“My dad left without saying goodbye. He just up and left without giving thought about no one. Not even me. His footsteps drifting away were like a blade, sharp, cutting deep into my heart. He left a scar that no man or stitch can fix because I’m being punished for his sins. He doesn’t care that I’m well taken care of or loved. Camilla’s dad takes care of them. Every month end he sends money for them to buy things they need. So when their daddy’s money arrives, I’m told about my dad’s foolishness, about how I took after him. I’m the closest vulnerable subject so everyone projects their anger onto me like I chose to be born. I guess I work my ass off every day for a plate of food.”

By that time there was some sort of vibration in her voice. She was crying. So I cupped her up in hug to calm her down. She cried for a long time that I realised she had been bottling anger up in her heart.

“So I don’t do fun, I only do chores.” She said after she was calm.

We started cooking. It was when she heard the car door banging that she begged me to stop helping her and go sit down. I did not want to stop but had to. She was going to get into trouble for being helped like she asked for it. So the poor girl literally lived her life confined between the walls of hatred, with life and death ambushing her.

I lost my appetite when her so called family entered and one of the girls spoke up without any care in the world.

“What did you prepare for dinner, dummy? I’m starving,” I was appalled and ready to give her a piece of my mind when Bella indicated to me by placing her pointing finger on her mouth. It took everything in me to keep quiet. Though I wasn’t hungry anymore, I ate for Bella. We sat there with everyone sending weird gazes at Bella. Like they were somehow saying couldn’t she just eat a little quicker and get out of our sight.

I went home very angry that day. Good thing I was not living with my parents anymore otherwise I was going to take out my anger on them. I arrived at my apartment and headed straight to bed. I even lost the energy for a simple shower. I kept thinking of ways to get the cute innocent stud out of that difficult situation.

Though I was working at that time, daddy was still giving me a monthly allowance. So I took her out sometimes when she was sent shopping because they did not allow her to go out. One day I got tired of stealing time with her and went to her house to ask if I could take her out to the movies. I knew I was going to hear stories of how she cannot go out so I cooked a story of my own.

Though they bought it, they were not pleased at the fact that I wanted to go out with her instead of them. I waited for her to take a shower and get dressed because the whole outing thing was unexpected. She did not look too pleased either, afraid she might be in trouble when she came back. But I could see right through her that she was happy to be going to watch a movie.

When she appeared in the living room where everyone was seated, I felt something I had never felt before. There was some kind of a chill that was sent down my spine. She was fine. She was wearing clothes that looked a little old but she was fine. She stood there and gave me a smile that made me literally melt.

We left the house and headed to the movies.

***

Tell us: What would you do if you were Bella?