Zoe's POV
I wandered a little bit, contemplating my life and everything else. I felt like was being pushed to the brink of insanity. This person didn't understand what it entailed to survive when you are dirt poor. Sure the part my mother took was not the most ideal but... she had three mouths to feed. She never showed affection towards us like she had when I was growing up. But I couldn't blame her, her job took all she had. She would come home exhausted and bruised. Her customers were monsters. I couldn't imagine; a depraved man letting out all his demented lust and violence on a woman beneath him. Sadly that was what my mother had signed up for. I couldn't completely see her as innocent or wise. She threw her life away for a bastard at nineteen. He had been twice her age. She ran away with him just to be used as an object for sex. She ran away again but she was already in deep. She was penniless but no matter how broke a woman was she could always pay in other ways. Luckily or unluckily, that was just how the world worked. She married again; another useless man, of course, Todd. His parents named him right, his name rhymed with turd. Which was what he was; a pile of shit. I saw the house in a distance. I would never call it a home because it wasn't. It was not my home. It was Todd's house. I let out an exasperated sigh and walked there. I was met with the choking odour of my elder sister's perfume. Regina was dressed up in a very scandalous outfit; a crop top with shorts that bearly covered her ass. She was going to the club. I shoved passed her without a word. She had already adopted this lifestyle of drinking, smoking and sex. I was used to it. I made my way to the kitchen where I knew my younger brother would be. I got there to meet his writing ferociously on his notebook. He liked to copy me. He already promised to get scholarships as I did. He was walking towards that. I smiled and caressed his red hair. We all looked different since we were from different men. Despite the stark difference between us physically. I loved Andrew more than anything. Blood didn't matter; he was my brother. "So how was school today?" I asked him. Before he could respond I heard a commotion from outside. I ran there, and Andrew followed me. As I opened the door to be met with Todd forcing himself on Regina. He was drunk; I could smell it from where I was. I turned to my brother. "Inside now!" He didn't have to see this rubbish. He looked at me and then briefly at the two on the floor on the lawn before obeying. I closed the door behind him and sighed before approaching the bundle. I pulled Todd roughly by the collar, his drunken ass couldn't even stand up. He grunted like an animal. Regina also stood and without a thank you and ran probably to her godforsaken club. As I pulled Todd up and punched him. I heard someone call from behind. "I would love to let you pummel me like that baby girl." I turned to see a shaggy looking man towering over me. He had a beer bottle in his right hand and seemed a bit tipsy. "Fuck off!" It seemed that Todd's call to the wild had been received by his pathetic kind. "That's no way to speak to your uncle, missy." He smiled revealing a set of tobacco-stained teeth. He was revolting. I hissed and walked towards the house. The man pulled me back. His grip was tight as he pressed against me. He was drunk but still dangerous. He pulled me closer. His breath fanned across my ear. I tried to struggle. "Let go, asshole." My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it too. I felt sick. I wanted to vomit. "You' s nothin but a dirty little whore! Your daddy will be happy." He rambled. The next thing I remember he hit my face hard. Blood spurted out from under my nose. I cradled my stinging jaw. "Just stay still, it won't take long." He was roughly tearing at my uniform while I was still incapacitated. He finally managed to rip it open. My skirt came off easily. He was about to lower his pants. He was too strong as I struggled against his tall frame. "Get off my sister!" It was Andrew. He had a bat and swung it at my assailant. Unfortunately, he caught it and taking it, whacked my brother across the face. "Andrew!" I yelled my vision still blurry. He was on the ground and not moving. The man then turned to me with a sick smirk on his face. "It's your turn, sweetheart." By this time, it was dusk, and I was well aware of my degenerate neighbors. Even if I cried for aid, no one would come. They'd almost certainly join him on his mission. Despite my cloudy vision, I searched the area for something I could use to defend myself. Todd was knocked out cold on the floor. There was no sign of my sister. I couldn't help them since there was nothing I could do. He sprang at me and pinned me to the ground, despite my best efforts. His breath smelled like a combination of cheap vodka and onions. He gave me a forceful kiss as I heard a clink; he was unbuckling his belt. My eyes welled up with tears. As I awaited the inevitable conclusion to this. I shut my eyes tight praying that it would be over soon when I felt the weight on top of me being lifted. "Hey man, what are you doing?" I heard the man say. My opened my eyes slowly to see Louis giving the man a beating of a lifetime. I went straight to my brother who was still unconscious. I shook him trying my best to wake him. There were still tears in my eyes as I put my ear to his chest. I still hear Louis beating up the drunkard in the background. When the man got back on his feet he threw some punches at Louis before running away. Louis stopped hitting him and ran over to me looking down at my brother with an expression I couldn't read. "God, Andrew please wake up." I could help but cry out shaking him the best I could. Louis said nothing as I heard him tear up what sounded like packet. He put what ever he had in his hand to my brothers nose. "Smelling salt?!" I realized. He still gave no answer. There was no response from my brother and I was starting to lose hope. I suddenly heard him gasp. Relief washed over me as I held him close not letting him go. "If you keep squeezing him like that he'll faint again." I heard Louis grumble as he stood behind me. The tears fell freely. I didn't care that Louis was there. I let go of my still disoriented brother and gave him an inspection. "I am okay." He smiled at me before he yelled in pain. I examined his bruised jaw and took him inside leaving Louis outside. After I had treated my brother's wound with alcohol and a clean cloth. I gave him an ice pack. I didn't say anything because of what he had seen. I left him in the house and to thank Louis. I was met with a surprise outside; He was gone. He had vanished the same way he had appeared. I saw the packet of smelling salt he had left behind and walked down the creaking stairs to retrieve it. I picked it up and despite my still shaken condition, I smiled. I went back inside to take care of my brother. ------------ The next day was a Thursday, and I made my way to school, dropping my brother off before heading to my own class. As I reached the gate, I paused and inhaled deeply, putting my nervousness to the back of my mind. I planned to thank Louis for saving me but then avoid him like a plague afterward. To be honest, I didn't want to see him at all. That would give me enough of an excuse not to have to talk to him. School was relatively uneventful, but for some reason, I felt like I was being watched. I hoped my intuition was wrong. He was not in our grade anyway, being two grades higher, so I had an advantage, but morally, a disadvantage. We had a test after recess, and when we were done, the teacher called me. "Zoe, take the scripts to my office." "Yes, ma'am." I took the script and made my way to her office. She followed me, and once I finished my task, I turned on my heels to go back to class. Around the corner, I was pulled by someone.Zoe's POV "We need to talk," I heard the person say. It was Louis! He had a hand on my mouth and my back to his chest. He pulled me into a classroom. The moment we entered the room, before he even closed the door, I knew where we were. The room had the rather choking smell of expensive cologne, and the words written conspicuously on the whiteboard screamed at me: "NO PEASANTS ALLOWED!!!" The words spoke directly to me. It was the place where my humiliation had taken place, the single most embarrassing day of my life that had shown me where I stood in this school. The thought alone made me cringe and grit my teeth. He let me go as he sat on a seat, facing me. He left me standing, and I stood there rigid and quiet. Our eyes never left each other. His voice finally pierced through the odd silence. "You owe me." "Owe you?" "I rescued you, didn't I?" I blinked back at him. I should have thanked him, even though he was being a jerk about it, but my pride spoke first. "Rescued me?
Zoe's POV “Shit!“ I basically yelled at my reflection. On my neck and jaw, were hickeys. Conspicuous hickeys lined the places his mouth had touched. I had already missed a class and I am about to miss lunch. The thought of walking through school with them was enough to drive me crazy. “Ptttts, ptttts Zoe.“ I heard someone call me. I turned to see a student I didn't recognize. She had red hair that reminded me of Andrew. She flashed me a gummy smile and waved at me. I waved back and returned a limp smile. She walked out of her hiding spot. In her hand was a tube of foundation.“You might need this.“ I immediately used my left hand to cover the hickeys which made her giggle. “Don't worry, I already saw it.“ She put the tube into my hand wrapping my fingers around it. “I came to help.““Why? I don't even know you.“ “I am two grades ahead of you, call me Sandra.“ As she put out her hand for a handshake which I took with some trepidation.****I walked back to class. Every step was de
She was joking, she had to be. I turned to her. She had a hopeful, nervous smile forming on her quavering lips."You want to waste my time so bad," I scoffed and watched her smile disappear. "You would make up some shit and expect me to believe it like the idiot you take me for!" "I... but... I," she stumbled over her words as tears welled in her eyes. By now every one had eyes on us. Wondering what two school girls were discussing that led one to cry. "It's probably about a boy," I heard a woman murmur.I almost cringed at her words. A boy indeed! "Ok, ok," I finally said after a moment. "I'll listen." I took her by the hand and led her to the place we were before. Well,l she did help me, I reasoned inwardly.Once we settled, I waited for her to spill her guts."I know it's hard to believe," She whimpered wiping her tears. "Sometimes it feels like a dream even to me." "But how have they not snuffed you out." I was choosing to go along with her story. For now."I had planned it f
Mum had not been home for a week now. It was the weekend already. Andrew was at a friend's place, Regina was where she always was and Todd could go to bloody hell. It was lonely being in the house all by myself. I skimmed through the pages of my biology note. It was boring to be honest because I had read it a zillion times already. “… the human heart is divided into four major parts…” I read out loud hoping it would reduce my boredom but I was only disappointed to find myself getting tired with each word. “…the left auricle, right auricle, left ventricle and right auricle. They…” I pushed on, my eyelids getting dropped. “Zoe!“ I heard someone call me, jolting me awake. I heard the horn of a car too. The room I shared with my sister had no windows so I got up and went to the cramped living room. I peeked through the window to see an unfamiliar car. It looked like one of those cars whose days of vogue had passed. It had a tinted window so I could see neither the driver nor the passen
I froze. This was new ground. "Uh yeah... She is..." I lowered my head and because of the awkward silence, I raised my head slowly to see her looking thoughtfully at me."There is no need to be ashamed of that." Was she joking or was she mocking me?"We all have to survive somehow," She reasoned. "Dignity is nothing compared to that."I should have felt offended because she was inferring something that should have made my blood boil but surprisingly I felt consoled and as though someone understood that some people have no choice. People like my mother."And I find it blatantly unfair that she gets called names when the man is also willingly involved gets called a victim but that's just the life we live in." I nodded and smiled ruefully. It was hopeless because she was right; that was just how the world worked. I took another munch of the sandwich satisfied at least that I could talk to someone about the issue without being judged. "What's your sister's name?" I asked"Sarah." She r
Zoe's POV "We found it," The men were back. "We took a picture. We figured it would suffice." "Let me see it," I said, ignoring the man berating me. "Here," He brought his phone closer and allowed Sandra and me to have a look. It had diamond patterns on its back. "God!" The girl named Lucy exclaimed clasping her hand over her mouth. "It is a diamondback!" I looked up at Lucy and asked. "How deadly is its venom." "Extremely," She told me. Luck was nowhere near our side. "How long did they say they will get here?" I asked the driver. "Twenty minutes," He answered, looking as panicked as everyone else. About five minutes had passed already. I examined Sarah again. She was slowly losing consciousness, her eyes fluttering. They would not be able to get here in time to save her leg or her. "How will the ambulance make it here on time?" Someone finally asked the obvious question. "Why don't we go and see what the problem is all about first?" The two men once again sprint towards t
Zoe's POV I squinted as I tried to adjust my eyes to the bright rays of light. It took a while but once I could keep my eyes long enough to know where I was, I realized that was in a hospital. I raised my head in a bit of a rush and startled the person whose head was resting on my bed. "Zoe," The person was Sandra. "You are awake." She said, gleefully. I was disoriented and asked her. "What are you doing here?" I looked around my white surroundings. "What am I doing here?" "You don't remember," She asked as she got up. "I am trying to..." It was coming to me in flashes but still nothing distinct. "Sarah..." I groaned as I held my head in pain. Gosh! it was spinning. "She is fine," She told me "I will call the doctor and dad." she headed out. Did she just say 'dad'? It was coming back now in slower flashes. The snake, Sarah, the ambulance... But how did I end up as a patient? Sandra came back not too long after with a doctor and a tall, middle-aged man in a suit. "How do you fee
Zoe’s POVWhen we got home, Andrew was sitting on the stairs waiting for us. Once he saw us highlighting from the taxi, he ran up to us and held on to my leg.“Don’t disturb her, Andrew,” Mum scolded. “She needs to rest.”Andrew looked up at me worriedly and I gave him a wink just to assure him that I was fine. Mum unlocked the door and we all entered. Regina and Todd were at their usual hang-out spots and were not at home. Mum led me to my room and sat me down on the bed. There was long awkward silence since being as caring as she was now was very uncommon. “How are you feeling,” She asked as she sat on the bed with me. I shrugged. She sighed. “What were you doing with that girl?” She asked. I frowned at her question, hurt. And to think she actually cared when all she wanted to do was to interrogate me. “We went to the park,” I told her. “She is my friend.” “You are friends with a Callahan?” “So?” I moved away from her to look her in the eye. She had the same look of horror sh