Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, I keep forgetting. And I don't get very many reminders, since people don't really review on this story. Please review, and I'll post more often.

Enjoy the chapter.

Travis was there for the next two days. School started to drag, because with each visit to Charles and Alli's house, I would grow even more excited. Travis became my best friend. Charles and Alli were still there, of course, but they acted more parently than Travis.

Travis was the lead singer of a band. A band called We The Kings. Charles was in the band too. He was the bass player, and Travis told me he was really good. Charles grinned, and said: "Travis is a really bad singer. He makes the audiences ears bleed."

I had looked to Charles in shock. Why would he say something so horrible and mean?

But Travis was grinning.

"I take back what I said about Charles being good at bass. He's actually really horrible."

I looked to Travis, shocked. Alli looked at my shocked face, and smiled.

"Don't worry, Shiloh. They're just joking."

I nodded. Travis smiled and ruffled my hair.

I had a ton of fun that day,

But that night was horrendous.

Something had happened between my parents, because they were yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. Both wasted, they stumbled around the house in a murderous daze. I tried to stay out of their way, afraid for my health. They caught me though.

They always catch me.

I tried to run, scrambling to my feet from my place on the ground and trying to get away. But a hand closed on my arm, putting a death grip on it. I tried to escape from the grip, but my daddy's grip was too tight. He whipped me around so I was facing him, and punched me in the eye. I gasped as water flooded my vision. I took my other hand and placed it over it. I tried to kick my daddy, because I knew what he would do if he could get me to keep still long enough. I stepped on his toes, I tried to bite his hand, I screamed as loud as I could. I didn't want this… I really didn't want this…

Suddenly, another hand was pinning me down to the ground. I screamed as loud as I could, trying to get away. I withered and screamed, violently struggling to free myself from their iron grips. Someone was cutting me with a knife. I could feel the cold blade on my arm, cutting into my flesh as easily as cutting butter…

Then the pain came.

Horrible and stinging, pain exploded in my arm like an atomic bomb. I screamed; an ear piercing scream that could shatter glass, kill animals, and echo across the continent. I sobbed as the knife kept cutting me, a cruel laughter reaching my ears. I felt it lift for a second, but then it reached my skin again, cutting it open. I cried even harder as the pain continued.

It was probably a good five minutes before the knife was lifted off my arm.

I heard them leaving; leaving me to cry, pant, and bleed on the cold, basement floor. After a while, I got up and dragged myself to the bathroom. I looked down at my bleeding arm and realized that my parents didn't just cut it. They had taken the knife and carved a sentence on my skin.

"You're a mistake of God."

The next day at school wasn't very good. A few people tripped me in the hallway, but I ignored there jeers of laughter and hateful words. My head was buried in my book anyways. I was just getting to the part of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets where Harry finds the chamber and rescues Ginny from the Basilisk. I was reading so intently that I missed half of my English lesson, and was only brought back to earth by Mr. Jacobs tapping me on the shoulder, telling me that I needed a worksheet. I apologized, standing up to get one.

"Ah, reading Harry Potter are we?" He asked. I nodded vigorously, excited to get back to my book.

"I remember reading The Chamber of Secrets. I loved it." He said, smiling. I smiled back, grabbed a worksheet, and went to work. I loved learning. I liked learning ways to figure out math problems, learning cursive in English, and learning about magnets and electricity in science. Lunch was probably my least favorite part of the day. I didn't sit with anyone as usual, but that's not the part I hated about it. I hated being surrounded with food and not being able to eat any of it. My parents would kill me if I ate anything like before, and frankly, it wasn't worth it.

The cuts my parents made hurt like crazy that day, but I tried to ignore it. I didn't cry; there wasn't a need to. I have felt worse pain.

When the bell rang that day, I was happy. I was excited to see Charles, Alli, and Travis. It was a partially cloudy day in Bradenton, Florida. The sun was peeking through the clouds, casting a shiny, sparkling glow on the grass. Even though it was November, the weather was still very warm. The pavement sparkled beneath my feet as I ran. When I got to the house, I rang the doorbell, anxiously waiting for either Charles, Alli, or Travis to answer the door. I heard the deep, growling bark of Zoey and the yipping bark of Marley. A few second later, I was greeted by a redhead with a nose ring. Travis. His eyes met mine, and I smiled. He smiled back.

"It's the second little redheaded demon," Travis said, ruffling my already tangled hair. I laughed. He called us the redheaded demons, as we were both redheads.

"It's the first big redheaded demon," I said, looking up at him. His eyes danced with laughter.

"Come on in, Shiloh." Travis said, taking my hand. He led me inside like it was his house.

"Are Charles and Alli here?" I asked as I took my usual seat at the table.

"Nope. They're out running a few errands, so you're stuck with me, squirt." Travis said, grabbing his water from the counter. He sat down next to me.

"That's fine." I said.

Two things happened in that next moment. I reached up to scratch my eyebrow, and I guess my sleeve must have fallen showing the cuts on my arms must have shown, because before I even knew what I was happening, Travis was on his feet with his hand over his mouth.

"What?" I asked, scared.

"What's on your arm?" Travis asked, terror in his voice. I quickly pulled down my sleeve, but Travis had my arm in his hand. He gently rolled my sleeve up, revealing the cuts my evil parents made.

It was silent for what felt like more than an eternity, and then Travis put my sleeve down.

"Who did this?" Travis asked, his voice no louder than a whisper. a startled whisper. "Please, please don't tell me you did it yourself."

"Why would I do it myself?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Why would I hurt myself?"

"Don't dodge the question," Travis whispered. "Who did this, and when did they do it?"

His blue eyes were piercing me, and It took a second, but I realized that his eyes were also watery.

I broke. I started crying, my own sorrow pouring from my brown eyes. My chest heaved with sobs as I wept. I felt Travis sit back down next to me, and he put his arm around me.

"It's okay, Shiloh. It will all be okay once you tell me, I promise." He said. He was trying hard to keep his voice from shaking, but slightly failing.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," I whispered through my tears. "And you can't keep this one."

"What do you mean?" He asked. "I always keep promises."

I shook my head, tears dripping off my nose. "You can't promise me you'll make them stop."

"Make who stop, Shiloh?" Travis asked, squeezing me. "I need to know who's hurting you."

I swallowed and shook my head. "They'll kill me. I don't wanna die, Travis…"

"Kill you?" Travis asked, outraged. "Someone's threatening an innocent, nine year old's life?"

"Every day," I whispered. "Every morning, every night. It's the most horribly terrifying thing in the world."

"Who, Shiloh?" He asked. "Who would cause you so much trauma and damage?"

I looked right into his piercing blue eyes, and all my will disappeared.

"My mommy and daddy."

I could see his facial features retract in shock, and his pupils dilate. I instantly wished I hadn't told him.

Then, something peculiar happened.

He hugged me.

Surprised, I hugged him back. I had never been hugged by someone this way. It was like they actually cared about me.

"Don't tell Charles and Alli," I said. "I don't want them to know yet."

"I won't," Travis promised quietly. "But you they'll find out eventually, right?"

I sighed.

"I know."