmured, not moving an inch. He looked around him for the sign of a camera, anything that would give away their act, because that's what he saw it as. "Em, I was just going upstairs to rest". He said running towards the stairs.

"Actually, we have an announcement." Xan called, stopping him in his track. He looked over to his mother and saw her walking towards him with a wide grin on her face. She actually looked...happy. He thought.

"I'm pregnant son." She called, still smiling.

He felt his heart drop at her announcement.

He was supposed to be happy he was finally getting a sibling, he wouldn't be alone anymore, but that just meant another child to be tortured. He looked over his shoulder to find his nanny watching them with the same expression on her face. He knew that she knew that there was no way he was leaving home at this revelation. He'll be damned to let another child suffer the same fate as his. Well there goes down the drain his plan on leaving.

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I think Pierce would appreciate it if you hit the star ⭐️ button 😔