The Cure To My Pain ✔️

1. Relocation

Trigger warning: Graphic description of abuse.

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"I can't do it." My voice cracks at the end of my sentence.

"It's not a request you bitch! It's a command!" Fear grips me as he howls.

"Bu-ut I do-on't know how to d-do it," I stutter helplessly.

"You don't need to do anything, your work is to just distract them. Now stop acting like a 5 year old and get to work," he speaks with a dismissing tone.

I am still not ready to do it. It is something I could have never imagined to do in my next ten years of life.

So, I try again in a small voice,"Please don't give me this work, I will do anything you say other than this. I promi-" I am stopped by a tight slap across my right cheek.

Without any further delay he punches me. A sob breaks out from me and the tears stream down my face continuously as I crumble on the floor.

"You are not taking this seriously, I guess I have to make you realise how serious this actually is" with that he lights his cigarette and move towards me.

He grabs a fistfull of my hair and makes me stand up. He brings the cigarette towards my neck and the next thing I feel is a stinging pain piercing right through my skin.

"No stop please!" I cry.

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Startled, I wake up and touch my neck. There they are, the burn marks which show the cruel truth of my life. This is the third time I have waken up by a nightmare in this week. I search for my phone which is lying somewhere in my messed up sheets. It read 6:15 am , there was no use of trying to get some sleep so I decide to get ready.

I walk down the hallway towards the bathroom. No one is up this early so it's unoccupied. I quickly shower and then brush my teeth. I wear a grey hoodie with black leggings and tie my hair in a ponytail. With that I walke to lina's room.

Lina, short for Paulina is the reason I have survived this hellhole for years. She is 20, with wavy dark brown hair and is 5.2 ft with great curves. She is the most kind hearted person I've ever met. To be honest, she deserves better than this shitty place.

I knock on her door and wait for her to open. After 2 minutes I decide to just walk inside. Yes, her door is unlocked because the lock is broken and is not been replaced from the last 6 months. She is still sleeping on her bed with one leg dangling on the side.

"Linaaaaaa," I drag the name for extra emphasis and jump on her bed with an enthusiastic smile. She wakes up cursing and rolls on her back to face me.

"Dude! Why do you always wake me up when I am dreaming of delicious food?" she whines.

"And why do you always think about food?" I question raising my eyebrows.

"Because food is life duh," I roll my eyes at her reply.

"It's 7:00 go get ready, we have to go to the gang meeting before 8:00," I say urging her to get up.

"Yeah" she reluctantly gets up and goes to the bathroom in her sleepy state to get ready for the meet.

The gang meetings are regularly held once in a month to check all the working and sometimes are held urgently if required. But this meeting is different, because they told us to pack all our stuff before coming to the meeting, that's actually terrifying. We don't know what are their plans, are they right or wrong? We just follow what they tell us to do without any questions. This is what I have been doing for the past 7 years of my life.

I was brought here when I was 10 years old. This place is a huge house with 3 floors and just a common bathroom per floor. This house is called a root. There are several such roots in the town with the gang members living in them according to their age and ranks. It has a kitchen with attached dinning area which could fit almost 30 to 40 people at the same time. Young and adult gang members live in this house, each one is given their own room. Me and Lina both have ours at the second floor.

"I am ready!" Lina enters the room looking fresh and in her element. She takes in my appearance and states,"You look like shit" she continues eyeing the dark circles under my eyes.

I lower my eyes and don't respond.
"Did you have a nightmare again?" she asks.

I nod and she engulfs me in a hug,
"I wish I could do something for you," she whispers sadly.

Lina knows all about my life. She always says that she wants to help me to get out of this place but I know that's not possible. I have accepted my defeat years ago. Lina is not happy to be here too but she is practically born here. It's hereditary work for her as her parents are a part of this gang. She never had a choice.

I pull back and smile at her sadly,"I am living a life with an amazing best friend, that's enough" she smiles back,"Although she could be a pain in the ass sometimes," I continue playfully.

"Shut up" she shoves me chuckling lightly. "Come on, its time, the jeeps would be already out," she says and drags me out of the room towards the main door.

We walk down the stairs and go out. There are four jeeps parked to drive us to the gang's warehouse where the meetings usually take place .

"Good morning girls, you will be driving in the third jeep," says Ricky, another one of our gang members. But he isn't like others though, he is very friendly and caring. He also is evenly scary if he wants to be and can beat you to pulp if you mess with him.

We say our good morning's and make our way to the jeep. Once everyone is ready to depart we drive to the warehouse. It is located in a secluded part of the town. It takes us 20 minutes to reach there. Everyone gathers inside the warehouse and wait patiently. Me and Lina find a corner to stand. All the other gang members from different roots fill in slowly.

Then all of a sudden there was a pin drop silence because of the person standing on the built up stage with a mic. The person who gives chills with just being in the vicinity. He is the person I am most afraid of in my life. The person who have given me countless of sleepless nights. The person who makes my heart beat faster with fear. My palms start to sweat and I suddenly feel breathless.

"Calm down, breathe. I am right here," Lina says giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I just nod my head and do as she said.

"So, as you all know this meeting is not for the regular checks but is for a whole different reason," says Declan, our gang leader. His voice giving me goosebumps as more words spills from his mouth,"I have reconciled with an old friend and have decided to start our business in the town he lives with his help. He has ordered me to select some of the gang members to work in that town. The people I have selected had been already informed to pack their stuff. I have appointed a new leader to handle this town. So, the people who were told to pack will immediately go back to their root, grab their bags and we together will depart to the new town. I hope everything is clear," he finishes with a kind smile towards the gang.

"That means we are moving to a completely different town," says Lina .

"No that means you are stuck with me, literally everywhere we go," I reply with a chuckle trying to hide my nervousness.

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We are done with first chapter guys!

I'm really excited for you to read more. I swear it gets better and the chapters get longer.

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Thank you for reading!

-Love ❤