Chapter 108: The Past III

Raven

I’m grounded for six months. No TV, no vacations, no sleepover with the girls,  no nothing. Just school and my bedroom, which my mother had changed. She had changed the lock in my door, and once it was time for bed, she would lock me in and take the key with her and open it up in the morning.

It was pathetic! If only she knew I snuck out through the window, then she would have ordered the window to be sealed by now.

My mother had whooped my ass and cut my hair. She had our butler hold me down on our kitchen table and hit me with a belt forty times. Then she cut my hair and made me bathe with garlic peel and native raw eggs for six days. She said she must cleanse me of every evil spirit and manifestations from the Markovs and that she won’t allow me to bring their bad luck into our home.

They were the worst days of my life.

I stank so bad in school…I was laughed at and called toilet water because my mother didn’t let me use perfume. She said it would disrupt the ritual.

I had cried so hard from the humiliation at school, but anytime I think about Killian, I know he had it worse.

I hadn’t seen him in days. But that night we got caught, I saw his parents for the first time up close. His father had that menacing look, and I knew that instant he was responsible for the way Killian was treated.

A family meeting was held between our parents in our living room, and that day, we were both banned from seeing each other. My mother demanded that she be compensated for Killian touching her daughter. Killian was forced to kneel and beg my parents for forgiveness.

That day, I had cried in my room. Because Killian had come with his parents with fresh wounds. If only I hadn’t slept off.

After that day….I wasn’t sure, but I think my mother started doing business with them. She’s manipulative; she must have used one of her tricks to make the Markov’s sign a deal with her.

All in all, I was lonely again, and I was thinking about Killian every day. I don’t know how he was doing or if he was okay.

Sigh…if only I had a phone.

Days passed by, and one day, when I was weeding the garden in our backyard with our butler as part of my punishment, I came across a piece of paper in the dilapidated couch.

I opened it, and the ink was already washing off, which indicated that it had been lying here for days.

It read ;

Let’s meet at Harry’s playground from now on. Look under the couch,  I  have a surprise for you.

–Killian

I waited till the butler went back into the house before I looked under the couch and found a box. I unwrapped it quickly and found a cellphone.

I gasped, tears welling up in my eyes as I stared at it. Killian got me a phone, and it has been here for days because there was no way he could reach me.

I wiped my face clean. I can’t let the butler suspect. I took out the phone and charger and hid them in my panties, then I buried the box.  It was uncomfortable because the charger kept trying to get into my butthole.

When I got back inside, I went into my bathroom and switched it on. There were some messages from a number asking if I had seen the phone yet. The phone had already been programmed with a SIM card inside. He already set everything up.

I cried again because Killian got me a phone so we could communicate. That day,  we agreed to meet at Harry’s playground by 12 pm. The playground was two blocks away from my house and owned by a rich lady with six children. You can guess why she has a playground.

The only problem was how I was going to sneak out.

It was ten and time for bed. My mother had locked me in the room,  so I switched off my lights and turned on the music. I waited for an hour just to make sure my parents were asleep, and there were no movements outside my door.

Then once it clocked 11, I snuck out through the window. I landed on the couch with a thud and quietly went round the house.

By the time I was out of the front yard, I took to my heels, running till I got to the Harrisons’ mansion. The playground was at the side of the house, in an open field, but thank goodness it was dark.

I looked around, expecting Killian to be there, but he wasn’t. I waited and texted him, but no reply. I waited until past one, but he didn’t show up, so I went back home disappointed.

The next night, he finally texted me, and I went by 11 p.m. to meet him at the playground. He was sitting on the swing, his head hanging low and his hands wrapped around himself.

Maybe he was cold because it looked like it was about to rain. I rushed over to him, excited to meet him after nearly two weeks of absence.

But when I reached him, my smile fell.“ Killian…” I gasped.

He raised his head a little, a small smile on his face.“ Hey…sweetheart.”

My lips trembled.“ Killian…..”

He pulled me in for a weak hug, just as the rain started pouring. He groaned when I wrapped my arms around him.“ Killian….”

“ It wasn’t a fight this time….I swear,” he grinned, but I could see the pain in his eyes.

We were getting drenched, and I couldn’t just leave him here, so I helped him up. "Let's go to my room…. before morning, you’ll sneak out.”

“Hell no! "He shook his head, refusing. “ I don’t want to get you in trouble. I just wanted to see you and tell you that I’ll be moving out next month.”

I froze … my heart pounding in my chest.

“ I …I got into med school….so I’ll be going away till I graduate. You don’t have to worry about me anymore; there will be no more fights if I’m gone.”

I should be happy for him, right? But I was not. I was not because it meant I might never see him again. He was the only friend I had in this estate. I’ll be all alone if he leaves.

“I'll text you every day, I promise. That's why I got you this phone,’’ he added on noticing my silence.

He placed a hand on my cheek. “Nothing will keep us apart, not even distance.”

I wanted to start crying, but I pushed back my tears and forced a smile.” All the more reason why you used to come with me….this might be the only night we would spend together,” I told him, and he hesitated but eventually followed me.

We snuck back into my room, and I made him lie in the bed while I got my first aid kit. He took off his soaked shirt while I changed my clothes in the bathroom.

I sat at the edge of the bed and applied that same old balm on his wounds. Sometimes I feel he does this on purpose, so I can treat his wounds because there are no clear explanations as to why he got them.

“ I’ll be taking the screening exams to get into nursing school soon,” I told him.

He smiled at me.“ Study hard and apply to my School so we can be together…. hopefully you’ll be eighteen by then.”

I blushed hard and nodded. When I was done applying the band aid, I lay on his exposed chest. If I’m not going to see him for a very long time them I’m taking complete advantage of today. We remained like that, talking about random things in hushed voices. At one point, we started making fun of our parents and laughing at how they treated us.

Then we both made a mistake…. we fell asleep, and I forgot to wake him up to leave before 7 am.

And that was the worst mistake I’ve ever made in my life. By 7 am, my mother unlocked the door, and her scream was what woke us up.