𝓜𝓲𝓼𝓽𝔂 𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓼

24 | under the sun

"You can do it Amanda, you're a strong little girl." encouraged my mom, her hands on my shoulder.

"Why don't you do it?" I asked with a weak voice betraying how scared I was.

"Because mommy and this man had an argument and he's angry at me now. But it's okay he'll love you. You just have to give him what I hid in your backpack okay?"

"I-I don't know..."

"C'mon get yourself together for God's sake!" she suddenly exclaimed, her fingers clenching too tight around the skin of my wrist.  She was shaking too, and she looked sick. Puffy red eyes and sweaty face.
"You'll do it perfectly, just like mommy taught you to okay? That's exactly like the other times, except this time you'll be alone. Show me how strong you are."

I could only nod at that, feeling the deep desire to make her proud of me.

"I'll do it."

With a sigh, she closed her eyes for a bit. "Great Amanda, you're amazing."

My face broke into an already proud smile.
"See you later momma."
I waved at her as I left the house, walking fast towards this place we had been a lot of times.
I've arrived there after quite a long time, but I wasn't showing any sign of tiredness, I continued to walk, avoiding the trash spread onto the ground and ignoring the smell of poop surrounding me.

Don't talk to anyone, I reminded myself, remembering where this tall man always was.

I must admit I jumped when I felt something brush my bare ankle.
"Oh... Minou, you scared me." I whispered, immediately bending down to pet this grey alley cat I had decided to name minou as he couldn't say his actual name. Because he was a cat and cats didn't speak.
"It's been a long time, how are you?"
He just snuggled onto my legs as an answer, searching for a stroke as purring sounds were already leaving his tiny throat.

It took me some minutes to come back to reality and realize I had a mission.
"I have to go. Wish me luck." I grinned and waved at him before walking away quickly, hoping he wouldn't follow me in this scary place. That wasn't a place for a cute cat.

I found the man I was looking for with two others adults, one of them was a woman I had seen before when mom and I came here. That has been quite some time if I remembered well.

"Ohh look what we've got here." Said a very loud voice, startling me to the bones.

I stared at him for a few seconds with wide eues, making sure that was really him. I ended up kneeling to the wet floor, opening my backpack in front of him.
I then handed the three little plastic bags, doing my best to not let my hands tremble.
With a new chuckle he suddenly get a hold of my wrist, making me bite my tongue unconsciously.
"That's nice of you to do your mom's job little one." I didn't like his smile. It was scary.

"I need to go." I rapidly said, trying to back away but his fingers were very strong. Too strong for me.

"C'mon stay a bit. For me."

Suddenly the woman from before interrupted his friend with an impatient voice.
"Leave the girl alone Rick, she's what, six?"

"Seven." I whispered before realizing it was those kind of moments when I had to just close my mouth and try to become invisible.

This woman took the little plastic bags and forced him to let go of me. She was either very strong or he was very weak because he stumbled back and almost fell when she pushed him. "Go." She told me.
So that's what I did, I left, running because of how scary the man had been.