I flinch as dad raises his hand to grab an apple from the apple tree. He doesn’t notice as he looks at me, “What?” he asks, his voice gruff as his eyes are a dark brown to almost black; the wind tossing his hair to make it seem like it’s a mess.

I shake my head and look away, “N-nothing Sir,” I say softly as he grunts and keeps walking. I keep my head down as I hear him grumbling to himself.

“Damn,” he growls as I hear the slight burning rage in his voice, “go home and give these to your mother, hurry up,” he jeers as I jump and nod, taking the bag full of red apples before I start heading back to the house.

Need to hurry, don’t need the whip-like last time. I think as I bite my lip, heading onto the porch as I see my mothers grey eyes as her hair is like a sticky dark blonde as it sticks to her neck. I set the apples down as she stares at me, “H-He told me to bring these to y-you,” I say softly as she stands; tipping my head up roughly as her eyes are hard.

“Do not stutter, you sound slow and speak up,” she says bitterly as I nod, “Yes Ma’am,” I say softly as she pushes me slightly, making me stumble back, “Head back to him, you make me sick looking at you this early,” she says as I nod, turning as I hurry down the steps as I head back to where my father is.

I hurry to him as I see another figure, his hair blue with black tips, his hight taller than most of the tiny apple trees around 4 feet high. I blink and slowly head over to them, my dad talking to him before he turns, looking at me, “Took you long enough,” he says; grabbing my arm roughly as he pulls to him, making me yelp slightly.

“S-Sorry Sir,” I say softly as he growls lowly before turning to the guy, “I’m sorry about her,”

The guy looks at my father a hint of anger in his eyes before looking back at me, his eyes a nice shade of brown. I look away as he lets me go, fixing my wrap on my arm as my fingers tremble, “M-Mother took them,” I see as he tips my head up, “speak up Girl,” he says as I bite my lip.

“Mother t-took the apples,” I say as he hums and lets me go as he looks at the guy. I dip my head lowly. I feel the guys gaze on me, it fades away as he mumbles something under his breath.

“Anyway, we can talk more while she runs to the store to get what we need,”

“Alright,” the guy says, his a nice low octave, some sort of accent mixed in with the roughness. I glance up at him, tilting my head slightly. He looks down at me, a small grin on his face as his eyes seem to lighten to a soft hazel.

I bite my lip, looking away as my father nudges me roughly, “get going,” he growls as I jump and nod, heading down the trail, who is he?

I come back with the bags from the store as I set them on the porch, “Mother?” I call as I see her come out with a whip.

“W-wait, w-what did I d-do?” I ask as I back up. Her eyes harden as disgust enters them before she cracks the whip beside me.

“Did you listen to your father?”

“Y-yes,” I nod as she steps forward, making me slip on the steps as I fall and back up.

“But you forgot the milk,” she says as I blink, “I-I wasn’t t-told,” I say as I see her face contort in rage as feel the sting of the whip on my side; making me yelp as it burns.

“Honey, take her inside,” I hear my father say as I jump and look back, my mother putting the whip behind her as I see blood starting to soak into my shirt. The guy looks at me a frown on his face as 

I notice something in his eyes he sighs.

I stand quickly as my mother grabs my arm, “let's go, get cleaned up and get the house in shape,” she says as I wince and scurry up the stairs, heading inside the whitewashed house as I hurry up the stairs. The look in the guys face lingers in my mind.

I blink before I shake my head, heading into my small room with only a bed and a dresser; the walls bare as I pull my now stained shirt over my head. I open my drawer and grab the cloth before I hiss; wrapping it around my waist before slipping on a long-sleeved shirt as I hurry out my room. I bump into something hard as I hear a grunt.

I blink and look up, “A-ah, sorry,” I say softly, “Excuse me,” I say as I start walking past. I feel his hand on my arm as he squeezes gently. I jump and look up at him, “Y-yes?”

He looks forward as he opens his mouth. “Are you alright?” he asks, his accent a bit stronger than before

“U-um, y-yes, I a-am,” I say as I nod, “D-did I do so-something? Please don’t t-tell them,” I say softly.

“You’re lying,” he says, his voice getting rougher, “You did nothing wrong.”

I jump at his voice, “I-I’m not lying,” I say quickly as I step back. He nods “how long have they been abusing you?” he says, his voice calm again.

I blink, “U-um…...th-they don’t….” I say, looking away.

“Girl!” I hear my mother yell for me, making me flinch.

He sighs as I feel him slip something into my pocket before he walks past me into the bathroom. I bite my lip and hurry downstairs.