Pain

"D.. dad," Evelyn stuttered her words out, looking at the man with a bewildered expression. The slap she received was so powerful that it made her fell down with her face flat on the hard cold floor. She couldn't voice out anything else due to the immense shock that was filling her fragile heart.

"Come here, you little brat!" Mr. Miller yelled to her face while looking straight into her soul. He grabbed her by the hand harshly and dragged her towards the living room, showing no mercy to her whatsoever. Evelyn hissed from the pain that was caused by how tight the man was holding her wrist. She was definitely sure that that was gonna leave some hideous marks on her smooth skin. Mr. Miller let go of her hand by pushing them down to the ground, leaving a small thud from the impact. He left Evelyn sitting down in the living room for a while before coming back with a belt in his hand. Evelyn brought her head up and was immediately met with great fear as she witnessed the man before her. Her whole body shook because she knew exactly what was going to happen to her.

"Do you realize how much of a burden you are to me?! How dare you disobey me and come home this late. I was hungry and had nothing to eat because of you, you stupid woman!" The furious man shouted out his anger towards Evelyn, beating her up multiple times with the belt that he had brought with him into the living room. he beat his own child merciless, satisfying the rage that was growing within him.

"Dad, it hurts. Please stop, I'm sorry!" Tears were flowing out of Evelyn's eyes as she tried to cover her body up using her arms, in attempt to prevent the belt from hitting her body. Her cries did not made any change as her father's beating progressively got stronger on her. She yelped as the man brought the belt straight onto the side of her waist harder than ever. Evelyn's breathing was unstable due to the continuous pain she was receiving and she was also short on breath because of her crying. Evelyn slowly opened her eyes when she realized that the beating had stop. She looked at the man, frightened as she slowly caressed her arms uncomfortably. Mr. Miller eyed her like a tiger hunting its prey. A smirk slowly making its way onto his lips as he brought his face closer to Evelyn's ear.

"If you repeat this again, I wouldn't hesitate on selling you. That'll make my life easier," he threatened, pushing Evelyn's head away before walking off towards his room and closing it with force. He left the poor girl in the living room, sobbing and choking everytime she tried breathing normally. She was so worn out after the beating so she stayed there, laying on the floor while trying to contain her crying so that she wouldn't annoy her father anymore. The bruises that was left on her thighs were so visible that she didn't think she could cover them up with concealer. She finally calmed herself down and decided to go back to her room. She tried her best to stand up and slowly made her way towards the bathroom with her towel in her hand. She showered normally but gently as she tried to not hurt herself while showering. She treated her wounds with a first aid kit that was laying in her cabinet after she got out of the bathroom.

"Ouch," she hissed quietly, feeling the pain each time she dabbed the cotton pad onto her wounds. She dabbed the last cotton pad a few times before throwing them into the bin and heaved out a heavy sigh. She pulled down her sweatpants and returned the first aid kit back to its place before laying herself down onto the bed. She was exhausted physically and mentally that day.

"Why... do I have a dad like that?" She murmured to herself, staring at the ceiling above her as she recalled the event.

"Hm... I miss mama," her heart spoke, causing her to reach out for a specific small picture frame that was sitting on her nightstand. The frame contained a picture of her when she was 6 years old with both of her parents, looking happy at that time. She stared at the picture as tears were forming in her eyes against her own will. The tears flowed past her cheeks as she reminisced the old times when she was still spoiled with love from her parents.

Her 6 year old self was so grateful to be given a loving family like that. Her days would always be accompanied by her mother and father as they tried their best to make little Evelyn happy. However, everything changed after the day of her mother's death came. Something about his wife dying had triggered something deep inside Mr. Miller and he had never been the same ever since. The day Mrs. Miller had died, Mr. Miller refused to believe that he had lost his own wife forever. Mrs. Miller had died after trying to save Evelyn from a car in the middle of the road. Mr. Miller yelled his heart out after hearing the news. He loved his wife dearly and to know that she will no longer be standing beside him ever again, made him miserable.

-FLASHBACK-

Evelyn was on her knees beside her mother's grave. She was crying nonstop, losing hope as she watched the grave before her. Her focus was only towards her deceased mother that she didn't realized the arrival of a young boy that was the same age as her. The little boy tapped his fingers onto Evelyn's shoulder, making Evelyn quickly wiped her tears away, trying to not seem weak.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked, concerned at the sight of Evelyn crying. Evelyn took a quick glance at the boy and shook her head slowly. Her tears flowing down her smooth skin as she couldn't help but continued her crying. The little boy panicked after his question was answered with a sad cry from Evelyn. The boy looked down at his hand that was holding a pink rose that he had just picked up on his way towards Evelyn. Without hesitation, he handed the rose to Evelyn, hoping that she would stop crying and smile at his little gift. Evelyn sobbed as she eyed the rose in his hand, accepting them after.

"Why did you s-suddenly gave me this r-rose?" She asked, staring at the rose that she had received. The little boy gave her a warm smile before crouching down to wipe away Evelyn's tears using his hands. Evelyn didn't protest and let the boy wiped her tears for her. She felt a little bit relieved after the boy had comforted her. Her cry slowly disappeared as she calmed herself down.

"Because I don't like seeing girls cry. It makes me sad," the little boy answered her previous question, handing her a small towel for her to wipe her tears with in case she started crying again. After he realized that she wasn't crying anymore, he stood up and went to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Evelyn quietly asked, looking at him with worry. However, the boy ignored her question and walked away. She went to go after him but soon realized that she had lost track of him after she was outside of the cemetery.

-END OF FLASHBACK-

A smile made its way onto Evelyn's face as she thought about the little boy. Her attention fell towards the pink rose that was laying down on her desk.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we can meet again," she thought to herself. She charged her phone and placed it onto her nightstand before continuing to stare off into the distance again. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she fell asleep without even realizing. A few seconds into her slumber, she was immediately welcomed with a new dream.

~

The next day was Sunday which was also the day that students had the chance to finally rest from the studying. Evelyn was woken up by the bright light that was coming through her window. She realized that she woke up late that day at 8am so she immediately went to get herself ready for the day. While she was wearing her clothes, her phone suddenly started ringing indicating that someone had called her. She was a bit confused as to why someone would call her early in the morning but she thought less about it and looked at the caller ID. She immediately picked up the call after realizing that Charlie was the one who had called her.

"Hi Evelyn!" Charlie greeted, sounding happy as ever to be calling her in the early morning. His voice had made Evelyn's heart skipped a beat as she grew a bit nervous to talk to him even through the phone.

"Hi Charlie. Why'd you call?" She asked, curious to know the reason for his sudden call.

"Uhm I know this is sudden but do you wanna go get breakfast with me?" He shyly asked. Even without seeing his face, Evelyn just knew that he was smiling just by listening to his voice.

"Sure! But where though?" Evelyn asked again, needing the information of the location. Charlie chuckled after hearing Evelyn's excited voice through the phone. At the same time, he was so relieved that Evelyn had accepted his offer.

"I'll send you the location. Bye Lynn!" Charlie informed before ending the call. A few seconds after that, Evelyn's phone vibrated in her hands as she realized that she had received a message. It seemed that Charlie had sent her the location through message. Evelyn felt euphoric after Charlie had asked her out to eat breakfast together for the first time. Evelyn took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror for the last time. She slipped her phone inside of her back pocket before rushing out to the location that Charlie had sent her.