I stood on the stool in our small tattered bathroom, studying myself in the mirror. My ears had tuned out the shouting and screaming in the background, as I examined the purple bruise on my shoulder and the scratch on my face that leaked blood. My small hands reached for the tiny alcohol wipe as I dabbed it over the cut, immediately hissing at the sharp sensation as a tear streamed from my eye.

"This is your fault, if you hadn't made me mad I wouldn't have done that to you."

My brother spoke from the doorway, looking up at me. He was 12, making him four years older than me. I was 8. I looked at him, trying not to be scared but I knew fear glistened in my chestnut eyes as I turned back to the mirror. Whimpers left me as I continued to disinfect my cut, until suddenly my brother took a tight hold on both of my shoulders and forced me over to him, making me trip off the stool and scrap the side of my ankle. I yelped softly and he shook me as he pointed downstairs, in the direction of the yelling.

"Do you hear that? Do you hear what's going on?! None of this would be happening if you hadn't told them I hit you! You're so stupid! So dumb, MC! So dumb! Why don't you just be quiet?" He spat.

He was right…most of the commotion in this house was caused by me since I always had to run my mouth to someone. But I couldn't help it, I was scared. I was afraid that one day he would just end up killing her.

"I'm sorry.." My small voice managed to squeak out and I was greeted with a firm smack in the face from my brother.

"Stop talking! You're the worst sister ever, you know that? I would be so much happier if you were never born...Jesus."

And with that he left me, as I began to sob into the palm of my hands.

"Your brother was 12 and he was beating you?" Saeran said, sounding taken back and I simply nodded.

"It began earlier than that, when he was 10 and I was 6 I think. I guess he began to take after my father, he would hit my mother as well."

"Jesus Christ."

"It- It wasn't always like this. We had our happy days. But things would just quickly spiral in another direction if my mom pissed off my dad, or I pissed off my brother. We were both victims of abuse, I tried to tell people at school. My teacher saw me come to class one day in a long sleeved sweater, despite how hot it was. Puerto Rico was very hot… She gave me a different shirt then saw the bruises on my arms."

"What happened?"

"They sent a social worker over. My dad was so infuriated, they thought it was him beating me. But somehow things managed to work out… After they left he threatened to hit me himself. Instead of telling my brother to stop, he told me to not make him angry and maybe I wouldn't get hit."

"What a fucking dick, I have no words." Saeran said and looked out back at the ocean.

"You're from Puerto Rico? That explains why your skin is a bit darker then some people in Korea, but you still don't look like it."

"Y-Yeah…" I said. "My dad is Korean, my mother was Puerto Rican. They met on a cruise."

"Little did she know she was getting herself involved with and asshole."

"Unfortunately."

Two years later, I was 11 years old, in middle school now.

I walked home with my best friend Mina, it was sunniest day out, I could remember. She was rambling on about how her friend and she were planning to go visit an abandoned house at the end of the week, and was trying to get me to come with her. They were planning on going during the night and sneaking out of their homes, which I was too scared to do.

My parents would be working, leaving my brother to watch over me which he was already pissed about doing because he would have to miss going out with his friend. If I were to sneak out…God only knows what he would do to me. And I was not eager to find out.

"Suit yourself." Mina said and hopped off the ledge she was balancing on as we walked. She didn't know about my family situation. I never told her, I was too shy and too scared to. What if she thought I was pathetic and stopped being my friend? She was all I really had for comfort besides my mom. The other kids at school…I got along with but I didn't really speak to anyone but her.

Just as I was thinking this, we approached her home. There was a huge truck outside of it and a for sale sign on her lawn. My eyes began to glisten with sadness and my heart dropped to my feet.

A sigh left Mina as she walked in front of me.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't want my last few days with you to be sad. I hope you understand."

"Where are you going?"

"Switzerland. My dad got an amazing job deal there, and the schools are so cool to! I'm so excited."

"Switzerland…" I looked down at my feet. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you so much, MC! You were seriously one of the best friends I ever had." She pulled me into a tight hug and I began to sob into her shoulder.

"I won't forget you! Don't worry… I'm sure we'll see each other again in the future! You can come visit and we'll eat lots of chocolate, okay? I heard Switzerland has the best chocolate."

"Yeah.."

We never saw each other again after that.

That night I cried into my pillow, it was a loud painful one. My mother was there consoling me, pressing kisses to my cheek as she stroked my hair. I was just about to feel at ease until my brother came in and pushed her aside as he hit me hard on the back of my head. I was now whimpering and crying.

"Now why did you do that?!" My mother exclaimed, shooting up from her position on my bed.

"I have school tomorrow too! I can't sleep when she's being fucking annoying like this! She already keeps me from doing so much, can I not sleep now?"

"Go back to your room and don't come out!" My mother screamed and I covered my ears.
The world was too loud sometimes.

He scoffed and I heard him shuffle away, slamming the door closed behind him. My mother let out a sigh, petting my head once more.

"I'm sorry…I wish I could give you a better life, all of us, a better life. I wish I could patch things up and make us all happy again.

Get some rest sweetie, I love you."

And with that she was out of my room. I managed to fall asleep despite the ache in my forehead. I couldn't tell if it was from crying so much or getting hit, it didn't matter to me. I remember opening the window to let the cool breeze in before crawling back into bed and drifting off into a deep slumber, as the wind brushed against me, putting my tense body at ease.

A few hours later into the night, I awoke to the sound of my dad shouting, and my mom pleading. I heard things crashing downstairs which made me get up.

It had never gotten this bad before.

I slipped on some socks and crept down a few stairs, just enough so I could peek into the living room and I crouched down on my knees. My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets at the sight. My mother in tears, her hair a mess, blood streaming down from her forehead as my father screamed at her. His button up shirt was open and there were lipstick stains all over his chest and color, he stumbled around and shouted slurs, it was clear he was intoxicated and had been with another woman.

He began to hit her again. And again. And again.

"Shut up! I deserve someone better than you. Why are you always butting into my fucking business?"

The fear, the sadness, the conflict I felt all in me melted into a small, boiling anger.

"Why do you care who I was with? You should be thankful that I'm even still here with you! In this pathetic ass house, with two pathetic children."

He hit her again, earning my sobs and pleads from her. My body trembled as I clenched my fists together. My whole life, I have always been scared. I've always been such a coward, trapped in a corner and just letting people step all over me and the ones I loved. I've never seen my father treat my mother this bad before…the most I've ever seen was him smacking her. This was too much, I had to do something.

"You'll be lucky if I keep you alive much long-"

"STOP IT!"

My father turned to face me. His face was twisted up into a frown, drops of sweat making his forehead glisten, a beer bottle in one hand and my mother's hair in the other. He dropped her, making her collapse onto the couch.

"What are you doing up? Go the fuck to bed!"

"N-No! You're hitting my mommy, leave her alone!" My voice was small and weak, but I shouted. I remember shouting at him so much it began to crack.

"Leave her alone! You always do this! You ruined our family!"

"Little girl…I'm going to make you regret what you just said." My father snarled at me, dropping his bottle to the ground making it smash to pieces on the hardwood floor.

"MC run! Oh god please, run away!" My mother yelled and my eyes shot straight towards her.

My father charged at me, and I ran into his direction, earning more screams from my mom but I was more agile despite my lack of athletic experience. I ducked right below his arms and stood in front of my mom, my back facing towards her as if I was shielding her.

She was the only good thing in my life…I had to protect her!

The drunken man scoffed as he whirled himself around and crept over to me. My eyes caught sight of a piece of glass from the bottle he had broken earlier. The shard was much bigger than the rest. The boiling anger within me prompted me to pick it up and I did so, it was like the demon had gotten rid of the angel and now controlled both of my shoulders."

"St-Stand back! Or I'll hurt you, I'll hurt you!" I yelled back, and all he did was laugh in return.

"You wouldn't dare…" His eyes were filled with evil intent as he marched over towards me and the boiling fear exploded, taken over my entire body as my hand swung at him, pushing the shard right into his neck.

Time seemed to stop at that moment, the only sound I could hear was my own breath and the beating of my heart accelerating. My father's eyes were wide, glaring into mine, he had sunk down to his knees so we were eye level. One of his hands reached for my wrist, but I quickly retorted.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me ever again! And don't touch my mom!"

Before I knew it, I was on top of him, puncturing his chest numerous times. More than I could count. I couldn't stop, the devil had taken over me. I was in a complete trance as I stabbed my father. My mind was in a frenzy of fear, anger, agony, and conflict. I couldn't control myself.

I couldn't stop.

I couldn't stop.

I couldn't.

I wanted someone else to feel the pain that I had been experiencing all these years.

For once, I wanted someone to feel how they made me feel.

Tears were streaming down my face as I felt the life slip from his body and the glass fell from my now bloodied hands. The original color of my clothes now becoming soaked in crimson then suddenly I felt my mother pull me from him. I could hear her heartbeat, it was almost as ecstatic as mine. She stared at his body and held me to her tightly as I sobbed into her chest.

Never would I have thought that I would take a life when I was 11 years old.

And that it would be my father's.

We stood like that for a while, I could tell my mom was contemplating something. I lifted my head up, my eyes going back to my dad's dead body, then my bloody clothing.

I have done this.

And I will pay the price.

It's okay…as long as my mother doesn't have to suffer anymore.

I'd kill again just to keep her from pain.

"What…the hell happened?"

It was my brother. He stood at the bottom of the staircase, looking at the scene. There were bags under his eyes but yet he looked more awake than ever. His distress was very apparent on his face as he caught sight of my bloodied hands.

"What the FUCK did you do?!" Worry and fear shone in his eyes, but his body was filled with anger as he marched towards me. Suddenly, my defensive wall was back up as I pulled away from my mom and picked up the same piece of glass I stabbed my father with.

My father…I shouldn't even call him that anymore.

"Stand back! Get away from us or I'll…I'll do to you what you did to him!" I shouted, making him stop in his tracks.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you too!" I was shouting and crying at the same time, my voice becoming hoarse now. "I'll make you feel what you did to me! All those times you hit me…called me names…abused me! I won't take it anymore!"

I began to walk towards him but my mother prevented me and pulled me back towards her. She took the glass shard and smashed it onto the ground before sweeping me up off my feet. I wailed into the crook of her neck as I clung onto her. She stumbled a bit but managed to get out of the house, taking one last glance at my brother and my now deceased father before closing the door. She ran with me in her arms through the dark streets of Puerto Rico. Once we got further away from our home, she set me down on my feet. Before I could say anything, she took my hand and dragged me along with her as we began to ran again.

I had no idea where we were headed. My mind was so jumbled and confused. That rade and confidence that I had felt minutes before was now washed over with fear as I realized that I had done something terrible. The gravity of the situation was immense and I was wondering how we were going to get out of it. But it seemed as if my mother had a plan…

We had stopped at a small gas station along the way and tugged me straight into the bathroom before anyone could see us. She washed the blood off my hands and face, tugging off my clothes to rinse them off too.

"Mommy…" I choked out and she dropped down to her knees, cupping my face. It was gentle but firm, and she had a stern look in her eyes compared to her normal loving ones.

"You don't /ever/ speak of this, got it? Don't ever bring it up, don't say a word about it. It could get us both hurt again, understand?"

I nodded and she went back to washing my clothes, then drying them the best that she could below the dryer. We were out of that gas station before I knew it, and back on the road, walking instead of running now. I looked up at the night sky.

God…what have I gotten us into?

Eventually we reached a small, but elegant house that was in a secluded but open area a little way from a small town we had passed through. We walked up to the doorstep and I held my mom's hand tightly as she knocked on the door twice with her knuckles.

A few moments passed and the door swung open. A tall, slender woman dressed in a white robe with her golden silky hair tied up in a neat bun on top of her head. Her skin was pale, and she had piercing hazel eyes that resembled a sunset's horizon.

"Ms. Lee, I'm sorry for disturbing you this late at night.

But it seems as if we have an issue at stake."