I huddled on my bed with the lights off, the blanket over my head, headphones in and blasting as loudly as they could manage. Still, it wasn't enough to block out the sounds of my parents yelling since the door was cracked open the way my father demanded it. Shivering, I pulled the blankets even closer around me as the memory of the day I had locked my door surfaced for a split second before I forced myself to concentrate on the music and chased the awful memory away.

The sudden crash of shattering glass caused me to violently flinch and whack my head against the wall, making one of my headphones pop out of my ear. I sat up, still hiding under my blanket, and rubbed my head as my mother's shrill voice penetrated my vulnerable ear.

"That does it! I will not put up with your stupidity a moment longer!"

I gasped and quickly covered my mouth while turning off my music.

"What are you planning to do then, model?" My father's scornful voice had a hard edge to it that caused me to break out in goosebumps. I could picture his striking brown, nearly black eyes narrowing dangerously while his mouth screwed up into an ugly sneer that would cause the small scar on the left side of his mouth to turn white (a stark contrast against his tan skin). It was a look I knew all too well but one that, to my knowledge, my mother had never seen.

I felt my eyes widen as I heard a soft chuckle coming from the other room. Silently, I crept off my bed and fluidly slunk over to my cracked door. Being careful to control my breathing, I leaned against the wall with one ear towards the opening. I realized that the chuckling was coming from my mother and it was getting louder. Soon she was outright laughing and I felt a wave of fear for her. A loud thud suddenly sounded as if my father had punched the wall and I gulped past a lump of fear in my throat.

"Use your words, not your fists, you thug. I'm disappointed in you, Aaron," my mother's musical voice lashed out like sharpened knives. I heard my father growl menacingly to which my mother scoffed. "It's over, Aaron. I refuse to live with you a moment longer. You've got your precious karate school now, so you don't need my money anymore. There's no reason for me to keep pretending I have any feelings for you."

"Your father will never allow you to leave me." I winced at the smug tone from my father and was utterly shocked when my mother let out a harsh laugh.

"Oh yah? You may have saved his life, but I have him wrapped around my finger. If I tell him you've been mistreating his little girl he won't think twice about me leaving you."

A barking laugh thundered for several seconds. "Little girl? Have you looked in the mirror lately, model?"

A sharp 'crack' rang out from flesh slapping bone. My father roared and it was soon followed by my mother's shriek of pain. My hand went to the doorknob involuntarily, but I paused when she began to laugh again.

"Thanks for the evidence, Aaron. Don't worry, Daddy won't press charges. He would never let his friends know his rescuer abused his daughter, but you and I are finished. I'll send you the divorce papers tomorrow. See you at court."

I heard her stomping down the stairs and then the front door slammed shut so hard I thought I felt the house shake slightly. My hand slipped off the handle. Like a robot, I took three steps back, clasped my hands behind my back, spread my feet apart, and fixed my gaze straight ahead. A rush of air hit me like a slap as the door flew towards me and crashed against the wall, deepening the circular dent where the doorknob collided all too frequently with the wall. I blankly stared at my father's chest, not daring to move a single inch.

"So, you heard?"

"Yes, Sensei."

A horrible chuckle caused his chest to rumble. I blinked slowly, willing myself to remain calm even as the terrible noise jarred against my nerves and made my muscles tense. I slowly assumed a defensive karate position, still not daring to look Father in the eyes.

"She left without you. Ha, who am I kidding, she probably forgot you even existed. She's not going to come back for you either since you're nothing but a burden." I didn't meet his eyes or move from my position. Long moments passed in silence and I flinched when Father suddenly turned away from me. "I need a drink," he snarled.

He left as quickly as he came, but I was not so quick to move. I stayed in my defensive position for long minutes, wondering what I was going to do. Without Mother in the house, Father was going to get worse. Much worse. A tear slowly slid down my cheek, but I made no move to wipe it away.

The light streaming in from the hall was sufficient to see my reflection as I turned my head to look into the mirror above my dresser. My white-blonde hair left loose reached to the small of my back and my bangs framed my large green eyes set in a background of pale skin, high cheekbones, and full lips; a perfect replica of my mother. This face was the only protection I'd had against my father. Now that Mother wasn't around to protect "her" face...

My gaze wandered from my face down to my arms. I was wearing a tank top, something I only wore in the confines of home since it left the large bruises, some fading and some obviously recent, exposed. The largest bruise was on my left shoulder and it still sported an ugly purple-ish color with a sickly yellow ring surrounding it.

Suddenly a flash of light and a vibrating noise came from my dresser. In a foggy daze, I slowly moved over to my phone. As I read the name a mixture of relief and despair washed over me. Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the old school flip phone and brought it to my ear.

"Opal, sweetheart! Happy birthday!"

Glancing over at the clock, I saw it was 12 am which meant that it was officially March 22nd. I blinked back tears and forced a cheerful voice to respond, "Thank you, Auntie. I can't believe you remembered."

"What do you mean?! I call you every year for your birthday! I wish I lived closer to you, sweetheart. A call really isn't the same, is it?"

I shook my head fiercely, cradling the phone against my ear and imagining it was my Auntie Yuki's gentle hand.

"I love it when you call me, Auntie. It's the highlight of my birthday."

"Oh, don't be like that. With such wonderful parents, I bet they've got something special planned for your seventeenth birthday!"

I sat on the floor, leaning my back against my bed, and wondered what I should say. My aunt, Yuki Sato, was the only person who truly cared about me, so ever since I was little I had decided that I would never tell her what my life was really like. I would never tell her about Mother ignoring me, or Father...

"Opal? Are you there?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, Auntie, I'm here. Sorry."

"Sweetheart, what's wrong? You didn't fall down the stairs again, did you?"

I couldn't help but let a chuckle escape at that comment. "Nah, the staircase wasn't feeling very vengeful today," I responded as light-heartedly as I could manage.

Auntie lived nearly on the opposite end of the country, but she always spent one week in the summer with my family. The first time she had seen one of my bruises was when I was six. I told her that I fell down the stairs and it had become my go-to excuse ever since. Auntie was convinced that I was the clumsiest girl in the world, but she loved me even still.

"Opal, really. What's wrong? You sound so sad."

Before I could stop them, sobs began to shake my shoulders and tears fell freely as I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped an arm around them. For several minutes Auntie's kind, gentle voice washed over me; telling me that it was going to be okay, that she was always there for me, and how much she loved me. Finally, my tears began to subside and I leaned against my bed again while taking deep breaths.

"Tell me, Opal. What happened?"

"Auntie... my parents are getting a divorce."

I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other line that showed Auntie's shock better than any word could have. Just then an idea slid into my brain and clicked into place. I sat up straight and tried to keep my voice even.

"Auntie. Auntie if my parents get divorced then the court is going to make me choose which one I live with, right?"

"Oh, sweetheart, this is awful! They seemed so in love! I can't believe that they would do this to you."

"Auntie, isn't that right?" I asked, slightly desperate.

"Well, yes, sweetheart, but why do you ask?"

"Auntie, I can't live with one without the other. I can't..." My voice broke as I choked on a sob, seeing exactly what my future held if I stayed with Father without Mother around.

"I understand, Opal. It's such a horrible thing to put you through. I don't get how this could have happened! Oh, sweetheart, is there anything I can do?"

"Auntie... I have no right to ask this. You do so much for me; I can't even begin to thank you properly, but..."

"Go ahead, Opal. Ask me anything."

Tears flowed as I whispered, "Please. Please let me live with you."

There was no response for several long seconds. I was just about to take it back when I heard a strange sound on the other line, like the scratching of a pen.

"Auntie?" I asked hesitantly, trying to wipe at my still flowing tears.

"I'm sorry, Opal. You surprised me, but you are absolutely right. There is no reason to subject yourself to a legal battle while your parents get their divorce settled. I am going to call Aaron and let him know I want you to live with me until things are settled. I'll call you back after I talk to him. Okay, sweetheart?"

My eyes widened in fear and I hugged my knees against my chest, trying to keep my fear from exploding through my voice, "A-actually, Auntie, maybe you shouldn't..." I started to say but Auntie interrupted me.

"Don't worry, Opal. I'll explain that you aren't leaving him forever. He'll understand," she said kindly, but my heart plummeted into my stomach.

"Not forever," rang through my mind as Auntie told me she loved me and that she would take care of everything. Somehow I managed to say goodbye before the line went dead.

I stared at the flip phone that Father had bought me only because Auntie Yuki had complained that she couldn't contact me whenever she wanted to. Looking back, anything that Father had ever given me was because of Auntie in one way or another. My tears slowly stopped as my body seemed to go between being numb with fear and anxiety and light as air with the hope of an escape I didn't deserve.

A/N Picture found on tumblr. Titled: Kawaii Artist: (I think) mydarkheartx33