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July Greek (18) grew up in a world of money problems, alcohol and drugs. She has a brother and two sisters, all from different fathers but the same mother. Their lives weren't easy. They have been homeless, they have been abused, they have been mistreated and drugged. They don't tell anyone about their lives and keep to themselves. Oldest brother Sept moved away a long time ago, leaving oldest sister Marchi to the task of taking care of mom and her sisters July and Deci. But then one day mother gets arrested and all goes to shit. Their house got broken into, Marchi gets fired and child protective services tries to take Deci away. Men are hunting them. Their mom is hiding something and they think the sisters know where it is. It's not safe for them to stay home. Who are those men? What has mom been hiding from them? Who can they trust? Where is Sept? The hunt begins. Ps: I'm Dutch, English is not my first language. I'm sorry if I made any spelling mistakes.
JULY'S POV
Almost 12 years ago.....
A loud bang. A hard scream. Silence. I start to cry.
'July, ssh. We have to hide. Come July we have to hide.' My sister's voice is trembling with fear when she whispers in my ear. Marchi's shaking body is holding tightly onto mine. Someone is in our house; I can hear them. There are men in our house; they are talking very loudly now. What is happening?
Marchi takes my hand and pulls me out of bed. Mom had said if this would ever happen again, we have to hide. We run to the small stairs that leads to the tiny attic. We have a secret wall there. We will be safe. We have to be safe.
I can hear another scream. Mommy. I want to run up to her and hug her.
'No, July we have to keep going.' Marchi whispers. We hurry upstairs.
'Where is Sept?' I whisper back to her.
'I don't know.' my sister said. Where is our brother if you need him? He is probably not even home.
Another scream echoes through the house, but this time it's a male's voice.
'You bitch!' he yelled.
Marchi and I run up to the secret wall. She pushes the hatch to the side and wants me to go inside first. She comes in seconds later and closes the hatch behind her. It's dark inside and I can't see a thing. Marchi holds onto me tight while sitting on her lap. I hide my face in her chest and cry. What if the bad man hurt mommy or even worse; hurt us.
'Ssh, don't cry. They will leave. They always leave.' Marchi says, but she doesn't sound so sure right now. Marchi is way more than just my sister. She is seven years older and has been taken care of me, because mommy can't sometimes. We have found mom more than once drunk, high, passed out or sleeping on the couch. Sometimes she says she is going to buy groceries, only to come home a week later.
Our brother Sept doesn't like mom. Sept and mom fight a lot and when he leaves, mom cries for days and drinks even more.
We sit in the dark for a long time. Mommy will find us when they are gone. We just have to wait. We don't hear screams anymore. Are they gone? Is mommy okay? I never been so afraid in my life. It's taking too long. I want to get out and see if she's okay.
We can hear someone walk up the stairs to the attic. The steps crack with every step. That is not mom. It's the sound of heavy boots; it is one of the men.
Marchi almost squeezes me now. She cries with me in silence. We stay as quiet as we can. We can't make a sound.
Then the hatch is pushed aside and I scream. There is a man standing in front of us. He has a wide grin on his face.
'Well well, what do we have here? The bitch has kids. I knew it.' The man takes a hold of Marchi's ankle. She screams and hold me tight while we are dragged out our hiding place. Another man runs up to us and takes me away from her protecting arms. I scream and try to get away. I punch and kick him, but he throws me over his shoulder and walks downstairs like I weight nothing. He never let me go as we walk into the living room. More than six men are standing in the small living room, where mom lays on the ground. The man puts me down on my feet. I want to run to mom, but the man behind me is holding me in place by grabbing my arms. Next to me the other man does the same to Marchi. She looks really scared and stares at mom.
'Hello there.' A man walks up to us. He grins angerly. He is a bad man; I can tell. He has his long raven black hair pushed to one side; showing his long scar from his hairline to his jaw. A drop of blood in his mouth corner, lets me know he was the one screaming in anger. Mom had hit him. He kneels in front of me. His black dark eyes of evil staring right into mine. His hand reaches up to touch my face. I instantly take a step back from him.
'Don't touch her!' mommy screams. Her long brown hair is knotted and her forehead is bleeding. The bad man had hurt her. 'Please, don't touch her. She is only six years old.'
The man's grin grows wider and asks: 'What is your name sweety?'
'I don't talk to bad man.' I answer. 'You hurt mommy. I don't like you.'
'Oh, you are feisty for a six-year-old. I like it.' The man holds my chin and squeezes. I try to get away, but he just holds me tighter and so does the man holding my arms. I whimper in fear.
'Let her go!' my mom screams. A man that was holding her, just punched her in the face. Her head swung to the side when his fist hit her cheek. She now only whimpers too.
'I'm sorry mommy.' I let my tears go free.
'Just answer my question and I don't have to hurt your mom. Can you do that?'
I just nod.
'What is your name?'
'July.' I answer.
'Where is your father?'
'Dead.'
The man just raised an eyebrow. My dad had died before I was born; I never even met him. The man let go of my chin and walks over to Marchi. 'What is your name, darling?' I now only see the bruise on Marchi's face. The man holding her had hit her too. How didn't I notice this before? Someone hit her.
'Marchi.' she said with a soft shaking voice. She didn't cry; not in front of these men.
'And your father?' You can see we're related, but definitely not from the same father.
'In jail.' she says.
'Mom, is it okay if I have some fun with your daughters? They look lovely.' His evil laugh echoes through the room. He is still grinning; he really enjoys himself. He cups Marchi's cheeks, trying to kiss her, but she just spits in his face. He simply smiles and wipes away her spit. 'Let's have some fun.' he says.
'No!' mom screams. 'Just take me. Don't touch my daughters. They have nothing to do with this. Just take me. I can't pay you, but I would never let you take my children. Just take me.'
'Okay, way to go mommy. Let's go to your room then.' He looks over to us one more time and says to his men: 'Just tie them up. They are little but feisty and we can't have them ruin our plans.'
The following hour was terrible. Both me and Marchi cried. Mom was screaming a lot. The man watching us, were smiling the whole time. Couldn't they hear mommy scream? Didn't they care?
The evil man came walking into the living room again. He was alone. Where was mommy? He kneeled in front of us. 'I will see you again girls. I promise you.' he said and just left. The men all just left. Marchi and I were both tied up to a chair. We couldn't protect mom, we couldn't go to her, we couldn't call the police. We thought we were going to die.
Almost 12 years later...
I run downstairs. Marchi is already in the kitchen. She is almost ready with the cake. I smile at her as she strokes my head. It's the best cake we have had in years. Together we walk to our bedroom. I'm excited for her to see it.
'1, 2, 3.' Marchi says. I push the door open.
'Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday sweet Deci. Happy birthday to YOOOOOUUUUU!' we sing together.
'Oh my god!' Deci screams with her hands in front of her mouth. On the queen sized bed we all three share together, my little sister sits in her pink pajama's, smiling from ear to ear. I can't believe she is eleven years old now. How did this happen? She was only a little baby yesterday.
'Make a wish.' I say to her.
Deci blows out the candles and smiles. 'This is the best cake I have ever seen.' she says happily.
'That was what I thought!' Her smile is everything to me. She is the best thing we got from that horrible night almost twelve years ago. 'Only the best for you.' I say.
Marchi, Deci and I ate almost the half of the cake. We ate it for breakfast and probably for dinner tonight too. Deci opened all her presents we got for her. A shirt from Walmart with a butterfly on it, two candy bars, lavender soap and a tiara for in her hair. It isn't much, but it was all we could give her. Even without presents she would be happy on her birthday. Just being with family was the best gift.
We are a broken family. We are all alone here. Mom got depressed after that night. She hasn't been sober for a long time now. She is probably high or drunk in her room again. I don't know. I haven't seen her yet. She could even be dead.
We are broke. Marchi tries to care for us, let us go to school as she works her ass off working three different jobs. When I finish high school, I can help her. I would find work too. I can help her take care of Deci. We sisters have to stay together. Sept left us two weeks after we were found. We had been tied up for almost three days. We nearly died. He blamed himself for not being there to protect us and he left us again. He sometimes calls or writes a letter. I haven't seen him in two years now.
I wake up from my thoughts when I hear a voice behind me.
'What is happening here?' mom asks with a low crackling voice. Her face was red, her skin is pale. She wears a white pajama with dirty brown and red spots. Her hair is a mess. At least we now know she is still alive, but she didn't even know it's Deci's birthday. Stupid mom.
Maya Picori didn't have a normal childhood. After her father died when she was only ten years old, Maya's mother became a sex worker at home. There were always naked men walking in their house. Maya was just curious about the things her mother did. But curiosity can be dangerous. Men will be lying, taking advantage of her innocence. And now she is paying the price. Tears are running down my face. ‘Mom, I'm pregnant.’ I felt the pain she left behind by slapping me across my face. I lower my head. I don't want her to hit me again, just by looking at her. I take a step back, now with my back against the door, I have no way to go. ‘No, you're not! You told me you didn't have a boyfriend! Don't lie to me, Maya!’ she screams at my face. ‘Look at me you slut!’ I was kicked out of the house that day. I'm 15 years old, pregnant and homeless. This is my story. It's full of love, lies and betrayal.
What if you actually have nine lives and only have four left? My name is Carmen and this shit all started at the day I was born. There was a witch that cursed me to this fate. The only way to survive is when I turn eighteen with still one or more lives left. But how older I get, how harder it is to survive. Not only a group of scientists are looking for me, to test me, cut me open, to let me die again. Now there is someone else looking for me too. A priest who believes I made a deal with the devil. How am I ever going to live when everyone wants me dead? Ps: there will be some cursing about and against god. I'm so very sorry if I offend you in any way. Pps: I'm Dutch, English is not my first language.
What if your family is one of the most famous families of the word, all but you? Your whole life you are kept hidden away. They threat you like dirt, like you don't even matter. While all you want is to be seen. Not by the whole world like your family members, but by your mom, the one that supposed to take care of you but hasn't spoken to you in months. This is the reality of Shelly Weekland. Mistreated, bullied, abused, tortured, ignored. While her family is living the happy life in their own realityshow, their lives aren't that perfect when the camera's are off. Every single one of them has their own secrets, their own stories and somehow Shelly knows them all. But is it safe to know so much?
Nova Hawk has it all. Money, reputation, a loving family and amazing friends. But she lost it all when she wakes up in the middle of the night after her eighteenth birthday party. Someone is in her room. She gets kidnapped by a group of six men that form a rockband that tour around America, giving concerts along the way. The lead singer Brad is the scariest of the six men, he also claims to be her biological father. After a while Nova finds herself enjoying the freedom she never had. She learns to play electric guitar, she travels to places she never went and feels closer to her mother that ever. Will she choose to stay in the live of rock, sex and alcohol? Or will she escape her horny father and friends to live with her younger sister at her aunt's house? Ps: I'm Dutch, English is not my first language. I'm sorry if I made any spelling mistakes. Pps: Be aware of strong language, abuse and rapings. Don't read it if it's too dark.
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
Sandra Hill, the long-lost real heiress of the Hill family, was shunned by her own kin. Instead of embracing her, they bestowed their affection upon an impostor. They even arranged her to marry a vegetative man in place of her so-called “sister”. Sandra sneered, refusing to put up with this humiliation, cut off ties with the Hill family immediately and ran into the flash marriage with Wesley Cooper, her unconscious billionaire husband. With her incredible medical skills, she defied the odds and revived him. Little did she expect that her husband spoiled her with all his love... A medical genius, a computer prodigy, a national treasure in painting, and a racing legend... Her husband revealed her various identities, leaving the Hill family regretful. Her father came pleading, "It's Dad's fault. Please come back." Her mother wept, "Mom will protect you from now on. Please come back." Even her five brothers knelt before he, begging for forgiveness. Yet, Sandra's smile held a hint of mockery as she vowed, “Never!”
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?
"Ahh!" She was in a moaning mess. She did not want to feel anything for this man. She hated him. His hands began to move all over her body. She gasped when he pulled down the back chain of her dress. The chain stopped at her lower waist, so when he zipped it off, her upper back and waist were exposed. "D-Don't touch m-ummm!" His fingers rolled around her bare back, and she pressed her head against the pillow. His touches were giving her goosebumps all over her body. With a deep angry voice, he whispered in her ear, "I am going to make you forget his touches, kisses, and everything. Every time you touch another man, you will only think of me." - - - Ava Adler was a nerdy omega. People bullied her because they thought she was ugly and unattractive. But Ava secretly loved the bad boy, Ian Dawson. He was the future Alpha of the Mystic Shadow Pack. However, he doesn't give a damn about rules and laws, as he only likes to play around with girls. Ava was unaware of Ian's arrogance until her fate intertwined with his. He neglected her and hurt her deeply. What would happen when Ava turned out to be a beautiful girl who could win over any boy, and Ian looked back and regretted his decisions? What if she had a secret identity that she had yet to discover? What if the tables turned and Ian begged her not to leave him?
"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but Little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."