-(10 years earlier)-

“How many goddamn times do I have to tell you to stay away from the fucking windows, you little brat!” Vanessa hissed, grabbing onto my skinny arm with a grip that could've rivalled any tiger’s, her newly done nails digging like claws into my skin making me wince.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit! Not again!

“I'm sorry,” I pleaded, “I didn't mean to-”

She laughed, a cold, humourless sound dripping with honey and poison. “Oh, I'm sure you didn't, Kitten, a good little girl like you- the walls just moved to you on their own, did they? The curtains just pulled themselves back?”

She yanked me forwards, away from the window, her grip still tight even as my little legs buckled beneath me, leaving me dangling ever so slightly by my arm.

“I- I'm sorry…” I squeaked, forcing the tears away before they fell. Crying just made things worse.

“Sorry’s not gonna cut it, Emily,” She sneered, “I'm sick and tired of repeating myself over and over again to get it through your stupid little head; if I have to tell you one more time about the fucking windows, I'll feed you to Rex, understand?”

“Yes, Vanessa.” I said with a whimper.

She dropped me, leaving me on my hands and knees in front of her, only succeeding in making her look just that extra bit taller and me feel 10 times smaller.

Like a mouse- or worse, a kitten.

“Good girl,” she praised, “but don't think for one moment you're off the hook. You've been a naughty little girl, Kitten, you know what happens to naughty children, don't you?”

I nodded, looking away from her, down at my carpet-burnt hands. “Y-yes, Vanessa.”

“You don't want that, do you?”

My stomach dropped at the thought. “N-no, Vanessa.”

She walked back over to the window, leaving me on my knees, pulling the curtains shut once again, blocking out my only glimpse of the outside world I rarely ever saw. “Then you'd best get back to your little cage before I lose my patience, Emily, you're in deep enough shit as it is.”

I scrambled back onto my feet, freezing in place with a squeak as Rex padded over to me, taking interest in my sudden movement. I held my breath and clenching my fists tight as he sniffed me, bracing myself in case he grabbed me again. ‘Don't eat me, don't eat me, don't eat me!’ I prayed over and over in my mind.

“Leave her alone, Rexie.” Vanessa sighed, beckoning the dog over, running her hand over his thick skull lovingly. “Basement, Kitten. Now.”

My bare feet padded across the room as quickly as I could to fulfil her order without garnering Rex's attention again. The dog sat next to his mistress, nuzzling into her leg, tail thumping against the ground as she fussed him, telling him what a good boy he was and how much she loved him. Lies, all lies. Rex is a bad dog.

Just as I reached the basement door, someone rattled their fist against the front door, making me jump and Vanessa's attention shift.

“Fucking Hell…” She mumbled to herself, standing up, brushing the dog hair off of her trouser leg and walking over, grabbing my wrist again.

“I swear to fucking God if that's a neighbour, Kitten, I'm gonna beat your pathetic ass so badly you're never gonna be able to climb the basement stairs again- got it?”

She didn't wait for an answer, her other hand reached for the doorknob and with a little twist, the door opened, revealing the creaky wooden stairs to my own personal Hell, stained red in a few places from my blood.

The knocking started up again and she forced me forwards and shoved me down the steps.

It wasn't a long fall by any means, but it still hurt. My six-year-old body went tumbling down ten whole steps, hitting my head on the wall and catching the skin on my knee on a loose screw on the way, landing at the bottom with a loud thud and a shaky whimper.

“I'll deal with you later,” she sneered, "And don't even think about asking me for food after that little stunt, Kitten. Puedes sentarte ahí y pudrirte toda la puta semana." Were her final words as she slammed the basement door shut.

The lock clicked and I was alone in the darkness once again.

I didn't get up, I couldn't.

I curled up tighter, the damp concrete floor sticking to my skin, mingling with the blood pouring from my cheek and listened.

She'll go to bed eventually, that I knew for sure, then I would be able to deal with my emotions without her hearing me and coming back down- but until then, I lay in silence, my small chest heaving with the effort of breathing as I listened to the sound of footsteps above, and the sound of her opening the front door.

Only one thought ran through my young mind:

I am never getting out of here.

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-(Present day)-

The world froze around me.

My head spun in all sorts of directions and my vision blurred in the corners. This can't be happening!

A floodgate opened in my mind and the memories I kept trying to push down for the past five years came rushing back to me all at once.

My brain screamed at my legs to run, but they didn't listen. All I could only stand there and stare as the woman I was promised I'd never see again stood in front of me with the dog I was told would be put down.

She circled me, and even now, pushing forty, she was absolutely gorgeous. Her black, tightly coiled hair was laced with strands of grey and her naturally tan skin was looser around her frame now, and yet not as much as you would expect. She could still easily be mistaken for 28.

“What's the matter, Kitten? Why so quiet? You never used to be. Do I really scare you that much?”

My mouth opened but no words formed. My brain went completely blank- I hardly remembered how to breathe.

“What are you- how did- why-” My sorry, fumbled attempt at speaking died on my tongue. My legs finally listened, at least a little, managing a singular unsteady step backwards.

Big mistake.

I backed right into Rex, making the once towering beast bark and jump up to grab onto my arm. I screamed out of instinct, pulling away, almost falling over in the process, only adding to Vanessa's sick amusement.

It took me a moment to realise that the pain I was expecting didn't come- I double checked, glancing quickly at the arm that stupid mutt had tried to grab, not wanting to take my eyes off of Vanessa for too long, and sure enough, there was nothing. No blood, no wound, just a slick layer of saliva.

“You aren't still scared of Rex are you, Emily? He's harmless now- not a single tooth left- he's slower too.”

Sure enough, looking back at him now, Rex was nothing like the brute that guarded me as a child- his chestnut and white coat was duller than I remembered, his muzzle was grey and his eyes foggy.

He looked smaller now too- but that may just be because I've grown a lot since I was eleven.

Wow, five years really did a number on him…

“Just get your demon dog the fuck away from me, Vanessa.” I finally managed, glaring at the beast who was now looking up at his beloved mistress with a wagging tail, expecting a treat for ‘fetching’ me. Though my words were lacking the bite they usually held.

“Down, Rex.” Vanessa commanded, chuckling to herself, and the dog obeyed with robot-like precision, plopping to the ground, his tongue lolling out the side of his jaws.

She bent down, giving him a kiss on his ugly head, and a gentle pat on the side, turning her attention back to me. “Ah, she still speaks! Good. I was getting worried for a minute there, Kitten.”

“Fuck off, Vanessa. I- I’m done with you.” I said, taking another step back, cursing the way my voice quivered.

“Well now, look at you, all grown up- that’s plain rude, y’know,” She chuckled, “Come on, kitten, it hasn’t been that long. Is that any way to speak to the person who raised you?”

The sheer audacity of this woman was something I never could wrap my head around. Raise me? This woman stole me away from my bio parents at three, kept me locked in her basement, starved me and beat the crap out of me whenever I did something “wrong”, and now here she was, claiming to have raised me?!

Yeah, fuck that.

“You didn’t raise me, Vanessa, you stole me. There’s a difference.” I bit. I’ve spoken to her like this before- yet my body was still tense and shaking, ready to block an attack at a moment's notice.

‘She’s safe when she’s sober.’ I reminded myself- echoing the mantra I clung to as a child. It wasn’t 100% true, but it was close enough to ease my nerves at least a bit back then.

She chuckled again, the sound grating against every nerve in my body and I had to fight the urge to clench my teeth.

“Maybe,” she conceded, “but just remember, you wouldn't be alive right now if I hadn't been there to feed your sorry ass. You'd just be rotting alone down in that basement forever.”

I tried to speak again, but she cut me off with a raised hand. It didn’t matter what I wanted, my body has learnt to obey her no matter what or expect pain.

Why do I let her do this? Why did I ever let her have this much control over me? Why am I still giving her power?

…Fuck…

“I’m not here to talk semantics with you, Gatita, we’d be here forever. It was a pleasure catching up, but I shouldn't be talking to minors full stop- let alone you or whatever the fuck that little friend of yours was called.”

For some reason, her words made me pause.

Wait, she's not interested in me anymore? Why not? Did I do something wrong?!

Vanessa was already beginning to walk away, Rex trotting along beside her with a loose leash and tail held high as if he was the king of the world or some shit.

Stupid mutt.

I blink, grounding myself. What the hell just happened?

Her hourglass figure started to move further and further away when my dumb body decided to act on its own once again- always making the wrong decisions. “Wait!” I called out pitifully, like a lost lamb crying out for its shepard, my legs moving quickly to catch up to her.

‘What the actual living fuck are you doing, Emily?!’ I yelled internally, but I didn't stop. I reached out, pausing right before I touched her- I don't think I've ever initiated physical contact with her before, and honestly, I'm scared to.

She turned back around, raising a perfectly-done eyebrow at my outstretched hand, but she didn't comment.

I awkwardly put my hand back down, shifting my weight. What am I doing?

“That's it?” I questioned, trying to make it sound like I wanted her to stay so I could tell her off more, but in truth, I didn't know why I wanted her to stay. My brain was torn in two- one half telling me to get the hell out of here right now, and the other craving her validation- her attention- positive or negative.

What has this bitch done to my brain?

She tilted her head, watching me with a sort of lazy amusement. “That’s it? What more do you want, Kitten? Me to get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness?” She smirked, the kind that always made my stomach lurch.

I should’ve walked away. I should’ve left her behind, just like I always told myself I would if I ever saw her again. But I couldn’t. My feet stayed planted, heavy with the weight of all the things I never said, all the things I was still too afraid to say.

“I…” My throat tightened. What was I doing? What did I want? Closure? An apology? She wouldn’t give me any of that. “I don’t know.”

She looked me over for a long while- or maybe it just felt long to me- the tiny rain droplets making her wild black hair glitter in the dim streetlights.

“Walk with me, then, Kitten.” She finally said, "You look like you could use the company.”