Midnight Silpper

Chapter 11

Adrienne

If I thought school sucked with Elaina, then it was nothing compared to the nightmare that was paraded before me after Zayne and I fought.

Zayne had done more than remind me that I was inextricably drawn to him. He reminded me why I was scared of him to begin with and it wasn't because of the anger he had unleashed on Marcus. He was a cauldron of raw emotion, so potent in human form that I was scared I would be swallowed whole by him. I wouldn't be able to survive him, if I was so broken from my parents' death and Robin's abuse.

A human being could only take so much.

Each time Robin hit me, treating me like the human punching bag, I found myself tumbling deeper into the abyss of my own darkness. Suddenly, I found myself angry at the world for what it had taken away from me, while others lived their life happily. What had I done wrong to deserve this? Why did mom have to die the way she had? Why did dad leave me? Why did I suffer under Robin? What unfortunate thing had I done for the world to take away the only good thing in my life?

I lost hope.

My anger seemed limitless, wishing that I could destroy whatever it was that made Robin feel comfortable in dad's home, so that she would feel the same sense of loss and hurt as I did.

Riley had an inkling of what was happening and she urged me to tell someone, but I told her that I needed to hold out. Robin wasn't going to let me go, knowing that part of the assets dad owned would be divided once I turned twenty, provided she took sufficient care of me, which included not kicking me out of the house, despite being sure she had every intention of doing as soon as all of the money was transferred to her name. The fact that dad was holding out on her only made her punishments worse, as if she blamed me for how all of this transpired.

Donovan also had his suspicions, otherwise, why would dad hold out on his own wife and stipulate that she was to provide for me, if he didn't feel like she already was? It was then, I realized, in his own way dad was suspicious of Robin's treatment of me. I also found the clause odd, but I didn't question it. If it was what dad wanted, it was what he wanted.

The only thing I was grateful for was Riley's insistence that I sleepover on the nights where it got bad or I needed somewhere to escape. The first time I had shown her the reddening marks and scars on my back, Riley had burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry," Riley cried, as she got herself together. She grabbed a tissue and wiped at the tears.

I lifted my shirt down. "For what?" I asked puzzled. "You didn't do this."

"But I should have been more insistent! I should've asked what was going on. I knew that something was going on. I felt like you were drifting away," Riley added. "I thought you were just stressed about school or something. You were always so studious that I didn't think that it was anything...I mean, I knew Elaina was a bitch, but I didn't know how bad things got at home."

"It's okay," I said sadly. "I'm dealing with it."

Riley shook her head. "It's not okay, Adrienne. It's terrible. It's criminal. Have you seen them, yourself?"

I didn't. I refused to look at them. Every time I did, I risked breaking down. I could feel the scalding of the pain when I took a shower, but some sick part of me liked it, as if it was easing away the stinking or at least allowing me to focus on something other than the pain in my heart.

Guilt ate at me then. Riley had been trying to be a good friend, but my withdrawal had only made her sick with worry. She was crying for me and I felt bad for having kept it from her. I hugged her and promised that I wouldn't leave her out of my life like that again.