DEVAN
The next day came with the unexpected. It was announced that my school had organised a two days trip to a self improvement facility, meant for the final year High school students, in order to groom us for life after school.
It was a yearly routine held by the school in honour of its soon exiting students. There were talks about it being extremely boring, and not being fun in any way.
Frankly speaking, this hadn't been one of the events I had looked forward to, considering all the rumours I had heard about it.
However, when the list of teachers who were to go along with us was being read out, and Ms. Ellen's name was read, I felt my heart jump in excitement.
The trip was finally worth the try. I didn't have to necessarily silence the noise with my earphones. I could just sit quietly, and gaze at her, inhaling each air she took in, and slowly getting lost in her own world.
I could barely keep my excitement to myself, as I hurried home. All I needed to do was to convince Mum to let me go on the trip, of which I knew was going to be a difficult process.
She was going to recount a million reasons on why she didn't think the impromptu trip was important. I was going to be prepared to give her the best replies I could think of, or even the best lies.
I walked past Ms. Ellen's window, and saw a smear of blood on it. There was this irrepressible urge to walk over to her door, and scream her name until the world heard my voice.
That was madness though. Pure madness. Love never did that to anyone, no matter how crazy you were. I raced heartily to the house, but was met with the shock of meeting the front door ajar.
I tiptoed into the house to meet it almost empty, except for Robb. He was inhaling and exhaling again as expected. The whole place stank horribly.
"Where's everyone?" I buzzed, as I stepped in, trying my best to ignore the revolting smell that emanated from whatever Robb was inhaling.
"You want some?" He threw at me, offering me some of his narcotic possession.
"No," I replied immediately. "Get something doing with your life, Robb." I advised in disgust.
"Don't forget your place, Devan. You're the younger, and not the older. I am the older one in case you forgot." He warned and puffed into my face.
It didn't matter if Robb was nineteen, and only a year and a few months older than me, he was still older, and had to be accorded that respect.
"I would remember that." I muttered with irritation clearly written on my face. At that moment, Mum seemed to walk out of her room hurriedly, as if racing for the door.
"Mum what's going on?" I asked.
"Your father lost consciousness earlier today, and hasn't recovered since then. I was called in from work to attend to him, since Robb refused to make good use of his life, and watch him as promised."
"I'm really sorry. However, I have something crucial to discuss with you." I began.
She shook her head vehemently in disapproval. "It can wait Devan, your father is in a more crucial state."
I knew this wasn't the right time to broach this topic, but my greedy obsession of going on the trip was robbing me of seeing Mum's pains.
"Get something done about this smell. It's nauseating." She ordered and flew to the door.
I nodded quietly, and let her hurry off again as my gaze turned towards Robb, and a smirk formed slightly on the edge of my lips.
"What do you need, buddy?" Robb asked perfectly understanding the turn of events.
I sank into a chair, and grinned wildly. I wasn't going to miss the trip for anything, and if things turned out just the way I had planned it, by the time I returned Dad was going to be bustling with life once more.
I stared into Robb's eyes, and tried to keep a stern face. "I need money..." I began, and he nodded slightly. "Lots of it." I finished as his eyebrows rose in askance. One thing was certain, he didn't trust me, why would he though?
ELLEN
The cold was almost unbearable. I bit my lips, and walked over to the bathroom. I was almost shivering. My legs threatened to give way at any moment, and I couldn't tell why.
I could feel unsettling pains in my abdomen, and I sensed that something was wrong. I held tightly to the walls of the bathroom, and made sure I was stable.
I began taking off my clothes one after the other, as I slid into the bathtub. I switched on the tap, and let the water run filling the tub.
I shivered briefly as it touched my skin, but the coldness didn't last. My whole body yearned to be washed of all the brutality, and dirty acts it had endured in the last few days.
Zach had managed to come up with one thing after another with each day that passed. At first, it had been fun, but now it was just pains. Presently, it was just me nursing the wounds I suffered from each encounter.
I touched my face subconsciously, there was a short jagged scar at the side of my face, Zach had done that. I could decide to leave, but I had to stay, for my own mental safety.
I didn't know what that meant, but I knew it sounded good to the ears. It was easier to keep giving excuses on why I couldn't leave a man, who constantly abused me, than eventually leaving, and having to run for the rest of your life.
I wanted to believe I was doing the right thing, but that feeling lodged behind my windpipe judged me. I couldn't escape Zach. I had made a vow to stick with him, until the very end.
I winced painfully, and held tightly to the sides of the bathtub. My abdomen hurt so badly that I could almost feel my visceral popping out.
I had attempted running off once, when Zach's madness had become excessive. However, it hadn't taken long before I was found out. Zach on the other hand had done what he needed to do already. He had told the world that I had run off with a man, justifying himself.
The story had stuck, and I hadn't been able to look anyone in the face then, until we had moved to a new town before this one. I hadn't attempted such ever since, due to my experience afterwards.
I had survived Zach's hands by a hair's breath. He had done the unthinkable to me, hurting me in different ways, until I had promised to desist from such shameful escapades, and then he had been satisfied.
Lies, and lies again!
I was jolted back to reality by a sharp pain in my arm, and I turned to see Zach hovering over me with an empty syringe in his hand.
"What did you do to me?" I quizzed, barely feeling the weight of my body anymore.
"Sleep Ellen, all that I do, I do out of love." he said as my eyes threatened to close and I began to pass out, not knowing what he had done to me.
But there he stood, naked, a grin on his face, and a syringe in his hand, waiting patiently for whatever he had done to me to manifest.
I tried to scream out, but I couldn't. I relapsed again. I couldn't fight it anymore. However, as I passed out I whispered Devan's name, but I couldn't understand how it had managed to slip out. The world was against me. It wasn't going to take long before I died in Zach's hands one way or the other, but somehow.
DEVAN The next day was filled with tears, and so many emotions. The results of our previously written tests had been released, and as expected I had failed my test again. However, this time something wasn't just right, it seemed like I was the only one who had failed it, which wasn't normal. I was very much aware that I didn't take my studies as seriously as I should, but of course there were still a few people here and there that I was very much better than. I crumbled the paper in anguish, and dumped it in my bag. It was Ms. Ellen's subject, and there was only one reason why she would decide to fail me, and give the others a pass. I plugged my head set in, and hurried over to the bathroom. I wasn't sure why she had given me an F, for a test I very well knew I was supposed to pass, even without excessive study. I wasn't a very good student, but I could be described as an average one. I opened the door to the bathroom, and there they were. The very humans that
MELVIN DUPONT It was a big night for me, in a few days I was going to have to make another catch. I was going to have to bring another one home, just as the others. I walked through the streets with my hood covering the most of face away, but somehow sweet Raymond always seemed to recognise me, even in the dark. He had been nice to me since the first night we had met a few weeks back, and now we were close friends or so he imagined. I wasn't much of a chatterbox, but somehow I couldn't resist the urge to stop by Raymond's coffee store, for a cup of coffee every morning. His store was located at the centre of the town, and so everyone seemed to stop there for a cup of coffee, or his delicious burgers. He did make the best burgers I had ever tasted. Each time I visited his store, he knew I wasn't one to enjoy the noise or bustle, coming from the store, so he had kept a special spot for me in his little office. I was tall, so most of the time, I had to bend my
DEVAN School wasn't much fun without Ms. Ellen anymore. The trip had been put off, due to her unexplainable absence. She wasn't taking her calls, and the whole school seemed worried. There were rounds of news going around the town, about women who had gone missing, but when they were found, they all didn't have any memory of where they had been, or anything at all. I could only hope Ms. Ellen hadn't become a victim of such acts. As I strode past her house that evening, there was an irrepressible urge lodged in my throat, forcing me to go in. I withheld myself from giving in to emotions. The blood stains were still on her window, just as it had been the previous day. I was worried, but who could I share my burdens with? I walked past her house successfully, and walked into mine. It was filled with gloom and smoke. I coughed loudly as I walked into it. Robb was making out with his newest catch, I couldn't remember her name, but her broken nose wasn't one to f
ELLEN The sound of light footsteps wafted into my ears, and my eyes fluttered open. Zach was seated beside me, with a broad smile on his face. It seemed weird to me, Zach wasn't one to smile often. He described himself as a man with enough shades of masculinity, and thus he was always quick to lash out at any male who was too quick to smile, or too quick to laugh, dismissing them as less of a man. However, here he was grinning weirdly, with a green spinach on the sides of his chompers. I returned the smile, and sat up on the bed. "Hey Baby," he whispered, placing a kiss on my forehead. He had cologne on, and I could feel my senses being heightened. I wanted to linger under his arms, but a part of me knew better. This was the same man, who had tortured and molested me severally until I was short of breath. I wasn't sure if I could use those words though, I was married to him, so molested wasn't so much of a right choice of word. Blah! I laid my bac
DEVAN There was rarely any peace at home, since Mum was barely around. I hadn't seen her in a long while, but I had made it a duty to check up on her and Dad regularly through phonecalls. However, Robb had been quick to maximise their absence to the fullest. He had begun to throw parties almost every night, that the neighbours had began to complain. I couldn't sleep any longer, as they blasted music through speakers distorting any form of rest I had planned to have. I was exhausted with the kind of life Robb had chosen for himself; wild parties, girls, booze, drugs and the likes. Mum wouldn't have condoned this if she was around, but what could I say I was the younger. I had to keep on lying to Mum, that everything was great, and Robb was doing well. That was a big lie, because everything wasn't as great as it used to be, and Robb had finally taken leave of his senses. It had suddenly began to seem like I was the older, due to the fact that I was the only one s
ELLEN There were different phases in life, and this was one them. This phase was ruled by confusion, questions, and questions again, with no sign of answers. The whole school was in a state of uproar over my return, as students and teachers like myself, crowded the hallway, windows, and doors, with each of them clamouring for a glimpse of me. If only they knew the kind of mess I was in at that moment they wouldn't want to stare. Eyes were pinned on me as I made my way through the throng of students, in a bid to get to my office. I was perturbed about my mental state. My mind was clouded by thoughts and emotions that didn't seem to be mine at all. It was beginning to seem like I had lost myself in the few days I had been gone. I walked into my office, and was met with a disorganised workspace. The students had probably done this out of spite. I bent over and began cleaning around without hesitation, when I heard a knock on the door. I turned around with dus
DEVAN It was a few weeks before the first term came to an end. School hadn't been better than it was already. Sam and his crew had become trusted friends overtime. But in reality, I was actually closer to Sam than I was to the rest of the group. Well, obviously because he had introduced me to the rest of the group. The bullyings had finally ended now, and although I hadn't found Sam's mother yet. It wasn't much of a concern to him as it had been in the previous days. Well, I had introduced Sam to Robb, and they had gotten along so well that I feared they had known each other before the introduction. Robb had introduced Sam into his world of shitty craps, and Sam had taken the bait. He took drugs after drugs, booze, and the likes, and most times he was always wasted. You couldn't blame me anyways. I needed to put an end to the bullyings and maltreatment I had suffered in his hands for so long, that any option was an option, as long as it helped put an end to t
ELLEN The heavy downpour that shook the rooftop, and almost the foundation didn't seem to have an effect on Zach's mood. He had always loved the rain, and the smell of it, as it hit the ground, but not tonight. He was visibly angry, and I was shaken with the cold. "You can't leave." He repeated for the umpteenth time that night. I wasn't perturbed by his little show of authority. However, my mind was made up already, and there was nothing he could do to change it. I was leaving. "You can't stop me, you do know that, right?" I informed. I could see his eyes almost spitting out matching flames with his countenance. I was ready to defy him on this matter. "I'm not going to let you leave, Ellen." He insisted. I didn't argue anymore, as I dug my head into my work; selecting clothes to go along with on my trip. I could see him seething from the corners of my eyes. I wish I could stay though, but I couldn't stay anymore. There wasn't much of a choice.