AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I clutch the side of my stinging face as my ears ring.
Mark has never hit me before.
Physical abuse isn’t unfamiliar to me. My previous foster family doled that out in spades, and the Carters utilized spanking as punishment. But I never expected to be hit by Mark.
He was supposed to be my safe person.
“You hit me,” I whisper.
Mark rolls his eyes as Emma sidles up to him, her eyes darting between us. “No shit,” he snaps. “How fucking stupid are you?”
Any anger I once felt has quickly disappeared. I know I should fight back, but I don’t have it in me. I don’t know if I have anything in me anymore.
Everything in my body is telling me to run, but I’m not good at listening to my instincts. When conflict unfolded, I normally didn’t know how to react. Instead, I would freeze, my body icing over.
“Get out of here,” Mark hisses, wrapping an arm around Emma’s waist. “I’ll deal with you later.”
The malice in his voice promises retribution, and I suddenly unfreeze, scrambling up and fleeing. Tears track down my cheeks as I bite back a sob.
I barely remember the train ride home as my heartbreak distracts me. I just want to get home and hide in my bed.
My chest feels hollow, like someone carved out my heart and left an aching void. How could Mark and Emma betray me so callously? His anniversary present still sits in my bag, taunting me. While I was busy saving my money to buy him a thoughtful gift, he was fucking my foster sister.
And he didn’t even remember our anniversary.
I never meant anything to him.
When I get home, Dennis and Suzanne are waiting for me in the kitchen. Although they’ve never treated me like a daughter, I at least hope they’ll be the slightest bit compassionate about what I’ve just gone through.
“Alexis,” Dennis says, frowning. “What happened to your face?”
I sniffle, wiping away mascara tracks from one side of my cheek. The side where Mark hit me is swollen and painful.
“Mark happened,” I croak, fresh tears spilling down my face. “He–he hit me.”
Dennis and Suzanne glance at each other, and for a brief moment, I think they’re going to be horrified by Mark’s behavior.
Instead, Suzanne scowls. “Well, what did you do to upset him?”
I startle, mouth agape. “W–what?”
“Don’t play stupid, Alexis,” Suzanne snaps. “Mark hit you for a reason. What did you do?”
How could they think this is my fault? I stare at them, unable to say a word.
Dennis slams his hand against the well-scrubbed wooden table. I flinch. “Dammit, Alexis! Answer the fucking question!”
“It’s because Alexis finally figured out Mark and I have been sleeping together,” Emma drawls, walking in the door with Mark behind her. “She tried to break up with him.”
I truly expect Dennis and Suzanne to be upset by this news, maybe even yell at her.
What I’m not expecting is their next reaction.
“Mark!” Dennis yells. “How could you hit her in the face? Don’t you realize how long it’ll take for that to heal?”
It truly feels like I’ve just been punched in the stomach, the wind knocked out of me. Instead of being upset that Mark struck me, the Carters are angry that Mark struck me in a place that is hard to hide.
Mark shrugs, an arm slung around Emma. “She deserved it. She pissed me off.”
