Chapters 16 Ayumi Clarck - Part 2

***Memories and Pains***

*I'm sitting on the couch, reading a book to calm myself, when I see the door swing open. I quickly get up and see Carl walking in with a black eye and a bleeding nose. I rushed towards him.

“Oh my God, Carl, what happened to you?” I ask, and he looks at me with hatred. Carl pushes me, and I almost fall, but manage to regain my balance. He goes to the couch and sits down.

“Kaléo is back, and he's the one who did this to me,” he says. I hear those words, and a wave of joy washes over me. My heart feels like it's about to leap out of my chest.

“Really? Can I go see him? Or talk to him on your phone?” I ask eagerly. He looks at me, stands up, and starts coming closer. I take steps back.

“Why? Do you want to leave me, Ayumi? Am I not good enough for you? I gave you a home, a family, which is what you wanted,” he says. He always says that to me because I'm an orphan and don't know who my parents are. He knows I wanted a family.

He continues to approach me and pushes me, causing my back to hit the wall. He presses his body against mine, his weight-bearing down on me, and he squeezes my face, causing pain.

“Ah! Ayumi, I know something you can't see. I see in your eyes that you haven't realized it yet. You love him, but it's not possible because you belong to me,” he says. I'm stunned by what he says. I don't love him in that way…

My thoughts are interrupted by the slap I receive. I put a hand on my face, and the other instinctively goes to my belly. I looked at him with terror.

“I'll teach you not to deceive me, Ayumi. You'll be punished for this,” he says as he drags me towards the bedroom. I know my punishment will be him torturing me sexually.

“I'm not deceiving you, Carl. I don't love Kaléo in that way. I don't see him like that. Please, Carl, don't hurt me anymore,” I say, crying. I'm so tired of this, of being raped every day, whipped, beaten, and left like trash afterward.

We reach the bedroom, and Carl starts tearing my dress. I try everything to stop him, but he slaps me and finishes removing my clothes. He pushes me to my knees, and I comply. My face is stinging, and I'm terrified. Not for myself, but for my baby.

He goes to the closet and comes back with a whip, and desperation takes hold of me.

“Carl, please, don't do this. I beg you.”

“It won't do you any good to beg, Ayumi. You'll learn not to deceive me,” he said, as I went to respond, only to be whipped on the back, and I cried out in pain. He stepped in front of me and forcefully grabbed my face.

“You know you can scream until you pass out, and no one will hear you,” he raised the whip again, and I closed my eyes.

“Pregnant… I'm pregnant!” I shouted, but the pain didn't come.

I heard a noise and opened my eyes. The whip lay on the ground, and I still kept my head down. I saw Carl taking a few steps back.

“You what? I suppose I didn't hear you correctly,” his voice was low. I swallowed hard and lifted my head, looking at him, pale as a sheet.

“I'm pregnant, Carl.”

“But… How? When… When did you find out?” I remained silent, looking at him as he clenched his fists. I knew that if I didn't answer, he would hit me.

“I asked Sula to buy a pregnancy test for me, and I took it this afternoon,” he kept looking at me and started pacing back and forth. He began saying things I couldn't understand because he was speaking very softly. He stopped in front of me, staring in a way that made my stomach churn.

“I'll take you to a doctor, and you'll get rid of this thing,” he said, pointing to my belly. I was shocked, and I didn't even know why. I knew what Carl was like.

“No… This baby is mine!” I said, placing my hand on my still-flat belly.

“Do you even want this? You don't even love me, Ayumi, to want this.”

“But the child is innocent and has no fault in this. It's an innocent baby, and I want it. Yes, I already love it,” when I say this, it's as if I've hurt him because his expression immediately changes to one of pain and suffering.

He comes over and lifts me forcefully, grabbing the blanket from the bed and throwing it at me.

“Let's go to the doctor and get rid of it. I don't want anything that ties me down,” he says, stepping away as if being near me causes him pain.

“No, this baby is mine, and you won't take it away from me either. The baby didn't ask to come into this world…” as soon as I say this, he raises his hand to hit me. I shrink back, protecting my belly and closing my eyes, but the slap doesn't come. I open my eyes, and Carl is standing there, looking at my belly. Then he looks at me, and I see emptiness and coldness in his eyes.

He pushes me, and I fall onto the bed. He leaves the room, and I hear the front door slamming shut. I started crying with relief because I managed to protect the baby. I get up and walk to the wardrobe, standing in front of the mirror and turning around. There's a considerable mark on my back, and it's slightly cut. I go to the drawer and grab a loose-fitting dress to wear because I know it won't stick to my back. I put it on. Then I walk to the living room, pick up my book from the couch, and see Carl's cellphone. I looked at the door again, grabbed the phone, and quickly ran to the bedroom, entering the bathroom. I'm trembling. I start crying with relief because I'll be able to escape this hell. I take a deep breath, trying to calm down. The first number that comes to mind is Kaleo's. I dial it and hope he answers.

I dial the number, it rings, and then goes to voicemail. I do this a few more times, and just as I'm considering giving up, he answers.

“What do you want, Carl? Wasn't the beating I gave you enough? Do you want more?” I ask.

“Kaléo…” he responds.

“Ayumi…” I say.

“Kaléo…” as I'm about to answer, the bathroom door is opened and Carl enters with a big smile. As soon as he sees the cellphone in my hand, his smile disappears, and before I have a chance to hide it, I freeze.

He grabs the cellphone from my hand, puts it to his ear, and morphs back. He hurls the cellphone against the wall, shattering it, grabs me by the hair with a smile, and drags me into the bedroom, making me stand.

“What are you doing with the cellphone, Ayumi? Were you calling him to come here and take you away from me?”

“Carl, please, I…” I can't finish saying it as I receive such a strong slap that I end up falling to the ground, hitting my head and feeling disoriented. He gets on top of me.

“I'm going to punish you for this, Ayumi. You will learn not to lie to me or betray me,” he says and gets up. I feel kicks to my ribs, followed by slaps on my face.

I taste a metallic flavor in my mouth, I touch my nose with my hand, and see only red. I know it's blood. Once again, I feel kicks in my stomach…*

**End of memories.**

I opened my eyes, startled, feeling as if hands were wrapped around my neck, suffocating me. I rush out of the room, hearing someone calling my name, but I refuse to stop. I leave the house, and before I know it, I find myself standing at the edge of the lookout, gazing down. I look up at the sky, and the moon appears enormous. However, my gaze returns to the waves crashing against the rocks.

Once again, I close my eyes and see the hands around my neck. I open my eyes, and that sensation of suffocation, the pain in breathing, doesn't cease… I know how to stop this pain. So I jump, feeling my body hit the water, and I sense myself being pulled downward, swallowed by the waves, and engulfed by the ache in my chest.