Fragile Hearts

Piercing screams and shouts coming from below wake me up at 1:00am. It's supposed to be my bedtime but these screams constantly keep me awake. I'm so tired of my parents fighting. 14 years old and my family is a mess.

I get up from bed and slip on my bunny slippers. I slowly open the door and the screams get louder.

"Fuck you! We can't even pay the bills for this month's rent and it's all because of your laziness!" I hear the anger in my dad's voice.

"I work my hardest 7 days a week." My mom mutters.

She doesn't even try to defend herself against that monster. She doesn't deserve to be treated like this.

I make my way to the stairs.

"Maybe if you worked harder we wouldn't be living in this hellhole!" My dad throws a plate against the room.

I hear my mom whimper and say, "I try my best to keep this family alive."

Rage fills me. My mother does not deserve to be treated the way she is now, yet she doesn't do anything about it. She shows no sign of rage or frustration whatsoever, only sadness fills her eyes. She deserves to be happy.

I rush to my mom's aid and my dad looks at me like I'm crazy.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He scowls at me.

"Mom doesn't deserve to be treated this way. She works 7 days a week unlike you who just sits around and does nothing to support us!"

My mom tries to pull me away from him. "Honey stop it please." She begs.

I take a step forward and raise my voice. "You're supposed to be my father!" Tears fill my eyes now. "You're supposed to be good and kind and loving! But you're nothing like that! You're a monster."

He looks at me in anger and frustration. I have never seen him so angry before.

Then that's when he lifts his hand and hits me. Scorching pain fills my cheek, which lead to a series of other hits.

Leaving me crying and whimpering on the floor, my father tells me I'm worthless and he wishes that I was never born. I was broken from the inside out.

My eyes slowly open and all I see is white. Am I dead? I don't think so because I look to my left and see a bouquet of roses. The card says "Get well soon darling! I love you." This card definitely came from my mom. But I didn't understand. Where was I?

My head is throbbing, I look at my arm and see detrox pushed through my skin and into my vein. There are bruises all over my body. My right arm has a cast and my left foot is dangling.

Suddenly, I remember what happened. Some bastard hit me with their car and now I'm physically damaged. I thought I was going to start right again, I thought we were going to have a nice life here. Everything was supposed to be perfect.

I realize now that I'm in a hospital. My breathing quickens, I'm not supposed to be here again. I'm not supposed to be concealed and kept here. My chest hurts and I clutch my heart. All I can do is hyperventilate as the dark days come back to me.

"Don't touch me! You're going to hurt me!" I say, pulling away from the doctor's grip. "You're going to hit me and the pain will never go away!" I was crying and shaking at the same time.

Pity was all that could be seen in the doctor's eyes. "Sweetie, you need help."

"I don't need you!" I snarl at her. "Don't touch me!"

"Mom!" I scream. "Mom! Please help me! They're keeping me here. I don't wanna be here." I say, trying to take off the detrox piercing into my skin. I try to stand but my left foot prevents me from doing so since it's dangling.

My mom rushes into the room. "Shhh I'm here okay? Were going to take care of you until you get well." She gives me a reassuring smile.

My mom's words relax me a bit and I sink back into my bed. She holds my hand and tells me everything is going to be alright. I look to the doorway and see a tall, lanky, green eyed guy standing there.

"Is she okay?" He asks with a worried expression on his face.

"She's going to be fine." My mom turns to the lanky guy standing in the doorway.

I have a confused look on my face as he approaches me. Why should he be concerned? Why is he here? Who is he? My mind questions this human being standing right in front of me.

"This is John O' Callaghan. John, this is Paige." My mother says.

"Hi Paige." John says in a raspy voice.  He has a guilty expression on his face, making me more curious about this boy standing in front of me.

My mom scratches her head and breathes deeply, "He's the one who hit you."