RISEN: BURNING FLAME

Ava POV “Ava, you can´t stay here in the orphanage… at 14 years old no one would come and adopt you anymore… We need to put you into the system, and we have the perfect foster home for you…” Rose, the orphanage director said to me. Tears brimmed my eyes, the orphanage was all I had ever known, the place was my home, and I didn´t want to leave, but I knew I was so old and far beyond my ´adoption expiration date´. Couples usually came by and looked at the newborn kids or the little ones, not older than 2 years old. Very few looked for a bit older kids, but nothing older than a toddler. At 14, I should count my blessings and thank Rose for not putting me into the system sooner. “I understand, Rosa… “ I mumbled and went to my room to prepare my things. This was the moment I would be moving on, and hopefully will start my life in the outside world. Rosa found a family that wanted me, they were the Flannigans… Esther and Bob Flannigan. They were a rather young couple, not older than 48 years old, Esther couldn´t have any kids and they went into the system as foster parents. They took me and another ´leftover kid´ Roger, at the same time. Roger is a year older than me. Quickly Roger and I hit it off. He was funny and hyperactive. We shared a lot of interests. He loved to play music, while I loved to sing. He loved video games, while I could dance endless hours in Just Dance… It was as if moving into the outside world with the Flannigans was a match made in heaven. A social worker visited us several times during the first months, then the visits started spacing out, to once every two months until they got further apart to once every semester. We were a real family, or so I thought because everything changed when I turned 16 years old. At first Bob started acting weird when he was home alone with us. Sending Roger to random errands and such, and not allowing me to tag along my brother. Roger was a real older brother for me, althoug we couldn´t be any more different. I was short, not taller than 5´3” blonde, baby blue eyes, a button nose, and pucker pink lips. I was not thin but not fat, just curvy… many girls envied my shape, while Roger was tall about 6´2”, and hazel-eyed, chocolate skin football player. Putting us together was like looking at a ying-yang sign… and somehow just like that we balanced and fit together, like real siblings. And when I stayed behind he would want to talk to me, and somehow it made me feel uncomfortable. Roger was my brother and best friend, so when I told him about it he started paying attention. Yes, he agreed with me that Bob´s attitude towards me was weird so he advised me to stay locked up in my room when he was not home or to stick around him. Thankfully, that made Bob stop for a while, until the night that changed it all. Esther worked as a certified nurse, and with the long night shifts we barely saw her. Bob had a regular 9 to 5 job at a construction company, and he was the one at home during the after-school hours. That night, he walked in a bit later than usual, and he was stumbling on his feet. “Roger!” he yelled for my brother. We were in his room playing videogames, “Stay here, Ava…” Roger said and moved to the living room where Bob slumped in his chair. Opposite from what my brother instructed me, I moved to the staircase and peeked downstairs. “Roger, I need you to go to the pharmacy to get some painkillers…” I heard Bob say to Roger… “The guys had a little get-together and I had one too many…” He slurred his words. “Alright, I will get Ava…” Roger said but Bob stopped him… “No, you go alone… I am not feeling well, and I need Ava just in case I pass out…” He said, and Roger looked at the staircase and saw me with concern. “Alright, I will be right back…” He said, defeated. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and mouthed to me…´lock yourself up…´ in a silent understanding I slowly walked into his room, and locked myself in it. I was nervous and somehow I felt unease. I decided to listen to music in Roger´s earphones, to block out the nerves and to try to relax… without my borther here and with our drunken foster dad downstairs. I suddenly heard a lock thump, and removed my earphones I was really on high alert. I heard loud footsteps walking up, tripping loudly on the steps. I heard Bob curse several times. He stumbled around and made his way down the hallway, where my bedroom was. “AVAAAA” he chanted, while my skin crawled… Somehow in the back of my mind, I knew why he was looking for me… I backed against the wall and sat in the furthest corner of Roger´s room, hugging my knees, trying to brace myself in case he found me. “AVAAAA” he chanted again, and I heard him kick my bedroom door. “Come out, come out… we are going to play….” He chanted and tears welled in my eyes. “Where are you, witch!” He said and I shivered. The last time he tried to be cozy with me he called me that ´witch´ At first I thought he was calling me b***h but when he repeated it several times, I knew he had given his victim an odd pet name. I looked up and prayed…inside my head I pleaded for Roger to come back soon, I even wished to be invisible, so he could never find me. I heard more stumbling and heavy footsteps… He was definitely looking for me. He wiggled the doorknob and found it locked. “AVAAAA….” He yelled… “Open up!” He said but I pressed further against the wall. BANG. He knocked the door down… “Gotcha!” he said and I shook my head, not wanting to convey with what he wanted to do to me. “Now, sweet witch… this is going to be fun…” He slurred his words, and when I tried to run away from him, he picked me up and tossed me over Roger´s bed. He smacked me hard, making me see black spots, then towered over me and ripped open my blouse. “Now I knew you would be this fresh and delicious….” he said biting hard over the mound of my breast leaving teeth marks, making me cry. He touched me and ripped my clothes… I tried to fight but he was even bigger than Roger… not that fit or strong as my brother, in the end, he overpowered me. “Please…” I cried… and he bit me again. “That´s how I like it…. Beg me…” He said and opened up his pants stroking his member. It was not a sight I wanted to engrave in my memory, but alas, here we were… He was touching me and when he finally ripped my jeans off, I knew I was doomed and done… he parted my legs and positioned himself over me, and I braced myself for it, but it never came… a loud crash made me open my eyes up, and I saw Roger panting… “I am sorry, Ava… I shouldn´t have left you…” He said anting, while Bob lay there knocked out with his forehead open. Roger placed a blanket over my exposed body, and looked at me… “Pack up, we are leaving… NOW…” He said and kicked Bob again giving me time to flee to my room, dress and pack some essentials. “Roger…. What are we going to do?” I asked him and his hard look, softened. “Ava, I am turning 18 in two weeks… if we don´t leave now, I will have to go out of the system, and I will not be able to protect you from him… So we leave, I have enough money to rent a room for a couple of nights, until we can plan something…” He said determined, and I believed in him. We left that place and never turned back. Two days in a dodgy motel eating scraps, turned into two full months sleeping under a park bench, trying to fend for ourselves, until we met him, Barry… The neighborhood gangster… the one that offered us shelter, and found us jobs. I turned out to be quite a proficient waitress for a cafe, while Roger covered some shifts and did some dangerous errands for Barry. Roger managed to keep me out of danger for about, and despite knowing Barry was dangerous, he crawled into my heart. He was nice and tender. He showed me a sweet side that no one had the privilege to see, and he melted my walls. Neither Roger nor I, liked what we constantly saw around, but we couldn´t complain, Barry was the only one who etended a helping hand when we were living on the streets. I was in love with him, and eventually, we slept together… after that, everything changed. He started hiting me, verbally abusing me, and using me seually even when I said NO to him. Roger was a witness to all of it, and he even fought Barry a couple of times, but when one of Barry´s men held Roger at gunpoint we understood that it was that, or having my brother killed, and I couldn´t live without Roger. He was the only kind soul I have ever met, he was my protector. He often doubled shifts, because Barry took away most of our earnings… He called it ´rent´ so we accepted a gig for a catering company. This was something I would have never imagined it was for a Ball… The Ball was held in Central City, a city in a different realm. Yes, we knew about other species, but as humans, we were busy surviving and were never curious as to what was on the other side. The grand salon was majestic and full of people. Barry tagged along, and he and Roger were assigned the High-ranking área while I was placed close to the back, to where the regular people área was, I believe they call them ´omegas´ It was a masquerade, and you could tell the opulence at the front and the not-so-grandeur of the back. But if I have to be honest, the people I was tending were greatful and so much fun to be around, that I forgot I was serving the most lethal creatures that ever existed. I kept myself busy, and despite not getting any tips, I was having a blast. At midnight, everyone beamed with anticipation. It turns out the Ball was to find your soulmate, and everyone was excited to find out who they were paired with if they were paired to someone on this occasion. If only our life was that simple…. I sighed… At midnight a loud growl, and then another filled the room…. It was something magical but also terrifying… Roger walked towards me, his forehead sweating and his hands shaking. “What happened?” I asked him and he shook his head… “Better that you don´t know, Ava… but I need to go… I might end up in trouble… this time Barry messed with the wrong people…” He was almost white as a sheet. “Alright, maybe it ti time to hide?” I said and he slowly nodded… “You go first, I will cover for you… I will meet you back at Barry´s to plan our escape…” I said and he nodded. He kissed my forehead… “Be careful…” He said and ran away from the venue. Whatever Barry made him do, was nothing good. I decided to pick up a tray full of empty glasses, while people started rushing towards each other, growling and eyes flashing between them…I sighed, this whole idea was too good to be true… I made my way to the kitchen when I heard a loud growl send shivers down my spine. I turned around and saw a tall blonde guy with golden eyes staring right at me. “MATE!” he growled, and I dropped the tray, every single glass broke between us. Terrified, I ran away… as fast as I could, for as long as I could endure… I closed my eyes and thought about home… pain ripped through me, and suddenly everything turned black, by the time I regained consciousness I was there… safe at home… with Roger´s concerned eyes staring back at me and Barry sitting right next to me on his bed. What the hell just happened?