7. Bumped into him.

Third-Person Point of View

It was not really a dream, not something that never happened in her life. Instead, what she was seeing was an actual day in her past. 

That day, as she was walking to school with a bruised cheek, her mind was filled with the image of the middle-aged, fat, beer-bellied man who came to her house last night and screamed at her mom using all the filthy words, asking for the money he lent her. When her mom said she didn't have money to pay back, that man became very aggressive and began to hit her mother. 

Riley was so afraid that a man would kill her mother, hitting her like this, she jumped between them to stop him, but her mother screamed at her, asking her to go to her room. She didn't want to leave her mom at all. If this man is going to kill her mom, let him kill her, too. But with her mom's continuous screams, she had to retreat... But she couldn't wait to do just nothing. She was about to call 112 when her mom began to pull the man towards her bedroom. God knows how her mom managed to seduce that furious man to her bedroom during such a time...

Then began the weird yet familiar sounds of moaning, cursing and slapping coming from her mother's room. This is not the first time her mom has engaged in such activities with a man in the next room. She pressed two pillows to her head, trying to block the indecent, extremely humiliating noises and fell asleep, just to wake up in the wee hours as someone was touching her belly. 

When she quickly opened her eyes, she could see two reddish predator eyes filled with lust gazing at her. The hand that was touching her belly began to crawl towards her breast, making her disgust to her bones. 

She screamed and pushed the fat, ugly man. But he didn't move at all. Instead, that man punched her face and pushed her back to the bed. It was a moment she should be panicked; the man was much stronger than her, and he was possessed with lust to see anything beyond that. But she didn't panic because this was not the first time she had to face such a horrifying incident. She always locked her room carefully and did the same last night, but she couldn't understand how this man managed to enter her room. However, she was ready to handle this new situation too.  She extended her hand and grabbed the pepper spray, which was on the small table next to her bed, and sprayed it all over that predator's disgusting face.  When the man began to yelp with the pain in his eyes, she pushed him away and ran all the way to her neighbour's house. Aunty Jay, her beloved neighbour, always wakes up early in the morning to cook food for her husband, who goes to work very early. So she had no trouble opening their house and getting into the house. Also, Aunty Jay was well aware of the situation at Riley's place, and her doors were always open for Riley.

She slept on Aunty Jay's couch until the morning, and after making sure that man had already left, she went home, got ready and walked to school.

Last night has wholly drained Riley both mentally and physically to an extent she questions her own existence in this cruel, unfair world. If what happened last night was a one-time thing, she could have made up her heart, but it was not. Riley was left alone in the world without knowing who her father was, and she had a mom who was engaged in the world's oldest occupation and didn't fulfil a single duty a mom should fulfil. Except for giving birth to her, feeding her when she was a baby and giving her a place to stay, there is literally nothing her mom has ever done for her. Her mom was an omega but had no connection with her pack; she didn't have any relatives or friends either. 

When Riley was a baby, her mom left her with Aunty Jay and went to work. Those days, she at least paid Aunty Jay for taking care of her. But after she reached the age of 4, her mom completely stopped paying Aunty Jay. Her mom asked Riley to stay home because she was 'big' enough to care for herself. Her mom would leave some bread, biscuits, or milk for her to eat, and no warm cooked food, fruits, vegetables, or any type of meat essential for a toddler to grow up. Aunty Jay fulfilled Riley's nutritional requirements at least once daily, even though she wasn't paid. If it was not for her, Riley would have already died of malnourishment.

However, Aunty Jay is not a rich woman; there is a limit she can do. So even though she helped her with some food, when it came to other necessities, she couldn't help Riley. Riley had to always beg in front of her mom for days to get even the basic things she needed. She had to always wear other people's used clothes and shoes. She went to a government-owned primary school and a secondary school. So, there was no school f*e to be paid, but she had to always beg her mother for other necessities for school. Still, she always lacked many things she needed for the school. Therefore, as soon as she turned 13 and was allowed to work part-time by the law, she started working.

Riley had to always struggle to fulfil at least the basic necessities of life. Not just that, she also had to struggle to keep herself safe from the countless lovers her mom brought home. 

Riley was far from being happy or comfortable living a life like this. However, she was strong and determined; she thought if she worked hard, one day, she would be able to find her own happiness. But on this specific day, that's not how she felt. Before she escaped from that man and ran to Aunty Jay's house, she saw her mom sitting on the couch, sipping something from a mug. There was no way she didn't notice that her debtor sneaked into her daughter's room, yet she didn't do anything. Maybe she was high, as she was most of the time. Still, even thinking about that could make Riley's heart shattered. 

This day, for the first time in her life, Riley questioned whether she should fight anymore to live this life. What is the use of living a life like this? Isn't it better if she just gives up? Is there any reason she should still keep on fighting?

As she was having all these thoughts and was one step away from skipping school to never return, she suddenly bumped into someone. 

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist without letting her lose her balance. Uttering an apology, Riley lifted her gaze and found herself staring at the most mesmerizing blue eyes she had seen in her whole life. They were shining like twin stars in a cloudless sky; they didn't show even a hint of annoyance despite her clumsy instruction.

Beneath those blue eyes was a perfectly straight nose, and below that, those lips. Inviting and utterly captivating, they carried a smile so warm it could rival the sun itself, emitting a light that seemed to ooze straight into her soul.

"Eash..." that word didn't escape from her lips, but her heart screamed.