Kendle bowed her head and accepted her punishment, the family she belonged to now was rather harsh. Though the punishments were not as bad as others she had received from previous families, they were not the easiest to bear either.

The man's hand flew to her cheek and she immediately felt the sting. She winced but didn't make a sound, knowing that if she did, it would only anger him further. The next hit landed on her other cheek and then came the foot to her stomach. She fell to the floor and gasped for air, unable to get enough to fill her lungs as the foot came again. She wheezed and covered her head with her hands as she knelt, not wanting the man to start aiming his kicks there. "You wretched girl! You can't do anything right! You have absolutely no worth here! It's about time we got rid of you!" The man cried, slamming his foot into her ribcage again and again.

Kendle winced and bit harshly into her cheek, not allowing herself to show the agony his attacks brought her. Nevertheless, a small whine escaped her sealed lips and the man grinned down at her, an evil smirk spreading across his face that sent a shiver down her spine as she stared up at him in fear, ashamed that she was showing it so openly. You idiot, Kendle berated herself, now you're really in for it!

Just then, the man's wife walked into the kitchen and rolled her eyes. "Really, Jake? Must you do that here?" Her voice was high and pitchy, as though she had never hit puberty despite the fact that she was in her thirties.

Honestly, everythiny about this woman screamed 'I never hit puberty'. Her bra size was an A (meaning that she has 'almost boobs'), she wore size six jeans, and size six shoes, and size six shirts, dresses, basically everything she wore was size six.

Her hair was long, sunny blonde, and straight as a board. (Kendle secretly envied that woman's hair. Her own was midnight black and curled like no tomorrow, making it impossible to tame, not to mention that fact that as an Invalid, her Worthy owners got to do whatever they liked with her, so of course this family decided to take their kitchen scissors and let their five-year-old son hack most of it off so it hangs around her face like a lion's mane, sticks up like she's been electrocuted, and flies everywhere as though it has a mind of its own.)

The woman had gorgeous blue eyes, it looked as though a pool of water had been condensed and poured into her irises. Her nose was small and button-like, her lips thin and pale.

Meanwhile Kendle had silver irises that shone like the fullest moon and full lips a naturally dark pink. So she didn't envy the woman there, except maybe wishing for more color in her iris.

I wish that she would just let him get it over with, Kendle thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes upon the woman's entrance. Jake, however, didn't. "I really don't see why I can't, Emma. It's not like I'm going to make a mess." Emma crossed her arms and glared at her husband.

"I don't want you doing it here because Henry could walk in and see it!" She frowned, the angry look not suiting her petite face. Kendle couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes and her silver irises moved to match her annoyance. She then thanked the gods that both her master and her mistress were looking at each other and neither of them noticed.

"Emma, he's at school. Our son isn't going to see anything if he is not at home." Jake raised an eyebrow and frowned back at his wife. Emma rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine." She walked out of the kitchen and left Kendle and her husband to the girl's punishment. The man looked at the girl and a sickening grin spread across his face.

"Let's get started then shall we?"

Kendle suppressed a shiver and averted her eyes to the floor.

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Kendle kept her bruised face angled down as she carried the laundry outside and over to the small secondary house where the washer and dryer were kept. This small house, being no bigger than a small apartment really, was also where the dishes were washed, the food was prepared, the tools for yard work were kept, where the cleaning supplies were kept, and just so happened to be Kendle's room too.

Opening the door, she started going over what she would have to do for the rest of the day. First, she had to take care of the laundry. Then, before she could start folding and sorting the clean laundry, she had to walk Henry home from the bus stop. Then she had to make him a snack and help him with any homework he had. Once that was done, she could come back here to finish the laundry and as soon as she had taken the clothes and put them away in their respective rooms, she would have to hurry back here and start her chores. After vacuuming and dusting, it would be time to start on dinner.

She sighed and set the basket of dirty laundry down on top of the washing machine. And somewhere between switching the laundry and picking Henry up from his bus stop, she had to find the time to apply make up to cover her bruised face and arms. (The only reason she was slowed to have make up was because Henry's mother didn't want him to know that his father beat the seventeen-year-old girl.)

Yeah, it was going to be a very long day.

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Kendle wiped the sweat from her brow as she sat back on her knees, finally finished dusting the house. Henry hadn't had much homework, so they had worked through the problems quickly and she was able to get a head start on her chores. It was a good thing too, because Emma had told Kendle that they would be having guests over for dinner so she would need to prepare more of the meal.

Kendle stood up and grabbed the cleaning supplies and headed back to the shed that she had called home for the past year and a half. This was her fourth house in the seven years since she'd been marked as an Invalid and her mother tried to send her to the Farm. Seven years since George found her on his doorstep and started taking care of her. Five years since he had passed away. George had been such a kind master, never really acting like a master at all.

And then, one day, Kendle woke up and he was gone. He had passed away in his sleep. She was sold to a harsh family, a family that beat her for everything and nothing. They were the worst. They finally gave up on her after a year and decided to make a profit and sell her to someone else. The new family wasn't nearly as bad, and they even treated her some-what civilized. She stayed with them for a year too. And then, well, she didn't know why, but that family had to sell her and the family they sold her to was even worse than her first Worthy family was. Hitting her around every corner and starving her for days, that was just what they did when they were feeling lenient. She was there for almost two years. Then they decided they had had their fun with her so they would sell her to the next family, which just so happened to be the one she was with now.

She shivered just thinking about that family. She still had nightmares of what they did to her, and more than a few scars to prove it.

But her eighteenth birthday was in a few months, and she would have been with this family for almost two years, ten months, and eight days. Of course, no one cared but her, so she didn't really know why she kept track of this as specifically as she did.

This was when she ran into the door of the shed and was knocked out of her thoughts. Silently cursing under her breath, she carefully balanced the supplies in one arm and opened the door, quickly grabbing some of the cleaning supplies with her other hand that were about to fall. She walked in and kicked the door shut behind her.

Making her way over to the washing machine, she put all the cleaning supplies down and opened the cupboard to put them away. "Kendle? Is that you?" A voice came from somewhere in the back of the small shack. The girl spun, gasping.

"Gloria?" A girl appeared from the shadows, smiling. "Gloria! But, I thought that you escaped! I thought you had disappeared! I never even dreamed that I would see you again!" Kendle ran forward and threw her arms around the red-headed girl. Gloria smiled, hugging her back.

"Well, I did escape. I found the rebellion, Kendle. I found my parents there too." Her sapphire eyes sparkled when they pulled from the hug.

"Gloria, that is amazing!" Kendle hugged her friend tightly again. "So, why did you come here?"

"I felt guilty, leaving you here to deal with these people. And, I was so worried about you too. I always feared that they would have hurt you after I left, or even worse, sent you to the Farm. I had to see you, I had to make sure that you were okay." Gloria said, resting her hands on Kendle's shoulders. "Now turn around, I need to check you." Kendle laughed.

This was something that they used to do. Both of them had belonged to this family, and had become great friends in the year that they had known each other before Gloria had gotten the chance to escape. They would check each other to make sure that neither of them had any injuries that would need to be tended when the day was over.

Kendle laughed and took off her shirt, turning around so that Gloria could inspect her back. She turned back aroud and Gloria inspected her face, running a hand over a jagged scar that Kendle had got just two months after she left. But other than the bruises and a few new scars from when the Worthy family went a little overboard on her punishments, Kendle was fine. Gloria smiled and hugged her friend tightly again. "I'm really glad that you're okay." She said, a few tears slipping from her impossibly blue eyes before she could wipe them away. Kendle gave a watery laugh and nodded.

"I'm really glad that you're alright too." A few drops of salty water may or may not have slipped from Kendle's moonlight-silver eyes as well. Then the girl looked at the clock hanging on the wall and realized, "Oh no! If I don't get started on dinner now, there's no way that it'll be ready in time!" Kendle quickly snagged her shirt from the floor and threw it onto her head, rushing to the small kitchen in the tiny shed and pulling out the ingredients she would need for dinner. As she started measuring, Gloria came over and offered her help.

"Come on, Kendle. I've cooked with you before. Let me help." Kendle shook her head as she measured out the milk.

"No, I've got everything under control, miss. You're a free woman and I'm still an owned Invalid. You escaped, as long as you are under this roof, you will never have to do any work." Kendle paused in her cooking to guide Gloria over to the bed and make her sit down. "Now, talk with me! We have to catch up!" Gloria sighed, rolling her eyes in defeat and started telling Kendle all about the rebels that she had been staying with for the past year.

"And there was this one guy, his hair was kinda long, and it usually hung over is face, so I couldn't tell if he was a Worthy or an Invalid, but he was totally cute." Gloria gushed, making Kendle laugh as she finished up dinner.

"Alright. Now I have to set the table and serve the food before their guests get here." Kendle looked at Gloria who was raising an eyebrow and sighed. "Fine. You can help me with this much. Just don't let the masters see you!" Gloria gave her a triumphant smile and walked over to pick up the giant bowl of soup. "Be careful, don't burn yourself!" Kendle said. Gloria laughed.

"Kendle! I've done this for as long as you have! Just because I joined the rebels doesn't mean that I've stopped cooking!" Kendle laughed and shook her head.

"You're right, I'm just wrapping my head around you being here to help me, is all, I guess! You've been gone for a year, I'm not used to someone helping me." Kendle smiled as Gloria watched her sadly.

"Why didn't you come with me?" She asked as Kendle picked up the tray of chicken. Kendle looked over her shoulder at her friend and smiled sadly.

"I have to help. I may be treated badly, but I can't just up and leave them. Henry needs me. And I can't go anywhere until I can be sure that they'll get someone else who'll take care of him. Besides," Kendle's smile turned happy again. "I have to wait for my sister. I know that she'll come get me. She has to." Gloria knew who Kendle was talking about. She had told Gloria her story one night when the poor girl had woken up from a nightmare and Gloria had rushed in to see what was wrong. "Rachel will find me." Kendle was sure that her sister would come for her. And they all had to have hope, right?

Kendle balanced the tray of chicken on one arm and opened the back door of the main house, walking in and holding it open for Gloria. They carried the food into the kitchen and put it down on the counter. Gloria walked over to the cupboard to grab cups and Kendle went to another one to pull out plates and bowls.

Carrying them into the dining room and setting them at each place on the table. Next they brought in the silverware and they were almost finished setting the table. "Now to give everyone a glass of water." Kendle and Gloria hurried back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room with the glasses. "There. Now all I have to do is let the guests in the door and serve dinner, then I have a break until I have to clean up dinner and then I have to put Henry to bed and after that, my day should be over. Go wait at the shed and I'll be there as soon as I can." Kendle hugged her friend one more time before Gloria slipped out the backdoor and ran toward the shed before the family could come down the stairs and see her.

Kendle heard a car outside just as the shed door closed behind Gloria. She rushed to the front door and looked out through the window as the guests climbed out of the car. She gasped in horror and quickly pulled away from the window.

It was her mother.

Word Count: 2605