How a family starts

Chapter 38

Jackie POV:
I come home sweating, praying that my dad hasn't come home from the bar yet. The truth is, I'm absolutely in love with Nathan. Spending the afternoon with him really relaxed me.

Hopefully he didn't notice the marks on my back. "Burt?" I say, looking around the house. Thank god. He's not home yet.

He doesn't like me wearing "inappropriate clothing" like crop tops, so I have to change very quickly.

The door opens. "Hey, I'm home." Tom. Thank god. Tom is my half brother. He's a year older thank me since Burt cheating on mom. We have the same dad but Mariana gave birth to him, my real mom died in a car accident.

I run to the front door and hug him. "How was your first day?" He asks, still hugging me. We part.

"Pretty good. You?"

He sighs. "Fine."

"What happened?"

"Being good at singing and all didn't really please some people there."

I frown. Tom has always been good at singing, and playing the guitar. After Burt would beat us with his belt, we would sneak outside and he'd play his guitar to calm us down.

Mariana knows that Burt beats us. And she gets beaten by him too. She can't help us, and we can't help her. But secretly, she loves us with all her heart.

"Burt will hate seeing you in that. Go change into something that shows less skin." He says, getting out of his shoes.

I nod and go upstairs. Just as I take my shirt off Burt gets home. And of course, he's drunk. "Children, get your stinky butts down here." He yells.

"I'm coming!" I say. He stomps up the stairs and storms into my room. He smashes the bottle of whiskey at me.

Luckily, I duck and it hits the wall behind me. "TURN AROUND!" He yells. I do as he says. I'm still bare at the top.

I hear his belt un-loop, and then the first hard whip comes out. The edges slash into my back, causing some blood to splatter in that area.

He hits me harder the next time, shooting pain strait through my body. I wince. I hold in a scream at the next whip.

As he tears my skin with his belt, I try to hold in a scream, but fail. I let out a loud yelp. He pauses. "What did I say before?" He asks, his voice getting angrier.

"Not to make noise." I croak. He grins.

"Correct. Now listen to me for once, and if you don't, you'll regret it." Burt says. "NOW FACE ME!"

I turn around and look at him. He puts his face inches from mine. "Are those tears?" He asks, menace in his voice.

I now only realize my eyes are watery. I bite the insides of my cheek, and my stomach flips. "Are you going to answer my question, or are you going to stand there like an idiot?"

"Y-Yes. I'm crying." I mumble.

"Crying? Oh, be prepared for some more tears, sweetheart." He whips a punch at me out of nowhere. I fall to the ground. He kicks me in the rib cage, making me loose some breath.

He sinks down to my level, punching me uncontrollably.

By now, the pain is slowly disappearing since I feel parts of my face are numb from the punches.

As I see Burt continuously beating me up, my vision goes blurry. My breath is thin, and light. Each time I try to take a deep breath, it gets thrown away by a kick.

Then it's too late to realize that my heart rate stops. I close my eyes, and I bet that's the end.

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Nathan POV:
When I walk into school the next day, I expect to see Jacquelyn there. But instead, all I see is my classmates silently sitting at their desks with their heads down. Mr. Jenkins has tears in is eyes.

"Sir, what's happening?" I ask. He looks up at me, sadness in his eyes.

"Please sit down, Nathan."

I hesitantly sit down. As I walk to my seat, I scan the crowd for Jacquelyn. I find one empty seat that she sat in yesterday. I'm getting sort of worried now.

I sit down, putting my head down. I remember her face, her freckles and shining green eyes. Her long, sandy coloured hair that smelled like fresh apples, her smile, her laugh, her giggle, and her soft and comforting voice.

"Everyone can put their heads up now." The teacher says softly. We all look up. "None of you may know what's going on right now. But I just wanted to tell you, it is sad and terrifying."

Shane, one of my friends, raises his hand. "Yes, Shane?"

"What happened? Does it have something to do with-"

"Jacquelyn? Yes." Mr. Jenkins looks at me with sad eyes, he probably knows I'm in love with her.

He sighs. "I believe this class should know what has happened. Since we can't keep a secret this horrifying." He waits a long pause. "Jacquelyn has died."

Everyone gasps. I knew it, she died. There was something about her that I just couldn't unfold.

"What happened to her?" I yell, getting up for my seat. Everyone looks at me.

"Her father. He beat her to death. And if that is happening to any one of you right now, please speak up. It is for the best."

That probably explains the marks on her back. I just didn't want to say anything. I grab my books and leave to the office. I call mom and dad and they pick me up.