Chapter 7

"Mom!" Rowie shouted when she saw her Mom's state. She almost tripped from running but she did not care. What's important to her was to prevent her Mom from being hurt.

"Stop it, Dad!" She cried. She reached for her Mom who was now lying on the ground while crawling away from her husband's cruel hands.

"You're finally here." Her father said with his baritone voice after seeing her. "Money... give me money, kid, and I'll leave you alone." He demanded.

Rowie bit her lower lip really hard to stop herself from cursing at him. She ignored her father and scanned her Mom for any bruise.

"Are you okay, Mom?" She asked in a worried tone, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. She didn't want her Mom to see her cry. Not now that her father was there. She would not let him see her weakness. That's the last thing she would ever do right now. She didn't want her Mom to get worried about her as well.

She smiled at her daughter and said, "I'm fine, baby. Just go inside your room and I'll handle your Dad, okay?" This time, she couldn't stop it anymore. Her tears flowed in her cheeks casually.

Seeing her Mom like this was her weakness. It was like someone was piercing her heart and shattering it into pieces. She couldn't take it and all she ever wanted to do was punch the person who hurt her mother.

"No, Mom. I won't. Here, I'll help you stand," she carried her Mom and let her sat on her wheel chair. She handed her the inhaler. Before she could stand on her own feet, she felt a stinging feeling on her back. That was when she realized that her father was already holding a stick, swaying it unto her back.

"Don't ignore me, kid! I fed you and your sister for 19 years and now you're just going to ignore me?" He swayed the stick and another sting crawled her back making her groan in pain.

"Stop! Stop it, James! Don't hurt your daughter anymore!" Janice screamed.

She tried covering Rowie's body with her own but her daughter didn't budged and received her father's anger instead. He swayed the stick again and hit her arm.

Rowie closed her eyes, hoping that the pain would go away. But it didn't. It felt more and more painful everytime he swayed the stick. There's no doubt about it, it would surely leave a scar.

"Just leave! I don't have any money to give you. If you're only working and didn't get fired, then you don't have to beg from us!" Rowie shouted at her father indignantly.

The old man raised his hand with the stick but stopped mid-air. It was for a second, but Rowie saw the pain in her father's eyes that shocked her. It didn't last long because it eventually was covered with anger.

"You don't have any idea what happened! You don't have the right to judge me. And I'm not begging for money. Just --" He seems unsure of what to say, that's why he threw the stick and walked away. "I can't take it. You didn't even have money. Why not quit school and work instead!"

The moment her father left, she sighed in relief. That was the time when she felt the pain at her back, again. It hurt so much that she didn't know how to stop it from hurting. All she could ever do was shut her eyes.

Rowie winced. Janice couldn't help but pity her daughter because of the wounds. The cut on her right cheek was not that big, but the wounds at her back were a different situation. It would probably mark for weeks. Janice wished it won't leave a scar.

"I'm sorry about your father," Janice almost whispered. Raven was fast asleep now on her Mom's lap.

"You don't have to say sorry, Mom. It's not even your fault."

"I know. But, your father –"

"It was his fault, not yours. If there's one person who needs to say that, it's going to be him."

Janice gave her daughter a weak smile. She was so blessed to have a daughter like her. But, too bad she had to marry a cruel and violent man. She did not regret it, though. Now that she has Raven, and now, Rowie.

"I promise you, I'll find a job suitable for me to help you, okay? You don't have to work overtime tonight."

"No, Mom. I'm fine. I'll work overtime tomorrow, too, if I have to. I can manage."

"But, Rowie –"

"Mom, I love what I'm doing. Just let me do this for the three of us. When Dad comes, I have something to give him so that he won't hurt us, again."

"I'm sorry I am so useless."

"You're not, Mom. Just smile and stay the same. That's all I ever wanted."

Janice bit her lower lip to prevent her tears, but she failed. Tears flowed on her cheek casually that made Rowie cry as well.

Rowie was hurting. It hurt her to see her Mom and little sister cry. All she ever wished was to make the both of them happy. She wanted to make them happy because that would be her deceased Mom's wish, as well.

She failed to do that. She failed as a daughter and as a sister. That's why that day, she promised herself to be a better person; a better daughter and a sister. She would work hard for the three of them.