“That’s not true.”
“But it is,” her mother said. “I’ve taken care of you your whole life because you’re my daughter, but if you insist on seeing that man, I will disown you. I would never pick you over Bianca. She’s the daughter that’s going to be someone.”
Although she’d heard different versions of this same thing her whole life, it never ceased to hurt her.
“I’m going to my room.” She walked past them and started up the stairs. Halfway up, she was startled as a hand grabbed her.
“You bitch,” her mother said right before she grabbed her arm.
Amber lost balance and fell to the bottom of the steps. Each was doing a little more damage to her aching body. Even though she’d only been part of the way up, it still felt like every bone in her body was broken. She couldn’t gain her breath, and her sides felt like they were on fire.
Panic started to build when she couldn’t draw in a breath, and black spots grew in her eyes.
She gasped and then relaxed when her lungs finally started working. It was then she heard her family argue over her. When she opened her eyes, they were scowling down at her.
“It serves you right. If you had only listened to me, none of this would have happened,” her mother said.
“I need a doctor.”
“Absolutely not. This is your punishment. We’ll help you to your room, but you’ll stay there until you’re healed, and in the meantime, Bianca will get to know Cesar.”
“No,” Amber said as tears started to fall. She bit back a scream of pain when they both lifted her off the floor, pulled her up, and half dragged her up the steps. “Stop. You’re hurting me.”
Bianca snorted. “Quit being a baby. You only fell a few steps. We’re just about to your room.”
Amber concentrated on breathing as they laid her on her bed before they both stood back.
“You’ll be locked in here until I’m certain you’ll abide by my wishes and can’t cause Bianca problems.”
Amber watched them walk out of her bedroom and then heard the lock on the door. She was stunned they left her like that. Her whole body ached, and she wasn’t certain if she had broken bones or not.
More tears filled her eyes and slid down her cheeks. She’d never felt so alone or helpless in her life.
She wished Cesar was there. If he were, he’d take care of her, but if they had their way, he’d end up with Bianca. What scared her was how they always got their way. Seeing them together would kill something inside of her. She’d never be able to handle it.
Her eyes slid closed. Maybe if she rested, she’d feel better.
A few hours later, she woke up to find the room dark, with only a little light coming through the curtains.
A moan tore from her throat when she tried to roll over. God, the pain ripping through her was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and she was terrified she had internal bleeding or something that could potentially cause her death.
She was all alone, and she sobbed at the thought of no one caring if she died.
The discomfort of a full bladder made her grit her teeth and roll. She caught herself before she fell on the floor, but it took her several minutes before she caught her breath and was able to stand and walk.
Although she felt bruised all over, her ribs were what pained her the most. She had to hold on to the cabinet in the bathroom and use her feet to pull her panties down. Then she had to brace herself to sit down slowly and sighed in relief when she could sit and empty her bladder.
Tears slid down her face as she struggled to stand again. She unbuttoned the dress and let it fall on the floor, and then slowly reached back and unhooked her bra.
She stood naked and uncertain about what to do. She thought about taking a shower but didn’t have the energy, so instead, she pulled on her robe and tried her best to brush her teeth without bending.
She took several aspirins, hoping they would help with the pain before she carefully lay down again.
Before she fell back to sleep, she prayed for Cesar to come to get her because she didn’t know how much more she could take. All she wanted was for him to be what he promised, to be her daddy and take away the pain, both physically and emotionally.
At that moment, they were both so equally painful she couldn’t decipher between the two. The physical wounds would heal, but the emotions would forever damage her self-worth because although she’d known her mother and sister hadn’t liked her or thought much of her, she now realized they never loved her. They didn’t care if she lived or died, and that was a hard pill to swallow.