Let Me Go, Mr.Lancaster!

Stan ignored his message and just turned off the phone.

Hope was not able to sleep well that night. She felt uncomfortable that Stan, the owner of the bed she was lying in, was sleeping on the couch. She also couldn't fathom the idea that they were close to one another.

She woke up late because of her loud mind, and Stan was already waiting for her at the table when she woke up. The table was filled with eggs, porridge, loaves of bread, and a milk pitcher.

Instead of being in awe, Hope felt unsure and afraid because of their odd situation.

"Uncle," she called.

Stan stared at her with his deep, almost pure black eyes, as if he could cut up her skin and peer within her, and said with a cold voice, "Come and eat your breakfast after you wash yourself up."

Hope finished washing up and sat quietly, just almost beside him. Stan immediately handed her the thermometer once more and instructed her to take her temperature first.

Hope measured it, and the temperature has reduced. Her fever was officially gone.

Hope knew Stan made an effort to prepare her breakfast, and she couldn't let it go to waste. So, instead of always rejecting Stan's offers, Hope started to eat.

Stan ate his breakfast quickly and then waited for her to finish eating. She attempted to eat her breakfast quicker since she felt uncomfortable with Stan's eyes on her.

"I'll pick you up after school," Stan suddenly said.

Hope was shocked and raised her head to gaze at him. She wanted to say no, but as she met Stan's stare, she thought she couldn't refuse his offer. Again.

***

Hope's body was tense as she leaned against the car door on the way to school. She felt suffocated, with Stan only a few feet away.

"Call me if you need anything," Stan stated as she was about to get out of the car.

He has repeatedly stated this, but Hope answered, "Okay."

It looked like Stan didn't buy Hope's answer. His brows were knotted as if he was calculating and analyzing Hope's movements.

Hope felt terrified of him. Not because she thought Stan would hurt her, but because Stan would always say something about that drunken night that would catch her off guard.

For a moment, Stan remained silent. Seeing her scared expression, she eventually said nothing and slammed the latch open with a smash. Hope exhaled a sigh of relief as she walked away from the car and Stan.

***

HOPE WENT TO school, but she never attended any of her classes. She feared Sofia might bully her again. Sofia was not the type to bully her for a day only. It would usually take days before Sofia put her attention somewhere other than Hope.

But for a couple of days, Sofia was Hope's worst nightmare.

Hope decided not to go to her classroom immediately until the bell rang, but Sofia and Hope's eyes met when she entered the room.

Hope could also feel Sofia's gaze on her during class.

She lowered her head, trying to appear as small as possible. She also didn't dare to use the restroom during recess since she feared Sofia might be waiting for her. She only went to the bathroom while there were many people, hoping Sofia won't be able to find her.

She ignored what the teacher was saying all day, her ears ringing from fear.

Hope came out of the bathroom before the last morning lesson but ran into Sofia and her friends. The latter sent her a cold glance, and Hope pivoted to make room for the bully.

Hope didn't breathe a sigh of relief and rushed back to the classroom until Sofia entered the lavatory.

Once she returned to her seat, Hope felt a tug on her clothes, only to find Sydney's worried and anxious expression. Sydney slipped a small note in front of her, and Hope didn't dare to open the note immediately, thinking that someone might have been watching them.

She only opened it when the homeroom teacher gave them tasks to finish.

The only note had a few words scribbled on them, saying, "RUN AFTER SCHOOL!"

Hope froze as she stared at the note. It took her a few seconds before she finally came to her senses and shredded the note into pieces.

Hope didn't hear anything in her last two classes. Her body was drenched in cold sweat as she thought of being beaten again.

When the classes ended, she hurried downstairs with her school bag on her back, but she was grabbed and carried to the back of the abandoned laboratory building before she could leave.

A man shoved her against the wall, her head slamming against it, making her eyes see stars and blackness altogether. Her vision was recovering when she noticed Sofia approaching.

"You should've run faster."

Hope held her head, and she couldn't say anything because she couldn't overcome the pain of being shoved against the wall.

"I heard you like seducing men. Should I give you pleasure? What do you think?" a man's voice said, every word laced with maliciousness.

"Nah. Let's just break her face."

Hope didn't say anything. She acted as if no one was talking to her. It was one of her coping mechanisms and a way for her to act tough despite feeling helpless all the time.

Hope saw someone tug at Sofia's sleeves.

The girl looked worried when she spoke, "Hey, don't do it. Anything might happen by then."

Sofia went silent, thinking, before finally coming to a halt. Sofia was nervous about her grades and the fact that she might not graduate, and her fear and anxiety about the future made her want to vent even more.

However, instead of listening to rational reasoning, Sofia started to give Hope tiny slaps and kicks. Unlike the other beatings, the attack was more vicious.

She could almost feel her bones breaking and flesh turning violet from the punches she had just received. But the physical pain was nothing compared to her emotional pain.

She felt so small, so utterly unimportant, weak, and pathetic.

The beatings only stopped when Sofia was satisfied and left her alone. It was already dark when Hope recovered from the ground. Her knees felt weak as she stood up. She could also feel the trembling in her hands as she grabbed her phone which was continuously ringing.

Hope then started to walk towards the girls' lavatory. She always brought extra clothes in her suitcase and fumbled to the toilet to change. She washed her face, only to discover a green patch on her cheeks.

Her phone rang again as she was leaving the restroom. Hope didn't need to see the caller ID to figure out who it was. But she refused to take it.

She tucked her phone into her backpack, determined to avoid anyone, especially her Uncle Stan.

But before she could close the zipper, she heard a voice say, "Hope!"