Athaliah Kensington's Pov.

I was chained up in one of the cells down here. I was not given any food for two days and was just surviving on water. I am scared. I tried to help one of the students here but was caught. I was just helping her to vomit out the medicine she took because it was making her health worse.

Usually when I get punished, it was over after fifty whips of lashes on my back. But now I am chained here. I guess this is it for me.

I always accept my punishments because I think I deserve it. My family hates me because I killed my mom. I tried telling them that it wasn't me. But they didn't believe me. Even after a whole year of abandoning me here in this place, no one came to meet me. I ruined my family.

Suddenly the door of the cell burst open. There was a man standing with his hands in his pockets.

I was terrified. In these two days whenever someone comes in my cell, they hit me with each and every thing, either it's a bat, whip or even iron rod.

I brought my knees to my chest and tried to hide in the shadows.

That man walked towards me and crouched down to my height and said, "Hey lavender. It's nice to finally meet you."

I spoke with my tremors in my voice, "Who are you."

"The one you need." My eight-year-old could not understand the hidden meaning behind his words.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You need to be cleaned. You are covered in blood."

"Will I get out of here?"

"From this cell, yes. From here, No."

"I was just helping that girl."

"I know." He stroked my hair and continued, "But you see lavender, what happens with the ones who do not obey."

"Her health was getting worse. That medicine is not good for her." I spoke, my voice shivering with a concern laced behind for that girl. She was my first friend here.

"I see you still didn't learn your lesson." He took out a cigarette and light it up and continued, "Before helping others, you need to help yourself."

"I am in pain." I told him thinking that maybe he will help me. But I didn't know the pain that was inflicted on me yet was nothing in compared to the one he was going to inflict on me.

"I know that as well. I heard your screams. And I loved it. The way you scream for your life, the way your voice turns hoarse when all the energy leaves from your body, I enjoy it."

I was unable to speak. This man is crazy if he finds pleasure in a young girl's wailing.

"I want to hear it more closely. That's why I came here to you, personally."

I remained quiet.

"I see defiance in your eyes. But no worries, I know very well how to make you scream."

In the spur of the moment, he took my left hand and put the burning cigarette on my wrist.

I screamed so loudly that my insides churned. The scream rips through the stillness of the cell, a piercing wail that seems to echo off the walls. It was a desperate sound, raw and primal, like a sudden, violent crack in the air. My face twisted in pain, my mouth wide open, eyes squeezed shut, the tears spilling down my cheeks uncontrollably. I felt a searing, burning sensation that quickly became throbbing and aching. I cried begging him to stop but he continued burning my wrist. It wasn't over until the cigarette stick was finished completely.

I felt difficulty in breathing. My lungs were closing in.

"I am leaving for now lavender but remember every time you try to defy me, the pain and the screams will be ten times worse."

I fell on my side, my eyes closing and that was the last thing I heard before fainting.

That cigarette was the first burn inflicted on my body and it sure wasn't the last.

I woke up to yet another nightmare. For a moment, I don't know where I am—my surroundings blur, and my mind races, trying to piece together the fact that I am now awake, safe in my own bed. The weight of the fear I just felt clings to my skin, a cold sweat trickling down my neck as my heart pounds in my chest. I instantly held my wrist where there was cigarette burning mark, tightly.

My eyes dart around the room, half-expecting the shadowy shapes from my dream to linger in the corners. The night seems unnaturally quiet, too still, and the familiar sounds of my surroundings—like the hum of the fan—sound distant, almost muffled. The clarity of my dream is fading, but the emotional impact is sharp and raw, the fear is still lodged inside me, refusing to let go.

Suddenly, I heard a loud bang on my door. I stilled. I don't know if the demons from my past are haunting me and are finally on my doorstep.

"Athaliah, are you okay? Open the door."

I heard a voice. More specifically, Aldric's voice.

I tried to get up, but my limbs still feel heavy from the weight of the nightmare. Slowly, I opened the door and saw all the Kensington brothers standing outside my bedroom.

Keeping my voice neutral, I asked, "Why are you all here?"

They didn't answer me, instead moved me aside and barged into my room.

Everybody searched my room, but Aldric came towards me and took in the entirety of my figure as if assessing me.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Why would I not be okay? And why are you all here in my room, in the middle of the night?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Would you tell us first that why were you screaming, in the middle of the night?" Reuben asked.

"I didn't scream."

"Yes, you did sweetheart." Ezekiel said.

I realized I was screaming in my dream, or I can say the memory of the actual incident. I lowered my hands and held my wrist. My grip was tight. Too tight.

The three eldest brothers glanced towards my grip on my wrist. I immediately let it go and behaved like nothing happened.

"Well, we are waiting." Reuben said.

"I saw a cockroach." I replied monotonously.

"What? Oh, No. No. No. There is a cockroach in your room?" He climbed up to my bed.

"Oh my god, we need to do a pest control. If there is one your room, there must be more in house." He screamed like a little girl in a high-pitched voice.

Everybody in the room eyed me suspiciously. Of course, I could not get a more believable lie out of my mouth. Everybody except Kaelen.

But they did not press the issue further.

"Okay, everybody out now. I am still sleepy."

"If it is okay, can I sleep with you tonight? You know so that if you see another cockroach, I could help you." Kaelen asked hesitantly.

"Well, it looks like if the cockroach did come out, you will be the one who will need protection from it." I replied sarcastically.

"Hey, that's not the case."

"Of course. Is my bed still protecting you?" I asked, babying my voice.

"Well, now that I am already here, I would like to protect my remaining dignity. I am sleeping here." Kaelen said laying back on my bed.

"Get out of here."

He acted like he was snoring. Oh god. I am going to kill him.

"It looks like everything is fine here. Then we will take our leave." Aldric said.

Everybody was watching Kaelen who was lying on my bed oblivious to the glares he was getting from my brothers.

Looks like they don't want him to be here. Of course, they would not like to leave their youngest brother in the room of the girl who killed their mother.

Still, no one said anything and soon they left.

I watched Kaelen who was smiling cheek to cheek staring back at me. I sighed. There is no choice.

I moved to my bed and laid down. I usually don't get any sleep after my nightmares. Well, my nightmare today was expected. I get intense nightmares when something triggers me. Their questions about the cigarette mark on my wrists triggered the nightmare.

I dismissed their questions at the dining table saying I am not obligated to answer them.

For once, they let it go.

Kaelen turned towards my side and hugged me tightly. I instantly became alert. I get stiff when someone touches me. But this time, even through my alertness, I know that he will not harm me. Not in the way I was harmed and traumatized.

He is sleeping deeply, so I sighed and let him hug me. I am tired still feeling the remnants of the past terrors that I endured.

Thinking about all this, I did not know when I slept.



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