FOUR-- HATE AND EVERYTHING THAT HAPPEN IN THE HUMAN WORLD

I wanted to talk to someone

 Anyone.

So I went into Cameron's room, where he was working on his computer, and subconsciously hugged his leg while wailing on the cold floor. 

"Cameron, I was kidnapped, some men..some men..." I couldn't let the words out. Surprisingly, he stopped typing and lifted me off the floor.

"A man..carried ...he....I was waiting for Mom...he..." I was stuttering, my eyes filled with terror.

He didn't say a word. He just carried me into my room and rocked me to sleep. I had never seen him like that. It was so soothing that I soon fell asleep. It was because I was really tired, so it was easy to fall asleep under his soothing hand movements on my shoulder. It was the first time he ever touched me.

When I woke up, Cameron was gone, and the room was darker now. I still couldn't process what happened in the past hours. My head was hurting, and my legs felt like steel. I carefully sat up on my bed and looked at the time: It was roughly thirty five minutes till 7pm.  I didn't know for how long I had been sleeping

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As soon as I got conscious of my environment, the first thing that came to my mind was mom. Mom! Yes, where's mom? I got up swiftly from my bed and made for the door, it was then I heard mom's voice. Shaky and loud.

"You've killed my daughter!! Cameron, you have killed her. You should have murdered me instead!! 

You sent me to the hospital, I couldn't go pick up my daughter, now where is she? Where's my daughter? You've killed her!!" She kept yelling. Her voice sounded painful.

I quietly hid behind a corridor and watched the scene in the living room. I was trying to understand what went wrong. Mom was holding on to Cameron's shirt, but he wasn't hitting her. Was I dreaming? First, he rocked me to sleep, now he's letting mom vent on him without raising his hand at her, like he usually did. Was he being repentant? 

"She's not dead, Ruby. She is fine" he finally uttered a sentence. I peered further into our living room and realized there were four of our neighbors there.

"Please calm down. We'll find her" one of her neighbours told Mom, "have you checked the school yet?" 

"Yes, I asked Mike Tony to help pick her up since I couldn't. I couldn't reach him on time, and when he finally got there, he told me he didn't see anyone in her school. I rushed out of the hospital and rushed down there to confirm it myself. Cameron, W..ww..Where is she?" She grabbed Cameron's shirt again, so forcefully. This time, I winced in pain. Now I knew he was only calm because of the neighbors. Or what else could it be? What do you think?

The neighbors seemed really supportive.

"Where's my daughter, Cameron??" She yelled and I wondered why he didn't tell her where I was. Or was I really dead and just watching this scene as a ghost? I wasn't sure, that's why I kept hiding. 

But when mom fell on the ground and started to cry, consoled by the neighbors who were also dialing an emergency number at the same time, I came out of hiding.

"Mom" i muttered. If they didn't hear me, then I was indeed a ghost. 

She suddenly stopped crying and stared in my direction. The neighbours squealed. Two of them stood up from the floor immediately.

"I told you she's fine. You wouldn't even let me talk" Cameron retorted. He was adjusting his crumpled shirt.

" Ariana!" She yelled. She looked like hell. Half of her face was bandaged. I had been looking at her back when I was in hiding, so I didn't realize until then. I didn't know who ran first but we soon fell into each other's arms. 

'My daughter, my beautiful daughter" she cried and I cried too. 

"Mom.." was the only thing I could say. 

"My daughter" she kept saying, rocking me from side to side. I was still in my school uniform. Still smelly. Mom told the neighbors that they could leave, and that she'd let them know what happened to me only after I had had a hot bath, and told her about the incident first. So they left, one after the other. Mike Tony was not there. 

I was so happy to see mom, despite that she was not in a good state. There was a bandage on her hand too, I'm sure it must have been with the drip she was receiving in the hospital.

"Mom, some men...

"It's okay, darling. You'll tell me later" she said and kept rocking me, shedding more tears. I buried my head in her shivering body and cried too. Of course I could not cry tears, but I was wailing and squeezing my face. I could feel, after all I'm human, but my eyes cannot produce tears. Do you remember?

The living room was finally quiet. Some calm was beginning to come into my little heart. 

After a while that mom had disengaged from me, I saw Cameron leave the house. He took one of his car keys on the centre table and went to the parking lot. He moved so morosely, like someone who's had his heart donated to a dying man. I wondered where he was going to. 

Part of me ached to talk to him, another part wanted badly to punch him in the face. I knew he was the source of mom's predicament. 

Mom carried me to the bath and washed me clean. She did three things together as she bathed me. She called my class teacher and told her that I'd be absent from school the next day, she also kissed me multiple times on my cheeks. It was so soothing. I didn't say a word. I just held on to her because each of us only had the other to be there at times like that. I wished we didn't have to live under the same roof with a monster.  I wonder if everyone is a monster, like Cameron. Everyone except mom, our neighbours and particularly Mike Tony. 

I wonder if every other person I knew was a monster, including Big Joe. Now not because he bullied me, but because of...

"Is Big Joe a monster?" I suddenly found myself asking mom

"Darling, the only monster I know is Cameron. Did Big Joe hit you?" She asked calmly. We were in my room already then. 

I didn't answer. If he had hit me, it'd have been more bearable. 

"Come on my daughter, let's take a walk round the garden. We can talk there" 

"No mom, you have to prepare dinner, and sleep early. Your boss doesn't like you coming late, you told me that" 

"I know darling. It's only 8pm. Don't worry too much about me" She forced a smile and that was the second moment I wished that tears fell from my face. She was too beautiful. Even with the bandage covering half of her face. Even with the scar on her lower back, and the numerous ones on her thighs and arms. 

"So... What happened, Ariana? What really happened?"

"Mom"

"Yes darling. Please tell me. Mike Tony and I didn't find you in school. How did you get home?" 

"Mom, you said Cameron is the only monster you know, why do you still let us live with him? Why do you have to suffer so much? Why mom?" I said instead, and touched the other side of her face that was naked. With the state of the other half of her face, I wouldn't be able to talk. I wouldn't want the other smooth half break into a frown, or what's worse, tears.

I had always cared about my mom. Even till now. Even now that I'm grown. 

Mom took my hands off her face gently and wrapped me in a hug. I could see she was about to cry. 

"My baby, I try..." 

"What do you mean, mom?"

"I don't know what to do, my baby. I try my best. I do everything to satisfy him. I let him have his way all the time, I don't know what else he wants, and he never tells me" she sobbed into my chest and I patted her back. Mind you, I was only seven, but I already had an adult mind. 

"Mom, please stop crying" 

I patted her back some more and the sobs reduced to stifles. It was so heartwarming how a mother could feel so safe and comforted in the arms of her child. 

"I'll call ten huge wolves to come over and bite him with their sharp claws" I said. She half smiled because it was funny to her. I was glad I could make her smile. But she didn't know I meant it. If I could, I would definitely do that. 

"You shouldn't say that, you know, but I know you care, thank you darling" she said embracing me. I merely nodded. Mom had no idea how strong and powerful a werewolf was. She needed to read one of my books. 

"Tell me why you couldn't come to pick me up from school, mom" i then said. 

She faced me, and held my hands. But I stared at the floor. I didn't want to be hurt by staring at her face. I lift my face almost immediately because I saw a smile play on her lips. I thought she was crazy, for the first few seconds. 

"Mom?"

"It's good news, darling"

"What good news?" I wondered what was good news. Wondered what good news made my mom stay back at home, completely ignoring little helpless me in school. 

"I wanted to make it a surprise for you and Cameron..", she said, a smile plastered on her lips, but then stopped, .."but, he ruined it. He ruined my big surprise. He made it a day of sadness for me" 

"That's what he does everyday" I said, prompting her to continue speaking, because I knew in a moment, she'd be dozing. She was always that stressed out. 

"Ariana, I'm going to have a baby, probably two, but I'm pregnant" She said very softly. I didn't know whether she was trying not to let Cameron hear in case he had secretly got back in, or because she was feeling groggy already.

I touched her stomach. It was very flat. Only her thighs looked bigger. Or was she growing the baby in her thighs? I thought

"Oh darling, it's only two months, so you can't see my bulge yet" she said smiling. She seemed so happy. She dipped her hand into her pocket and brought out two things: A pregnancy tool kit and a doctor's report. I held the two of them and stared, ignorantly. So she was indeed pregnant.

"What happened to your face then?" I asked her

She hesitated for a while, before saying, "Ariana, I don't want you asking these questions because the answers are too painful. I don't want you to carry pain in your sweet little heart" she said, the smile disappearing from her face.

"Mom, I want to share your pain. I promise it won't affect me, it will only satisfy my curiosity and make me help you better" Mom stared in awe, her pupils tripling in size.  She always did that whenever she was shocked. Sometimes I spoke like an adult, she would say.

"What happened to your face?" I asked again.

"He hit me"

"With?" She hesitated, shifted uncomfortably and answered painfully, 

"His gold stool" 

"What??" I screamed, but she quickly covered my mouth, and at the same time looked around the room. The fear was so evident in her eyes. 

 She even went to the door to confirm it was actually locked by her.