(✔) 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙗𝙤𝙮 ↳ (𝔃.𝓭.𝓱)

three !

( ⚠️: ABUSE TRIGGER WARNING. PLEASE DON'T READ IF THIS TOPIC IS SENSITIVE TO YOU.)

Everly entered the house on her tippy toes, careful not to make a noise. She slowly shut the front door and set the keys gently on the bench in the entrance hall of the apartment.

Just as she was carefully slipping off her shoes, she heard footsteps thundering down into the living room. She jumped with a start. "Everly!" Her dad hollered.

Fear struck Everly's heart and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for his wrath. "Didn't we tell you not to make noise in this house?" He shouted, stumbling into the entrance hall. His words were slurred. He had been drinking again.

Everly breathed in sharply through her nose, her heart thudding madly against her chest. "But I didn't make any noise—" She was interrupted by a loud slap that echoed throughout the room.

Everly gasped and fell backwards onto the floor. Her cheek stung badly and tears burned her eyes. "Don't answer back to me!" He roared.

Everly glared at the floor, waves of pain crashing into her face. She wanted so badly to scream, But that's the way conversations work these days! But she kept her mouth sealed shut.

Another slap came and her cheek was burning horribly. Her vision was blurred with tears but she refused to let them fall. She wouldn't show weakness. The man she refused to recognise as a father figure was screaming out many obscenities, but they sounded muffled and fuzzy in her ears.

"Stop!" Everly cried out, covering her face with her hands. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Her father's eyes burned with fury and they bulged out of his head. "What did you just say?" He said in a low, menacing voice that was just as threatening as his shouts.

Everly couldn't speak. Because she was frightened, but also because her dad had grabbed her by the collar. She felt nauseous and her head was throbbing. "What did you say?" His voice was louder now.

Tears threatened to spill out of Everly's eyes but she didn't cry. She only stared him down, refusing to speak. Her dad let her go rather aggressively. "That ought to teach you a lesson not to talk back. And not to make so much damn noise in the house."

He left, staggering back up into his room. Everly only decided to head back into her own bedroom after she heard her dad's door slam. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she cautiously walked back into her bedroom.

She flopped down on her bed, wiping the tears away furiously. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't. She sucked in a deep breath and told herself to calm down. She lay motionless on her bed, gazing blankly at her ceiling for about half an hour before softly creeping off of her bed. She crawled towards her bedroom mirror and took a look at herself.

Her straggly brown hair hung limply from her shoulders. It looked like a bird's nest. Her left cheek was almost back to normal, the bright pink fading away. Her dark eyes were dull and they looked empty and sad. But the thing that worried her the most was her neck.

When her dad had dragged her by the collar, he hadn't grabbed her neck at all. But the over aggressive way of how he was pulling her collar had probably hurt her neck somehow too.

Her neck was badly bruised. They appeared dark bluish-purple against her skin. She gulped. They looked really serious. She pressed her fingers gingerly against the bruises. Oddly enough, they didn't hurt. She would check if it faded after a while. Maybe it was just a loss of circulation.

She sighed exasperatedly and she threw herself back into her bed, switching on her phone. She logged onto her anonymous Instagram account. She smiled inwardly, seeing that there was a new message from @notofflineee.

@notoffline: hello. how was ur new school?

@panicatthebookstore: it wasn't bad. met some new friends and my classes weren't too boring

@notofflinee: sounds nice.

@panicatthebookstore: how about u?

@notofflinee: tbh i hate school. people there hate me. they're just rlly mean ugh

@panicatthebookstore: wow. damn. people really suck a lot

@notofflinee: agreed.

@panicatthebookstore: you have friends to help you tho right?

@notofflinee: yeah ig. but they seem really fake. i don't think they actually like me lmao

@panicatthebookstore: damn. if they're fake, ditch them dude they aren't worth your time

@notofflinee: mm yeah

@notofflinee: hold up I think I gtg I gotta go do something for my mom bye everly

@panicatthebookstore: oh ok

@panicatthebookstore: bye then I guess I'll talk to you later

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(VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
hello everybody! I just want to say that I am not romanticising abuse or making fun of it in any way AT ALL. I think abuse is absolutely horrible and should be taken very seriously. i bring up the subject of abuse because it shows everly's home life and it is a part of her character. once again, i am not poking fun or romanticising the topic of abuse in any way. thank you.)