Sixth (1/1)

Maries POV:I opened the front door carefully. As soon as I stepped in, I was greeted not-so-happily by my parents.“Who the hell were those boys?!?” my mother yelled at my face. I looked at her in shock.“You saw them?” I asked quietly. Mom laughed like a maniac.“You tried to hide them from us? You stupid child! You didn’t tell them about us, did you?!” I shook my head.“You know, this was the last time you are ever going to see them. We cannot take the risk that you’ll tell them” dad joined in to the ‘conversation.’ Tears started to form in my eyes.“But they are my only friends! I promise, I’ll never tell them anything!” I said desperately. Mom laughed, again. Then her facial expression got angry again.“I don’t think you heard him!!” she screamed and punched my face. I dropped to my knees. My face felt like it was on fire.“You will never see those boys again, understood?!”“But mom, I promise…” I tried to speak but she punched me again.“Understood?” she asked again, only this time with a louder voice. All I could do was cry. Mom grabbed my arm and dragged me upstairs to my bedroom. She threw me onto the floor and crouched down to my level. She brought her face close to mine.“You will never see them again. You will not contact them, and if they try contact you, you tell them that you’re not interested. If you see them anywhere, you walk into the opposite direction. Okay?” she said with a quiet but a scary voice. Still crying, I nodded. She let go of me.“Good” she said before slamming the door behind her. I was left in my bedroom floor crying my eyes out, with my face hurting like hell.∼Some weeks passed by. Jeesu and the rest of the boys tried to contact me, but I didn’t answer their calls or messages. I felt awful. But I was afraid. Not for myself, but for the boys. I was afraid that my parents might do awful things to them if would’ve kept in contact with them.One day I was sitting in our garden, reading a book as usual. My parents were gone for the whole day, and I had finished all of my house chores. My left cheek and the corner of my eye were still purple and swollen. When anyone asked me about what happened, I told them that I fell. Luckily, they always believed me.It was quiet and peaceful, so I was surprised when I heard small voice saying:“Marie?” I looked up and saw Daniel standing behind our gate. I stared at him in shock.“W-wha-what are you… How did you…” I stuttered. He gave me a weak smile. He opened the gate and walked to where I was.“I came to see you. You were so excited about meeting us again but then you never contacted us” he explained. Daniel knelt down in front of me.“How did you know to look for me here?” I looked down at my hands.“That night, I saw you. I saw how you ran here. I also noticed how weird you got when you heard the yelling” Daniel explored my face. He caressed my cheek with his hand. I winced a little.“What happened, sweetie?” he asked softly. I closed my book.“Nothing. I fell” I gave him a fake smile. He stood up and sat down again right next to me.“It was your parents, wasn’t it?”“No. I fell.”“Come on. It’s okay. I know you didn’t. You can tell me. Your secret is safe with me.” Daniel spoke. So he knew. But how?“It was just that one time. Nothing big. They were drunk. We’re fine” I lied again. Daniel shook his head.“What about those bruises on your arms?”“H-how do you know? I always wear a long-sleeved shirt” I said in disbelief.“Your cardigan fell off your shoulder the last time I saw you.”“The cuts and bruises made me shiver” Daniel said. He saw my shocked expression.“Hey, look. It’s fine. I once had another friend… like that and he never told anyone about any of it. He got really lonely and eventually he committed suicide” Daniel told as he took my hand is his.“Why are you telling me all this? You think I’m going to kill myself? Trust me, if I wanted to do so, I would’ve done it years ago” I laughed. Daniel shrugged.“I just wanted to let you know that you can talk to me anytime.” He got up and started to walk away. I sighed.“Daniel, wait.” He turned around and looked at me.“You’re right” I rubbed my forehead and closed my eyes.“I don’t know how, but you seem to know everything” Daniel sat back down.“You wanna talk about it?” he asked. So I told him everything. From moving to Korea to the day my parents told me they didn’t want me to meet the boys anymore. For a whole hour, we sat right there, me talking, him listening. When I was done, I took a deep breath.“Thanks” was all I could say. Daniel smiled.“You’re welcome. Feel any better?”“Much” I smiled. He padded my shoulder.“I’m glad.”“Please, Daniel, just don’t tell anyone. I bet your friends already hate me” I said sadly.“They don’t hate you. How about I tell them that your phone is broken, and you couldn’t reply?”“That sounds great. Thank you.”“And also, why don’t come over to our place tomorrow? Your parents will never know” Daniel smiled convincingly. I hesitated for a while.“Sure. Just give me your address” I smiled back. He gave me a piece of paper with an address written on it. He kissed my cheek which made me blush.“If you ever need anything, you know where to find me” he said before getting up.“Well, there is one thing” I muttered.“And what’s that, sweetie?” I spread out my arms. Daniel smiled and pulled me into a hug.“Thanks again” I whispered. We pulled away from each other.“Now get the hell away from here before my parents see you” I laughed. Daniel started sneaking away, singing the Pink Panther theme song.“Dork.” A NEW CHAPTER, YAY! ^^