Chapter 11: Background

Raven's pov

After struggling all night, I didn't get proper sleep. Aidan's face tormented me. I was at the hotel, and I had to change my room number so that my father wouldn't come to me and nag me for anything.

The real reason was that I feared he might leak the information to Aidan and that he might come after me with his excuses. I will be honest; I didn't expect him to flip so neatly. He looked like he was genuinely apologizing to me.

The voodoo thing. I believe what he said about it. It is the era of science and logic, but people who have experienced it know how real it can be. After all, the emperors weren't fools when they banned such practices in their palaces, never publicized their real birth dates and had several names.

I made my way to the lobby after getting a call from my father and found my family sitting there with straight and ugly expressions. I held my breath and walked up to them, knowing something must have happened again. They might have had an argument either among themselves or because they were waiting for me to vent their anger on me.

"Greetings mother." I politely spoke and approached her but she shifted her head in another direction. "Hello to you two!" I glanced at my brother, who was playing with his phone and my sister, who was rolling her eyes at me and talking to her friends on a call.

I sighed and sat back on the couch, which I later realized was occupied by Aidan last night. His face flashed before my eyes, but this time it wasn't the obsessed Aidan who had bullied at the stairs; it was the pitiful Aidan who fainted from exhaustion and hunger. I don't understand him. He is said to be the wealthiest youth in L City how come he didn't eat for a whole day and nobody noticed?

'Why am I thinking of him?' I knocked some sense to my brain and shook my head. I looked at my mother, who was angrily glaring at me, and then my eyes shifted at my sister, who pulled off her earphones and barked at me, "What did you do last night? Mom is ashamed of you, bitch!"

"What the hell! How dare you talk to me this way?!" It was not her first time yelled at me and cussing me, but I was surprised, as always, not getting used to it. I was the eldest among them but none of the two siblings respected me at all.

"She is right; you made us lose face! I can't believe you are so shameless." My brother unusually sided with my sister, putting down his phone for a moment.

It was useless to speak to the brainless people. I turned to my mother and asked, feeling wronged, "Mother, what did I do that you are letting them insult me in public?" I glanced at the staff who were passing by and laughing inwardly.

"Let me tell you, we happened to meet mother's friend as we came in; she mentioned you and mother began to praise how good you are, like always. But then she told us about what you did at the event last night." Rose, my sister explained, giving me looks of disgust.

"I did nothing." I defended myself.

"Look at her—how shameless you have become. I shouldn't have sent you here. It is my fault." Mother's eyes were red as she pointed her fingers at me and scolded.

"I said I did nothing." I repeated myself firmly. And my brother interrupted, "You were standing among men, laughing and giggling like a bitch. She even narrated vividly how you seduced the mafia boss of L city."

"I dare you to say that again." I was stunned at his words. I was with father, and Aidan had dragged me away so I didn't even get to see the most anticipated guest of the event. How did I seduce him when I didn't even meet him? And in their eyes, was I that kind of person? Their indifferent and cold behavior made me weak. I began to feel a sharp pain in my heart.

'You are my mother; you should trust me.' I glanced at my mother, who was again not looking at me. Trembling in fury, she was gritting her teeth.

"Why don't you ask, father? I am innocent; I didn't do anything like that. Mom. I am not this kind of girl. You know me well." I begged my mother for her trust. She gave me a side look and said, "How come I know what kind of girl are? You are grown up. I don't think I know you."

My heart sank. Her words pierced my soul. She is my mother, and I am closest to her. I know how much she suffered with my psycho father, and I know what she went through to raise my siblings and me. It wasn't her fault that our family is broken and depressed. I always listened to all her problems and tried my best to help her, but when I was a kid, I couldn't do anything when my father spent all his time at home and didn't leave the house for his office, which sometimes didn't even exist. I couldn't do anything when he stayed home and trapped her in a chain of aimless conversations. Talking endlessly about negative things.

His main concern always included: Why doesn't my mother make money? How will she survive now? How will she pay our school fee if he dies? What will the kids do if they keep on being careless with their studies? Why are they not getting good marks? It is useless to think of an academic career if they keep getting low marks. Will the kids be able to earn enough to afford the lifestyle he has been providing us? What will they do if they can't? They will be losers in society. My mother is fat and she should diet and help my father too, so that he doesn't end up like her. I am fat because my mother is the same.

On weekends, holidays or any day when my siblings skipped school, which they often did after middle school, he would sit down and watch news on television, putting it on mute. Meanwhile, he would play specific news on Facebook or YouTube. The son of So-So killed his mother. The daughter of So-So pushed her father from the fourth floor. The mother of so-and-so stabbed her kids. The father had been starving for days and the family didn't give him food. The kind neighbor sneaked meals at night. The wife cooked for her husband and fed him to the dog. The girlfriend froze her boyfriend after poisoning him.

In earlier days, mother would often start arguing which sometime led to physical fights. That traumatized the three of us. We often jumped to resolve the matter and ended up either getting few slaps and kicks. But, then I stopped involving myself so they would come to my room and ask me to speak up and bring justice. My siblings would blame me for being heartless but they eventually understood and stopped as well. Letting the couple fight and go all out, discussing divorce.

The reason we stopped being the mediator of the situation was not just one. My parents would first fight verbally and then would criticize us, mother would say that we were not good kids and didn't score good marks that is why she was being tortured. She wasn't wrong. Father did do it and we were not good academically though I was one of the toppers in my school days, when parents speak it is always 'You all'. And father, he would make us sit down with us, leaving mother shout to herself in another room, crying her regrets and grievances. He will tell us that we weren't the problem and it was mother who had ruined the family.

He will also make us sit for a long, very long time. Four hours. Five hours. Sometime six hours. Asking us to behave and let mother act the way she does, and sometime later, people will notice how she has been spoiling the house with her carelessness. He would say that she needs therapy. He would then get off the topic and narrate how so-so used to beat her kids and husband and later went to jail. How so-so didn't cook for her children and was criticized. How so-so made sacrifices for her kids and stayed with her toxic husband and how mother wasn't satisfied with how good he is.

He used to say a lot of things. On repeat and in detail. One of which never gets old is that he left his work and stayed home so that he could pay attention to his kids and love them. He would give us example of how a kid paid his father a dollar to give him ten minutes of time. He would give example of mother's school senior who used to say that her father had starved his kids because he was madly in love with her mother. It was a story that my mother had told him during her honeymoon, when they were having casual conversation about their school.

It wasn't her fault. My father has the ability of grabbing something you said and turn it into a thing you will regret telling him. He will say it so many times and to so many people that it will turn to a nightmare. Believe me, my siblings and I have been going through the same thing.

I know my father isn't a normal human. This I learned when I talked to my friends and asked them what their father are usually like. They said he would punish them if they didn't study. My father never did that. He would watch us not studying for days and then one day he would again make us sit and tell us that we should leave school since we can't study for ten hours.

My friends said their father didn't get them chocolates. But, my father would take me to supermarket and allow me to grab anything and everything I would want, from chocolates of different kind to imported snacks. After coming home, another session with my mother, what is the reason? We spent this much of money and didn't get the flour which we ran out of four days ago.

My friend's father would take them on vacations. But, my father said we can go but one of us should stay back, so that if something happened to all of them, at least of us can have the properties and it doesn't end up with his elder brother. At first, we were little kids, and would cry, how could we live alone without mom? But then, I would volunteer to stay back. In both cases, we never had a vacation.

Their father would punish them if they beat their siblings or if they had a fight. My father would tell me that I should let my siblings beat me because I am soft and light-hearted, weak and delicate so even if they dip the shoes in feces and smacked me with it, I should bare it. I should be like water and adjust. On the other hand, my siblings will be portrayed as the villains of the house and not teenagers with anger issues. He never taught my sister that she shouldn't be jealous, but he would narrate stories of how jealous sister do bad stuff. This would frustrate her and she would admit that she is the worst youngest sister.

In short, we were a broken family. I tried to be nice to my siblings, and fought against my father when he would make them sit. I would give them pocket money which my father never did. I would help them with everything. But, even in private they never appreciated me and stayed as ungrateful as ever. They would cuss at me while asking for money. I never figured out why they did they act that way. All I knew that I feel hurt and betrayed.

They were again doing the same thing. Standing against me. Rather than helping the way I do, they were acting like estranged.

"Raven, where were you all night?" My father entered and asked, gasping frantically.

"I was here only, you said that I should stay at the hotel when you are here." I replied innocently, swallowing my frustration.

"But you were not in your room." He shook his head, I could see the anger rise in his eyes.

I pursed my lips and answered, "I changed the room."

"But why?" He furrowed his brows and walked straight to me.

"I was uncomfortable…" I replied, however, I hadn't finished my words when a slap imprinted my face. I covered my cheeks and looked at him in utter shock. I was speechless. He had slapped me in front of the staff that had been hiding outside and listening to our bickering. He is my father, it should be nothing. After all, I was slapped by Aidan in front of more people. It even left a mark that I was hiding with makeup.

But, I don't know why, the slap from my father hurt me more. Earlier, I had not shed a single tear. But this time, tears flowed helplessly. My father looked at his hand which were now covered with my cheap foundation powder. If I had known such a thing would happen, I would have used some smudge proof face powder and makeup spray.

"Why did you do such a heavy make-up?" My sister gaslighted.

"It must be to seduce that mafia boss." Eon, my brother spoke up, joining my sister.

"Seduce whom?" My father asked, shifting his eyes from me to my mother who started sobbing.

"My friend Linda, she saw her with some gangster last night. I can't believe I raised such a kid." She answered wailing.

"You ditched Aidan and left the hotel with some scoundrel, you are even lying on my face that you changed the room?!" He yelled at me.

"No, I didn't…you can check I was here, I didn't leave the hotel at all." I defended myself.

"You would turn out to be such a bitch, I didn't know this. How can you fool around with a stranger." My father growled. I tried to open my lips and speak up, but no words come out. Because, I knew even if I had a thousand mouth, they will not let me speak and even if I said anything, they would simply not hear.

They had misunderstood me. Again.