Painful Smiles

Chapter One – I hate my life. “I'll end it. What’s the use of living?” Michael Louis, heir of a wealthy French family. His happiness was cut short after the sudden assassination of his mother. Since then his father, Louis the sixth has been more than protective of his only heir. He had treated Michael like a prisoner. No friends, only home-school, one nanny. “Heir to the family’s wealth sounds like a curse” he sobs. His room echoes his voice, scaring him. He reaches out for a kitchen knife he hid under his pillow. Cleaning his eyes, he puts the knife on his wrist and slowly cuts his wrist deeply. “I care less about you dad, I want to be with mommy” he cries. He hadn’t anticipated the pain, it was more than he imagined. It was like realization hit him as he dropped the knife and landed on the ground with it. Tears were streaming down his eyes but not as fast as the blood streaming down his wrist. He tries to shout but his voice seemed locked. He struggles harder and screams. That took his remaining strength. His eyes were becoming heavy and his heart beats widely. He was succumbing to the inner peace he was feeling when he heard inaudible sounds belonging to his nanny. He closed his eyes to succumb. **************************************************** “I hate my life. I hate it” yelled Claudia. She was the first twin yet she had to do anything her other twin wanted. “Why can’t Clara play with my gadgets? Must it be Barbie dolls houses all the time?” she whined helplessly. She groaned loudly and collapsed on her bed. Someone opened her door. “What!” she shouted assuming it was her naughty twin. It was her mom. “Um.. we are going to see Mark at the hospital. Coming?” her mom asked. The girl’s expression changed, she quickly hopped up from bed. She dragged down her little scarf which Mark had given her and tied it carelessly on her neck. She arranged a little camera and radio in her little bag. Mark was the only one who seemed interested in her gadgets, sadly, he’s was sick. At the hospital, her parents were having a hard time finding Mark’s room number, they didn’t want to ask anyone either. “Mark’s mom sent it to us. We would find it, hold on” her father said when Claudia had begged him to ask around. She groaned loudly again. “Asking a nurse would be so much easier, must you be as stubborn as your second daughter all the time” she stomps angrily. Her father glares at her, “watch your manners, young lady. Mark’s mom phone number isn’t going”. Finally, her parents left them on a seat and left to meet a nurse. Another nurse was running hysterically towards them. Claudia felt beaten when her parents told her they couldn’t find Mark in the three-story building hospital. She was sure they didn’t ask the nurse at the door but went to search on their own. So stubborn. “What exactly is the use of the person there if people visiting a patient can’t ask her a question?” Claudia grumbled. “Grumbling again? Stop it” her mother cautioned. On their way out, Doctor James, the doctor that had delivered Clara and Claudia, met them on their way and he began chatting with her parents. The girls went back to the seat. “You wanted to kill Mark with all your junk toys again, right?” Clara’s annoying voice asked. For a moment, Claudia forgot she was suffering from a younger sister bullying, meeting Mark had excited her. Claudia ignored her. It was best. As she stood up from her chair, the nurse with a stained gown ran towards her. “Blood, I need blood” she asked looking very perturbed. “Are you an O negative, please, help him, donate” she begged. Claudia was shocked because she knew the nurse must be crazy. Minors don’t donate without parents permission. Where were her parents when she needed? They weren’t around. “Go on donate, you’re an O negative, be useful for once” giggled Clara. Claudia shot her a hard glare, “this is serious. Not a joke, maniac” she shouted. “Miss, you want to kill me?” Claudia asked the nurse. It seemed the nurse was not listening to her. “I’ll cover it up, no one would ever know. Just help me” the nurse ranted. She was wearing a pleading look. “Take her, she’s free and has enough blood to share” Clara said now pushing her sister to the nurse. Before Claudia could resist the nurse was rushing her to a room to suck up her blood. “I thought my parents would sign something first” Claudia asked quietly. The nurse was busy with something. “This is suicide. Clara wants me dead” she begins crying. ************************************************* “Why? Why am I still alive?” Just then, Mrs. Peniel entered with a cane in her hand. “You know Michael, I have orders from your father to whip you when you misbehave” she yelled menacingly. He didn’t budge, he was already sad he couldn’t meet his mom. “But you know what? I won’t. It won’t solve anything” she threw the cane to the ground. “So why?” she asked. “Why?” he asked back, “I’m tired, I miss my mom, I’m a curse to everything that’s why my mom died protecting me. If I had been ...more…brave and not a fool, my mom would still be alive. Why? Because I want mommy back!” he was crying profusely. Mrs. Peniel drew him closer to herself and patted him. She could relate to after loosing her only son to a car accident. He was just seven. But she still knew they was a reason to live. When Michael finally slept, she went to see his life saver. Her younger sister, the nurse, had taken blood from a twelve-year-old child. Without parents permission. “That was very risky” she mumbled as she walked to Claudia’s ward. The wards and rooms looked alike. Mrs. Peniel soon got confused on the rooms. “What number was it again?” she thought. She picked a room and barged in.