Chapter 1 Painful Day

She was already awake when she heard a loud bang outside her room. She knew it by then that this day will be like the other days she had; it will be a torturous and painful day. Then she heard her father shouted her name with a very dark tone. Dahlia sat up on her bed and hugged her favorite pillow against her chest. She began to shake and cry when she heard her father shouted her name again. She wanted to go outside to show up on him but decided not to because she knows she will be dealing with a mad and drunk father of hers. But from what she's doing right now; meaning staying in her room will just cause him more rage and fury and probably he will be angrier at her. But she just stayed there. The only place she knows she's safe, at least for this moment in time. She suddenly heard silence. She didn't hear any sound at all but she's still scared.

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She was about to get up when her door burst open. Her father stood in the doorway with a latch on his right hand and a bottle of beer in his left hand. He looked at her angrily for not responding to his calls earlier.

"Didn't you hear me calling you!" her father shouted. He didn't even greet her 'good morning' instead he shouted at her this early in the morning. He always does that when he's drunk and when he has no one to beat up but her.

"I-I just woke up dad." Dahlia stuttered with tears forming in her eyes again.

"You lazy bitch, give me your money!" her father shouted again, even angrier.

"But I-I gave it all to you last night. I don't have money anymore." Dahlia replied, still scared that she will be beaten by his father again.

"WHAT!" with that, her father hit her with the latch he's holding. Once. Twice, until Dahlia crouched and whimpered in pain. She screamed from the pain that the latch gave her.

"GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!"

"I-I don't have it." Dahlia cried harder when her father hit her again. This time she was hit not only once, twice but several times. The latch left marks on her shoulder and on her legs. It's still burning in pain. Suddenly, her father got tired hitting her so he stopped and stared at her for awhile. Dahlia whimpered even more and cried hard. She couldn't contain the pain anymore like she wanted to die now and be with her mother in heaven.

"You useless bitch! I wish you hadn't been born at all!" her father said and threw the bottle of beer to her that hit her head hard. Her father left the room leaving her in so much pain by the latch that hit her. After awhile, she felt liquid flowing from her head down to her jaw line. She held it and saw blood in her hands. That must be because when her father hit her with the bottle. She cried so hard from the pain she's feeling now. Her shoulder and legs are aching and her head is throbbing. But what hurt her the most is when her father told her that she must never been born at all. Why? Why her father did tell her that? Didn't he love her anymore? Didn't he love her after all? That was the right question. Her father didn't want her? But why? She used to be a daddy's girl before. They were always happy. He always gives her whatever she wants. And he always carries her when she's tired from a long walk from her school to their house. But that was when her mother was still alive. And she missed all those happy moments a lot. When her mother died, she knew that half of her father died as well with her mother. And after that, everything has changed.

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Dahlia stopped crying and held her breath. She buried her face to the pillow and stopped breathing. She decided to end her life now. But once she felt herself suffocating, she peered up her head and breathed heavily. She couldn't do it. She still couldn't do it. It's very wrong to end her life and she knows that. And one more thing, if she did it, her sister Lily will be in great mourn and she doesn't like it to happen. And it will just show that she's really weak and useless like what her father told her earlier. She will be a big failure. A Loser. She still has sister to live for though and some friends of hers. And Ryan. Her childhood sweetheart. So after a moment of thinking, Dahlia got up and went to the bathroom.

She looked into the mirror and saw the reflection of herself. She noticed that the marks on her shoulder went straight to her neck. Her neck is burning red now and it will not be gone after few hours. Her face saddened again and once again she felt sting in her eyes and there it is, tears forming in her eyes. She wiped it off and began to undress herself. She tossed away her clothes and there she found the old bruises she got when her father beat her up last week. Her eyes welled with tears again when she remembered that after noon when she was just doing her homework and her father came home; drunk. Without a real reason, he just beat her up until she screamed loud in pain. Dahlia began undressing the remaining covers she has on and stepped into a shower. The cold water soothed her first but when the water reaches the marks of latch, she moaned for it still fresh and painful. She fell to her knees when her head throbbed again and her knees weaken.

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Dahlia walked down the corridor of their school to go her classroom as her stomach grumbled in hunger. She didn't eat that morning for there was no more food. She also didn't have money to buy some because she gave it all to her father last night. She felt her knees weaken because of hunger. These last few days she hadn't got a good meal. She was always late at school and she was always in pain; physically. Last week was a disastrous week for her. So now she hopes this week will be much better but unfortunately, her father started her Monday with her being beaten. She sighed heavily as she entered the classroom.

She was startled when her teacher greeted her 'good morning.' She hadn't expected her to be that early and surprise; she too was early. She greeted her teacher and gave her a weak smile. Her teacher nodded but Dahlia could tell that there's something in her teacher's eyes. It's as if they are asking what was wrong with her or maybe she was just creating it in her head.

"Good start for a week, huh? You're the first student to arrive here." Her teacher said.

"I woke up early, ma'am." Dahlia lied. Then her teacher frowned when she noticed something in her neck.

"Dahlia what's that on your neck? Is it a mark of a latch?" her teacher asked. Dahlia suddenly covered her neck with her right hand and shook her head.

"N-no ma'am I just had an accident. I fell on the stairs last day." Dahlia lied again. Her teacher frowned even more. Of course, she's too obvious in lying. Who in the hell who fell on the stairs will have a mark like that on neck? Her teacher just shrugged and didn't press on Dahlia anymore. She just left Dahlia with it.

Soon enough, students began to arrive at their classroom. Dahlia is now sitting on her desk, mind wandering and staring outside. She didn't even notice that her friends Katie and Kelly already arrived. She just noticed them when Katie blocked hr view.

"Daydreaming again, are we?" Katie smirked at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you coming." Dahlia said and smiled at the two.

"Because you're busy day dreaming again." Kelly said. Then, Katie grabbed her hand and got a better look on her neck. Her friend frowned when she saw the mark on it.

"Hey, what was that on your neck?" Katie asked. Kelly looked at it, too and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't tell me your father…" Kelly was cut off when Dahlia stomped on her foot. The young blonde; Dahlia noticed that her teacher is looking at them and maybe listening to their conversation. Her teacher looked at her notes again when she saw Dahlia looked at her.

"I just had an accident." Dahlia said to the two and looked outside again. Katie and Kelly looked at each other and shook their heads. They know that Dahlia is lying to them. She just doesn't want everybody to know about it. To know that her father is always beating her. Poor girl, but how they wish they could help her but it's Dahlia who refused to accept their offer. They told her to go away from their house but Dahlia old them that she couldn't leave her sister alone there, though Dahlia was the younger between the two siblings.

"Fine whatever you say." Kelly said and the two went back to their places.

Dahlia felt glad and happy that she got friends like Katie and Kelly. They are good friends and they never left her whenever she nodded them. When she needed people or person to lean on, they are always there for her. They're like sisters to her so she won't leave them no matter what. Whenever she's with them, she easily forget bad times and bad moments. How she wished that Katie and Kelly are her sisters, too.

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As the lecture goes on, Dahlia didn't have the chance to focus to whatever her teacher is discussing. She just stared outside and waited for lunch time. Good thing, her teacher didn't notice her that she's not listening. After few hours, the bell suddenly rang. Dahlia's friends approached her and invited her for lunch. She gladly accepted it but regretted it in the end when she realized that she didn't bring any food and she didn't have money with her. This day really sucks, she thought to herself.

The three of them went to the cafeteria of their school. Dahlia waited for her friend as they are buying their lunch. She wanted to escape so her friends wouldn't know how poor and helpless she is right now. But once she stood up, her friends are already in front her, laughing at something.

"Hey Dahlia, aren't you going to buy your lunch or did you bring your own today?" Katie asked. Dahlia nodded then shook her head. She didn't know what to say.

"Hey, girl you're confusing me." Kelly said then looked at Dahlia.

"Come on. Let's eat, I'm too hungry now." Katie interrupted.

"I'll just go to the library. I'm not really hungry." But her friends caught her lying when her stomach growled from hunger. Dahlia got up, grabbed her bag and left her two friends there. The two understood finally what really happened.

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Dahlia ran away quickly from the cafeteria so her friends wouldn't be able to catch her. Tears finally rolled down her cheeks as she felt stupid, useless, weak and most of all hungry. Why is life so unfair? Why are those things happening to her? Where did she gone wrong? Why is her life so miserable? She hadn't do anything wrong to someone. She's a good person so why are all those things happening to her? She ran and ran until she bumped into someone with a body so hard. She didn't see the person she bumped into for her eyes were clouded with tears. She felt her knees weaken again and she felt dizzy too. Then everything went black.

AN: Okay I felt so I don't know the term for that kind of feeling when I was writing this chapter. I felt sad and I thought I wasn't able to do a story like this. But here it is hehe. Sorry for those Kmart fans if I'm torturing her. I love her character though. And sorry for grammatical errors here.