"It's you and me. Together," he says. "Us against the world."
*****
All my life, I've never trusted men. The image of them planted in my head is the figure of my abusive stepfather who has made my mother and I live in hell.
But then, an encounter w...
Trigger warning: The following chapter will have contents that will be disturbing for some people in terms of violence, abuse and depression.
Please excuse the language too.
***
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"I see that you've been well nowadays." Tuck stares at me, the coldness in his eyes piercing right through me.
"Why are you doing this?" I glare at him. I can't help but wonder why he has planned all of this -- the kidnapping.
Even though I always knew that he was a psychotic bastard, but he definitely crosses the line here. I wouldn't have guessed that he would grab me at the hotel.
He scoffs. "Why, you asked? In case you've forgotten, you took my goddamn money."
When I stare at him in disbelief, he bursts out laughing.
"Alright, I must admit that I went the extra mile this time. But let's save the latter reason. For now, let us have a nostalgia first, my dear Lais."
I shudder at his last sentence -- the kind of nostalgia that he meant just now is my nightmare. But then, his reasoning makes my blood boil.
"It wasn't your money in the first place," I snap.
He takes a step forward, and I feel like all my blood rushes through my veins, my heartbeat racing. It's like every part of my body screams, not wanting him to get closer.
And just as I fear, he lands a hard slap across my face.
"You took it, you ungrateful child!" His voice is laced with venom.
I can taste blood on the corner of my lips, while I try not to shed a tear due to the pain he inflicts on me, physically and mentally.
Instead, I shoot him the same glare. "It's my mother's money, not yours. I had the right to take it. She'd been working hard to earn that for our future, in which you're not even there."
There's fury in his eyes.
"Your mother?" he hisses. "You mean, the woman that you killed yourself?"
What?
What the hell is he talking about? I feel like I want to explode.
"You killed her," Tuck says nonchalantly. "You knew that she'd been working hard all her life, just because of you. I saw the medical records, Lais, those that she hid from you. Did you ever know that she had coronary heart disease?"
My eyes widen. The poison coming out from his lips slowly sips through my soul.
I shake my head in disbelief.
No, she did not. She couldn't. It couldn't be.
"Such a clueless burden you were." He scoffs again. "I bet you were also aware that she was working three jobs. Three." He gestures it with his fingers to stress the point. "What for? Of course, it's for your goddamn high school and college, those motherfucking things revolving around education."
