The Victim (Book #1)

Chapter 33

- - - - - 

When we got to the house, he told me in a low voice to go put on my pajamas and wait in his room. I did as he asked, without complaint. I might argue with my teacher but arguing with Uncle wasn't the fun kind. It was scary.

I waited in his room, twisting my hands nervously on the red plaid comforter. I sat how he taught me, eyes looking down but back straight. It took forever for him to come.

I heard the slow but heavy steps against the stairs and then the door to his bedroom creaked open and then closed.

"Maya." He said in a weird voice. I didn't answer. Even if he said my name, I wasn't supposed to answer unless he asked me a question. Sometimes even answering the questions was wrong.

I stayed looking down as he walked right in front of me. I saw his shiny black shoes and smelled a gross scent coming off of him. I tried not to wrinkle my nose or shake, but it was hard. I nearly always smelled that when he was going to hurt me for something small.

"Maya!" he grabbed my chin and wrenched it higher into the air until my eyes were forced to meet his. They were that strange blue that would shine even if the lights were off. The blue that was always watching me.

"Yes?" I asked instinctively, forgetting my manners. His breath was so strong.

He slapped me across the face with his hand. The pain stung so I shut my eyes, until he shook my head and I forced them open again.

"Yes Sir?" I corrected it immediately.

"What did you do wrong today?" he asked.

I shook my head as my stomach dropped. Nothing, I did nothing, I don't think.

I knew I had to answer, or he'd hit me again. "I ruined your day." I said, hoping I was right so it wouldn't hurt again.

He pulled my forward by the shoulders as if in for a hug and shoved me to the ground.

"That's right." He slurred.

"Are you going to do it again?" he said, looking down. I didn't make eye contact. I didn't want to make it worse.

I shook my head against the carpet. "No Sir."

He pulled back and reared his arm. I shut my eyes as he shot down and hit me in the left side of my stomach. I sucked in air as all the breath left my body in surprise.

I bit my lip to keep from crying but the tears welled up almost immediately. He fell back on his bed then and kicked off his shoes. I stayed on the ground until I heard him start to snore. Quiet as a mouse I slipped out, shut off the lights, and went to my room. I jumped into my bed and grabbed my stuffed animal, squeezing him close.

"It's okay," I told my panda. "He didn't mean it. It's okay."

With that, I fell asleep.

- - - 

I woke up in my room. The room was primarily dark, although soft daylight from the windows was still seeping in from the cracks of the shutters. There was an open water bottle on the nightstand next to me that I grabbed eagerly and drank from. With a start, I realized I was not alone in the room.

"Maya!" Brooklyn yelled, running to my side.

Dominic was behind him in a second, and they looked over at me, anxious as I'd ever seen them.

"Where...?" I asked, unsure of how to form a question at this point. My head was still spinning.

"We're home, Maya. This is your room, remember?" Brooklyn asked nervously. Dominic slapped him and scoffed.

"The others are downstairs, kid. We've been taking shifts to check that you're alright." He said, answering the question I'd actually been trying to ask.

"What happened?" I asked. I remembered passing out now, but I didn't remember why.

He shrugged. "Mom is in her office, I think. I can bring you there if you want to talk to her."

I hesitated in thought and then nodded.

"I can go by myself though," I said, trying to stand. "I don't feel so dizzy anymore."

They both eyed me carefully as I stood and offered their arms for support, but I managed to get up by myself even though my head spun sickly for a moment. They followed me into the hall and started to watch as I went down the stairs, so I waved with a forced smile to prove that I was okay. They eventually turned to head back to their rooms as they saw me walk down the stairs like normal.

Once they were safely out of sight, I picked up my speed and scurried in the direction of Charlotte's office. I reached the door and knocked, grateful when I heard her voice.

"Can I come in?" I asked. I heard shuffling in the room and then the door shot open and I was in her arms.

"Maya!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

I nodded and smiled, although I had come specifically to tell her that I wasn't.

She pulled me into the room and shut the door behind us, walking me over to my favorite chair and tossing me a blanket. I pulled it around my body gratefully and sunk into the cushion.

"I'm sure we have a lot to discuss." She said, "but can I start?"

I nodded, surprised by her question. She was normally the epitome of selflessness, so I was sure what she was going to say was important.

"Maya, I am so terribly sorry about the situation you were put in today. The police are allowed to question you until you request an attorney or guardian, but you have extenuating circumstances and they tried to use that." I nodded. I had realized this much later, myself.

She looked up at me and squeezed her hands together, piercing me with the blue of her eyes as she always did.

"And much more importantly, I am so sorry for not telling you that your uncle was missing. I thought I was protecting you by not telling you, and I didn't want to ruin your first day, and there was always a reason." She said, loudly but gently.

I nodded. "Thanks for trying to protect me, but I always want to know." I said, stating how I was feeling about something. I almost gave myself a round of applause, as that was normally extremely hard for me. Charlotte smiled as well, because she knew what a big deal it was, too.

She leaned back and said "Now. What did you want to talk about?"

I swallowed the fear and started to speak.