1. Middlemist:
I was lying on the floor. I couldn't remember how long I had been unconscious, but I could still feel the biting cold of the floor against my arm and the sharp ache in my back. When I slowly opened my eyes, the room wasn't completely dark. My body was in excruciating pain. With a great deal of effort, I managed to push myself up into a sitting position. Though I pulled my knees tightly toward my chest, I had to keep one hand on the floor to support myself. My back was still covered in bruises and cuts.
Looking around the room, it all came back to me—I was in the basement. Forcing myself up, I walked toward the stairs. Ever since my parents died, my life had turned into a living hell. My aunt had stripped away my chance at an education; after all, high school wasn't mandatory.
I stopped when I reached the bottom of the stairs. Gripping the handrail, I slowly began to climb, trying to be as quiet as humanly possible. I had no idea what time it was. Once I reached the door, I took a deep breath, cracked it open just a sliver, and peeked outside. It was clear the sun had only recently risen. A warm, orange light was streaming in through the window. Opening the door a bit wider, I stepped out, breathing carefully so as not to trigger the pain in my chest.
The house was still clean and tidy, but I knew that would never be enough for my aunt. She treated her own daughter like royalty while treating me like dirt.
With small, hesitant steps, I started walking toward the kitchen. Even though walking was painful, I had grown used to it. I tried to move as silently as I could, but the floorboards groaned faintly beneath my feet. Entering the kitchen, I began preparing a light breakfast for them.
I set the table with an omelet, tomatoes, and crepes I had made for them. Staring at the food for a brief second, my stomach growled. I licked my lips. I was still so starving. I looked around nervously, searching for any sign of them, but for the moment, I seemed to be alone. I quickly reached out, grabbed one of the crepes, and stuffed it into my mouth. Thinking to myself that at least a single bite of food had finally crossed my lips after days of starvation, I suddenly felt a sharp, stinging pain at the back of my head.
Before I even had the chance to chew and swallow, my aunt had woken up and caught me eating without permission. She was holding that wooden ruler of hers again. As I clutched the back of my head, the pain was unbearable. I turned my head and looked at her in pure terror. Not a single word could escape my lips, but she was already screaming at me.
My Aunt: "How many times do I have to tell you? You are not to eat anything without permission from me or your uncle! Nothing in this house belongs to you anymore. And don't expect me to act like your mother—I will never be like her."
Though I hung my head in guilt, she just kept ranting and throwing insults. I forced myself to swallow the food without even chewing it. One of my hands was still pressed against the back of my head. I could feel a lump forming, but I couldn't exactly go and get ice right now. My voice cracked since I hadn't spoken in so long, but I barely cared. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again—" Before I could finish my sentence, she cut me off harshly.
My Aunt: "It's always the same empty words, never any action. Get out of my sight."
Keeping my head down, I bolted into the small, unused bathroom. I needed to check my head; it was still throbbing terribly. When I pulled my hand away, I saw a faint trace of blood on my fingertips. I forced myself to calm down. She had managed to break the skin. I hid there for a while. I could hear the voices of my uncle and cousin coming from the other room as my aunt complained about me to them.
Slouching down onto the floor, I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around them. I rested my forehead against my knees and closed my eyes. The moment the pain in my body eased slightly, I drifted off to sleep right there.
The silence inside the house was deafening, yet there was an underlying, quiet frantic energy, as if they were getting ready to go out. I jolted awake to the faint rustling sounds coming from the next room. I lifted my head and waited a moment for my vision to clear. Groaning softly, I stood up. Hesitantly, I cracked the door open a bit and looked out. My aunt and her daughter were getting ready to leave. They had been going out a lot lately, and it filled me with an unexplainable sense of dread. I watched them silently through the half-open door.
They were constantly buying things. I had no idea where all this money was coming from, but I had a terrible gut feeling that this wouldn't end well. They were caught up in a never-ending cycle of shopping and trying to prove themselves to others.
I watched them through the crack in the door for a while longer. The moment they rushed out of the house, I quietly stepped out of the small bathroom. I took a deep breath. As I looked around slowly, my eyes filled with tears as memories of my mother flooded my mind.
Despite the physical strain, I dragged myself to the kitchen. I was absolutely famished. Once in the kitchen, I silently began eating the leftovers my aunt's family had left behind. I knew that the more I filled my stomach now, the better off I would be.
