So here is the next oneshot!
I have a question: so all of these are technically oneshots because of the fact that they only take up one chapter and they're not in order, but they're all basically related to each other because the OCs appear in more than one chapter. So should I carry on calling them oneshots, or should I call them something else? Or should I reorder the chapters so that they are in chronological order…? I'm a bit confused, please help me out here!
Ok, sorry about the long AN, enjoy this chapter! :)
Warning: Abuse, blood/violence
"You worthless-" she shoves me to the floor- "useless-" she kicks me in the stomach- "piece of DIRT!" She scratches me with her sharp nails. I scream in pain as she carries on kicking and hitting every bit of me she can reach. I curl up on the floor, trying to protect my squishy bits, while she screams louder than me, her eyes wild. I know she's in one of her crazy moods, but the pain of having my mother hate me is more than the physical pain her beating gives me.
Then suddenly the old, broken door knocker makes three loud bangs on the door. "Who is that?!" My mother screeches, kicking me with her sharp heel one last time before going to check.
I sit up and wince. It was worse than usual, but at least I'm not locked in the fur closet. Yet.
The sleeve of my jacket is ripped and I'm definitely going to be covered in bruises tomorrow. My jaw is painful and swollen after she kicked me there, and my side is also hurting from her kicks. I have long, jagged cuts on my arms and three on my cheek from her long, claw like nails.
I stand up gingerly and almost fall back down again, my head ringing. I pick up the fur coat (that I accidentally ripped) off the floor, holding it like it's a grenade. I shove it back into the fur closet behind a pile of coats, breathing hard. I'll have to sew it up later, hopefully my mom will forget about it like she forgets to eat, or that I exist, or that her furs aren't PEOPLE.
And to make matters worse, I hear my cousin Melanie's voice from the living room, having a conversation with my mom and her furs. Melanie comes round often to chat with my mom about fashion, fur, and skinning stuff, and she hates my guts. So even if I've already been beaten before she comes, I usually end up with a black eye and a few well placed cuts after she leaves.
I can hear them chatting to mom's fur. I honestly don't know who's crazier.
My mom seems to have calmed down (as much as she can). Melanie usually has this effect on her, for some reason my mom really likes her. Probably the fact that she's a 'proper De Vil'. In my mother's eyes that basically means fur-loving, crazy, murderous and cruel.
I have finished my chores for today (finally), so I walk into the living room nervously so I can go to the gang hideout and maybe get some food.
Melanie is showing my mother her new fur jacket, which is pure white with black details. She's describing how she found a white cat two years ago, kept it in her room until it had kittens, then skinned it, and then when the kittens were all grown up,she skinned them too to make the coat. My mom approves of the coat, but says she'd rather make a coat out of dogs. "They're horrible creatures, but their fur is beautiful and puppies are so fun to skin."
My mother suddenly stands up and looks at me. I freeze on the spot, terrified. "Carlos, what are you doing?" she asks imperiously.
"G-going out." I stammer.
"Going out?" she repeats, scowling.
"Yeah, with Mal, Evie and Jay." I reply nervously.
She walks up to me and trails her sharp nail around my chin, leaving a thin cut. "Oh, I don't think so, darling. You've still got so much more work to do."
"But Mom, I already brushed the furs, and cleaned everything-"
"YOU GOT MY BABY WET!" she screeches. "YOU DON'T DESERVE TO GO OUT WITH YOUR SO CALLED FRIENDS!"
"B-But-"
"NO BUTS! YOU'RE BRUSHING THE FURS AGAIN! ALL OF THEM!" she screams, and grabs me, shoving me to the floor.
"Ok, Mom, I will-" she kicks me in the side, where I already have a bruise.
"GET UP! BRUSH THEM!" I pick myself up off the floor, stumbling slightly, and run into the fur closet. I have just begun brushing the first fur, my eyes already half closing of tiredness, when I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around, expecting screeching and another beating.
However it's not my mother, it's Melanie, standing in the doorway frowning. Oh great. Just what I need.
"H-hi Mel," I stammer.
"Does she always do this to you?" Melanie asks, interrupting me.
"Yeah," I answer, confused. "You've been there before."
"I thought it was just you failing to defend yourself against Harry or something."
"Well, sometimes it was that," I answer. I meet her eyes and add "Please don't hurt me again."
"I'm not going to! It's just...I've always hated you because you're a coward, but maybe you've never had the opportunity to be brave."
"Well, thanks for calling me a coward, and no, I never really have the opportunity because I'm always cleaning. And all the guys that beat me up are twice as big as me, so I can't defend myself."
"Doesn't Jay protect you?" She asks, surveying me closely.
"Sometimes, but he can't ALWAYS be there. He says I've got to learn to stand up for myself." I answer sadly, remembering that I have to go to the marketplace tomorrow, where I always get beat up by someone.
Melanie thinks for a moment. "How about I teach you to use a knife? Then you could defend yourself better."
"But they're still twice as big as me!" I protest, although I'm glad she won't hurt me today.
"You don't need to be big or strong to use knives, you just gotta have good aim. How do you think I'm not dead yet?"
"Because you're scary," I answer, and she laughs.
"I don't have a gang, and I'm not particularly big, but I can get a knife into someone's eye from twenty metres away if I want to. If I can do it I bet you can."
"But you're-"
"The same size as you. And probably not much stronger." She answers, passing me a knife. "Go on, have a go."
I take it from her nervously and aim it at the wall.
"Try and get it through that hole," she tells me. The hole is about as big as my hand, and a few metres away. I aim carefully and throw it, not expecting it to go anywhere near the hole, but surprisingly it flies through, landing with a thud on the other side.
Melanie grins. "See, you can do it. Now do it again."
We practise for about an hour, and then she says she has to leave to go skin someone's dog. "Will you come back later to help me practise?"
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. But carry on practising by yourself, you're actually pretty good."
I smile. "Promise?"
"Promise. Us the De Vils are the best, we gotta stick together."
As she leaves, I get back to the furs, smiling for once.
Sorry about the long wait, hope you enjoyed this oneshot, the next one is already written and will be up next week! :)