*Matilda is 12 when something happens to her that causes her to run away
Matilda: I had been coming home from a friends house at 2am I had snuck out of the house to go smoke some cigarettes with my friend, if you had asked me a year ago I wouldnt of thought I would have smoked but for some reason I had tried it when I was 11. The cigarettes had become an on and off thing mostly off but I had also gotten caught the first time and my mom miss honey was upset with me. A mid august summer night it was in the 70's outside I had been getting threats eariler that year from a guy saying he was going to rape me things got somewhat scary for me he was removed from all of my classes due to the threats I had managed to keep it from my mom though. I had thought he had backed off because I hadn't heard from him in a while but that morning around 2:30 in the morning I was walking past a park when all of a sudden I see him!.
He pulls me down on the ground and I can't seem to fight him off could it be the cigarettes? I lie there trying to scream but he covers my mouth taking off my shorts and my underwear. I was raped at least it was less than 30 minutes I suppose but I was scared out of m mind I got up after he left in pain putting back on my clothes walking the rest of the way home. My legs hurt my thighs were bruised a little I cried most of the way trying to be quiet I was afraid of what would happen if my mom find out what had happened. I walked up the front steps quietly opening the front door I closed it locking it behind myself tip-toing up stairs to my bed I guess she was asleep I reached my room shutting my bedroom door quietly.
I crawled into bed trying to adjust to the pain was this my fault? I shouldn't have snuck out of the house smoking half a pack of cigarettes was not worth being forced into that , I was hungry but I didn't want to eat. After a while of lying in bed crying I pulled my throw over my bruised body and closed my eyes trying to go to sleep my thoughts faded but when I woke up I had been having nightmares most of the time I was asleep. It was 10am I had slept in I walked to the bathroom wobbling slightly from the pain I sat down on the toilet clenching my fist I flushed it washing my hands. Splashing cold water on my face I looked at myself in the mirror I looked pale dark circles under my eyes I ran a hairbrush through my hair so it didn't look so messy then I went back to my room to change my clothes.
I put on a loose short sleeve shirt that was a bit shorter than mid thigh I changed my bra and my underpants but this time I didn't put shorts on under my shirt left a lot of my shoulders exposed and my bra but after what happened last night I don't care about how much my clothes cover. Right now part of me feels like I should walk out of my room like this exposed and walk downstairs not to eat breakfast but to make a statement that I'm struggling mentally, I don't put on any makeup I leave my face the way it is maybe she won't notice the bruises. I walked downstairs slowly shaking slightly trying to hide the fact that I was crying then I walk towards my mom quietly I sit down on the couch shes doing paperwork tears fall off my face. My smallish limp body trembling slightly sat their in silence not moving after half a minute she looks up seeming rather startled by me a tear slipped off my face.
"You startled me matilda, do you want breakfast?" she looks at me for the first time this morning I see a sort of slightly shocked concerned look form on her face "No, thank you but I'm not hungry" I say with a sort of dazed numb scared depressed expression on my face. A wave of dizziness hits me I start to fall off the couch she catches me "Are you okay?" she stares at my body realizing how bruised up I am "What happened to you?" she says looking into my eyes. "I'm afraid that if I tell you what happened you'll beat me" I whisper looking away "Matilda no matter what happened I'm not going to hurt you" she says, In a sense it might of been easier to explain this to Zinnia she probably wouldn't of cared would of just beat me.
You were adopted Matilda be grateful you have someone now a mother that really loves you that cares because your family didnt care much about you at all if they did thats why Jenny is your family now don't take that back and wish she wasn't not for one second. I love her but what if this guy comes after me again I to be a burden to her but at the same time I'm only 12 I felt distraught apparently to the point where I had used my powers without even being aware of it because theirs a sharp blade hovering on my wrist. "Matilda don't do that please" she takes it tossing it away from me pulling me into her arms I cry "I'm sorry I don't want to be a burden" I say. "I adopted you its my job to take care of you, sweetie its obvious someone hurt you" She says I don't know quite why I can't seem to bring myself to tell her what happened I mean sure she'd be ticked I snuck out but she'd be more concerned with the rape.
Theres a lot on my mind I'm not sure if I should tell her what happened yet in a sense dealing with being physically abused might be less difficult for me to handle than my mom actually caring about me and loving me but she's not the kind of person to hurt me. I flash back to my dad abusing me, a lot of the things he did we're horrible I hadn't told my mom about some of it I hadn't told anyone partially because he had threatened me. Shuttering at the thought of it I let go of her crying she tries to pull back into a hug but I run away from her fast as I can, the fear of being beat finding its way back into my head I run back up to my room. "I really do love you remember that mom" I say crying I shut the door locking it before she can get inside "don't shut me out, Please open the door, Matilda!" She says trying to open the door.
I open the door with my powers lying in bed I have a blade this time hovering fairly high up on my thigh I take it in my hand JM the letters cut into my skin above it I cut the word 'help' she tries to pry the blade out of my hand then she stands still staring at my bruised thighs. "Oh Matilda" She whispers letting out a small gasp I set the blade down seeing how upset she already is, I didn't mean to upset her at all thats part of why I'm reluctant to tell her. She sits down next to me and puts her hand in mine "You can tell me anything, Sweetie you don't have to worry about being alone again I know what your going through right now is difficult, I can help you more if you tell me what happened" she says.
"Even if I was mentally prepared to tell you the person that did this to me would be more likely to hurt you if you know what he did than if you don't, I'm trying to protect you in a way honestly" I tell her "I'm worried about you this is serious someone hurt you!" She says. "I know, It'd be pretty hard to forget with these bruises and pain unless I had amnesia" I say hm I think deep for a second before my mom snaps me out of it. "Don't even think about it Matilda Honey!" She says upset "It's not like I was going to do it" I say coolly "Why did you cut that into yourself?" She says looking down at me I cover it up. "Sometimes people cut to relieve stress I decided to try it and see if it worked, not such a great coping mechanism" I say to her "Let me get a first aid kit and take care of it" She says "No I can take care of it" I say "That wasn't a question" She raises her voice slightly.