Intertwined

Chapter 13: Promises Are Meant To Be Broken

Narrator's Perspective
(THAT DAY)

Her back hurt. The wounds from the cruel and merciless belt fresh on her soft skin.

She could barely walk straight and even the loose cotton material she was wearing stung.

As she wiped her tears and threw away her now ripped t-shirt, she realized she couldn't tell Parker. He didn't need the stress and it would break his heart.

She walked to the only person she could  present her raw self to.

"Axel?" She knocked on the door, trying not to limp, praying he could help her.

"Good, you're here. I was just gonna come look for you. I need to tell you something." He opens the door, his eyes were bloodshot.

"Me too, it's kind of urgent." Stand straight, she forced herself to stand straight.

"Look, I was thinking we shouldn't hang out anymore." He says with indifference and her stance falters.

"What?"

"I mean, think about it, I can't hang out with the person who was supposed to die instead of my mom." His eyes were cold but his heart was breaking.

He wanted to love her sadness away, but Mason and Max had emphasized on the danger she was in.

He would be damned if he let anyone so much as touch her.

"No. You don't mean that." It can't be true, she hoped. This was what her father said to her, as he kicked her on the floor and whipped the belt's harsh material against her back.

"I do. All I wish is my mother were here and you weren't. If it were up to me, I'd never see you again." He lied and for a second he was convinced he was hurting more than she was. But he had to stay strong.

"It wasn't my fault. I didn't mean to. I know it should have been me, I'm so sorry." The pain from Axel's words numbed the pain on her back.

"Can you get out now? And try your best to never see me again. All I feel is anger when I see you." He lied again. He felt quite the opposite of that when he saw her.

"Please, Axel. You're my friend. You're all I have." She forced herself not to cry. She would not cry.

"I want you to get out. You were never my friend. You're nothing but a liability. Always have been. Don't say my name like that." He forced her out the door and the pain in her back intensified.

He never did know how much he hurt her. And she never did know how much he cared for her.

"I'm sorry, Ax." She tried to stay strong right before he slammed the door on her face.

Don't say my name like that.

Fine, she decided, for the sake of the boy she cared for so much. She would never say his name again and she would never cry over him. She promised herself that.

But promises are meant to be broken.