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Chapter 2

"Wake up!" Uncle Tom's rough voice woke me up.

A headache began to brew as I tried to sit up on the bed. Images of what happened the previous night began to flood my mind causing me to shiver. I knew I was naked but I didn't have the energy to cover myself.

Uncle Tom went into his closet then came out with sweatpants and a hoodie for me to wear.

"Get up. Get dressed. Then come into the kitchen. I made some pancakes."

I started to do what I was told but my body was so sore and weak.

" I can't move." I said nervously. I didn't want to upset him or him to think I was disobeying him.

Instead of getting upset, he helped me off the bed and to the bathroom. He offered to help me shower but I told him I could do it myself. After my shower he was helping me get dressed when He reached up his hand to my face. I thought he was going to hit me.

" What the hell happened to your face?" he touched where he was talking about and I immediately winced.

" They got angry with me when I didn't react to them." I explained.

" react to them? So they hit you in the face? No, they clawed at your face." He angrily stomped out the bathroom.

I didn't understand why he was so upset about my face. Worse things happened to me last night. In fact he has done worse to me than a simple scratched up, bruised face. Now that I think about it, he has never harmed my face. I used to never be able to go outside but my face would still be bruised free.

I slowly walked to the kitchen.

"Rainy look! Uncle Tom made pancakes" Raiden said excitedly in between stuffing his face.

" I see," I smiled at his excitement. " May I have some pancakes?" I asked Uncle Tom. He was looking in the cabinets for something.

"Yeah, sit down. I'll get it." I was thrown off by him being so nice. Reluctantly, I went to the table and sat next to Raiden.

"You got a booboo on your face." Raiden gasped. He was about to reach out and touch it before Uncle Tom stopped him.

He sat a plate of pancakes in front of me. He also put other stuff on the table before he sat down on the opposite side of me.

He handed me an ice pack and told me the place where it hurt the most. I was embarrassed to put it where it did hurt so I opted to put it under my shirt on my stomach.

I ate my pancakes as Uncle Tom took care of my face.

" I should have beat their ass,"he said. "Your face is too beautiful to be marked up like this."

"What about the rest of my body?" I thought as he caressed my swollen face.

" You look a lot like your mother. You know that?"

I didn't know if I was supposed to reply but a yes sir seemed right.

After cleaning my wound, he put cream on my face and got up.

I appreciate him being weirdly concerned but I rather him be mean and standoffish. Once upon a time, Uncle Tom was nice and loving I suppose. Then things change as the years go on. I've been with him for years and nothing seemed to surprise me when it came to his behavior. One day he treats me like the perfect uncle he used to be, then he would treat me like I was nothing. Sometimes he loved me a bit too much

"If anyone asks a fucking cat scratch up your face. That's what it looks like anyway. Hurry up and eat so we can go" Uncle Tom said as his mood changed again as he scurried off leaving the kitchen a mess.

Katy (the teacher)

I remember the day I heard those words "Congratulations you're pregnant". I felt so much joy and happiness inside. I also remember feeling a little worried. My husband and I have been married for ten years and we both were not getting any younger. I knew how much I wanted a baby and my husband wanted whatever I wanted.

After all the excitement and caring for my little bundle of joy for a little over a month, things started going bad. I didn't tell my husband Aaron. I didn't want him to worry.

For days, I felt strange and unsettled, but I pushed through and continued going to work and teach. I haven't felt like eating all day. My stomach filled with pain as I moved around my bedroom. I went to the restroom and crouched down trying to make it to the toilet. Things went wrong fast. Blood began to seep down my leg as I cling on to the hem of my dress. Blood was everywhere. It took me a while to wrap my head around it until a figure no bigger than a little rock came out of me.

I was alone crying on the floor, crying out " No...No"

" Hey babe you alright in there?"

My husband beat at the door trying to get to me but I was still alone.

Against my husband's protest, I went to work Monday morning. I stayed overnight at the hospital to make sure the labor process was over but as soon as I got word I could go home, I got ready for work instead.  If I didn't show up my students would have thought I left them like everybody else. That's why I worked my but off to show up everyday no matter how I'm feeling. If I wasn't meant to be a mother, I knew for sure I needed to be here for these kids. Plus I didn't see any harm in letting these kids blow off some steam in the gym while I recovered.

Although a lot of them had questions, they understood that I'm not feeling well. They all gave me well wishes and bugged me for a while before they went off to play like the kids they are.

It was quite interesting to watch the boys run around like wild animals and the girls talking and playing games. Except one girl sat off to the side alone. She wore an old sweatshirt and sweatpants, her beautiful long hair covering her face. Having over 30 kids in my class, I have not learned everyone's names but I knew her name had something to do with the weather.

I slowly walked over to her. Once I was close enough I said "Hey, You don't want to play with the other kids?"

She answered by shaking her head no, not bothering to look up. Then she quickly looked up at me with wide eyes. " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I thought you were one of the other kids."

Her green, hazel eyes peered up at me as she tucked her long hair behind her ear. I immediately saw a small bruise with several other scratches along her cheek.

" It's alright." I peered down at my roster on my clipboard trying to match a name to the face. " Rain, right?"

" Yes... I mean yes mam"

This poor girl is super polite and jumpy.

" You mind standing up for me, Sweetie?"  No matter how much I wanted to bend down to her level I just couldn't due to the pain.

As soon as she did her whole face became more visible. The once little bruise became even larger and now that I can see clearly I notice that her left eye was bloodshot red.

" What on earth! Come with me."

I guided Rain towards the hallway for privacy. One thing I didn't want to do is cause a scene that could be damaging for Rain.

" Who did this to you?" I asked as soon as we were alone.

" What? Nobody." Rain answered as she looked directly in my eyes.

" You mean to tell me you did this to yourself? Sweetheart, have you seen your face? And your eye is so red."I questioned with concern.

" My family recently took in a stray cat. The cat scratched at my face when I was holding her. I have a note." Rain explained as she took out a note from her pocket and handed it to me. " My uncle said to give this to you if you asked."

" A cat?" I asked as I opened up the note.

" Yes, a big one. We took it to the pound. We think I might be allergic, hints the eye."

I read over her guardians note. It was basically explaining the same thing and mentioned that Rain was taking eye drops for the redness. Although this note might be legit, something still didn't feel right. Instead of questioning her any further, I wrote down my number and gave it to her.

" Call me if you ever need anything okay?"

She accepted it and returned back to her spot in the gym. I mentally made a note to file a report on this for my sake just in case I needed to officially report abuse.

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Hi guys. This is just a quick filler chapter
Hope you liked it!