“My mother did that,” I whisper, a tear running into the seam of my lips. “She never lay a finger on me.” Not herself anyway. “But sometimes, I wish she had—it probably would have hurt less. But no, she’s just like you.” I tip my chin. “She used her words to break me.”
“Nina, I didn’t?—”
“Leave me the fuck alone.”
I run up the stairs, bypassing his bedroom and rush to the room Lucy and Megan had stayed in last night. Crawling under the sheets, I let the pain in my chest bleed out through old wounds—memories from my childhood at the centre of my thoughts.
I drift off to sleep hours later, the pillow wet with tears, and my heart empty.
ELEVEN
Nina
Ipull my tattered blanket up over my head and press play on my iPod. It’s not mine. It’s my best friend, Lucy’s. She said she would be in trouble for giving it to me, but she thought it might drown out the shouting.
I call it shouting, but I think it’s something else. It sounds like a strangled cry, grunts and groans that seep through the thin walls of our damp house.
She tells me to stay in my room, not to leave until she comes to get me, but she never comes. And I never leave. Afraid that whatever is on the other side of the door will get me into trouble, or worse, take her away from me again. My mummy is all I have, and they already tried to take me once.
I squeeze my eyes shut as the banging starts. Rough groans and deep grunts flow past the music. Is she in pain? Should I help her?
A rush of cool liquid runs from my nose, pooling on the seam of my lips. I dab it with my finger finding blood.
Why is my nose bleeding…?
In a panic, I do something silly. Something I know I shouldn’t. I run for my mother. “Mummy, Mummy.” I push open her door, standing on the threshold unable to move, unable to look away. What is he doing to my mummy? His eyes find me first, a grim smile taking over his face as he stands behind her, hitting into her bottom.
“Get rid of the little fucker!” he shouts, making me flinch.
My mother’s eyes flare wide when she sees me. “Nina! Go now. What are you doing?”
Oh no, she’s mad at me.
“My nose.”
I wipe my nose with the back of my hand, but it comes away clean. I frown at the paleness of my bony hand. My eyes lift back to my mother’s, but before they can find hers, a strong, calloused fist connects with my face.
“Nina!” My mother’s voice rings out as everything fades to black.
“Nina!”
“Nina!”
“Nina!”
Mason?
Mase
Tortured cries have me bolting upright in bed. I gave up on Nina letting me in after she locked me out, and her soft cries haunted me for hours after as I sat outside her door, waiting until I was sure she was asleep.
But now she’s crying again, and it’s not the same cries as before. It’s a tormented shrill. She sounds in pain.
I jolt from the bed, my head working faster than my body, causing me to stumble to the floor in my haste. I run down the hall and try the handle, knowing it will be locked.
“Nina! Open the door!” I shout, slapping my hand on the wood. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Nothing.
