"The worst feeling is
Feeling unwanted by the
the person who you loved
the most"
-unknown
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PLS COMMENT ON MY CHAPTER AS IT MAKES MY DAY! THANK YOU!

TW VIOLENCE AND SA!! PLS SKIP TILL THE BOLD AND ITALICS LINES ARE GONE IF NOT COMFORTABLE

*** (SKIP IF NEEDED HERE)***

"I think that it is enough for one day, right?" William smirked, taking his fist to his chest and caressing the bruised knuckles. 10-year-old me didn't say anything as I tried to not scream in pain from all the beatings on my ribs, stomach, and face.

"Well, I think it is enough of punching," William corrected, smiling broadly, making me cower in fear. "I think it is time for some water huh?"

"Please, no," I pleaded but he just ignored me and continued to unchain my wrist and legs before dragging me to a big pot filled with ice-cold water. Without any warning, he roughly pushed my head into the water. Just as I was about to faint from drowning, he pulled me out just for me to get a second of fresh air before dunking me inside the water again.

He continued to this for what felt like 2 hours before roughly dragging me back and throwing me onto the floor making me hit my head against the wall. I groaned in pain as I felt blood dripping from my forehead. He, however, paid no mind to me as he continued clanking chains on me again.

He then roughly pulled my hair and spoke in my ears. "You know Ariana? You are nothing but weak and pathetic. You are so ugly. I fucking hate you. I wish you were not my daughter at all."

I just stared at the floor emotionlessly as I continued to listen to his insults, feeling nothing at all. I already knew all of this was true so why would I feel anything from hearing the truth?

"You are worthless, useless, a failure, a mistake. I want to fucking kill you, but you are lucky that someone is holding me back and paying me good money for it," William continued in my ear. A single tear fell down from my eye as I thought about all the good memories of him and me. He used to take me out for ice cream, twirl me around in the air, watch Disney princess movies with me, and way more.

Suddenly I fell through a hole and into an abyss before coming into another memory.

10-year-old me felt like crying when I felt his hands going through my waist and underneath my shirt. Just as he was about to touch my breasts, I screamed and kicked him with all my might onto his private part. He fell and groaned as I stared at him, scared for my life, trying to unchain the chains but to no avail.

"HELP, PLEASE," I screamed though I knew it was useless, but I still did it in panic. "HELP! I NEED IT! PLEASE!"

"You stupid bitch!" Willaim grunted, punching me hard on the stomach, making me cry in pain. He continued to punch me more aggressively than he ever did. I heard a knock on the door before I heard someone kick it open. Just before I fainted due to pain, hunger, and exhaustion, I saw the police arresting him, the medics, and Mum's wild angry, yet worried and panicked eyes.

*** FINISHED***

I gasped, getting out of my bed, and turning the light on beside me. Surprisingly, I hadn't screamed but this is my worst nightmare yet.

Stupid William. Frick him.

Frick my photographic memory

I shivered even though I was covered in sweat, looking at the clock. It was three in the morning, and I knew I couldn't sleep alone anymore. The first person that came to mind was Weston. I spent no time and went and knocked on his door albeit aggressively. He opened the door, and I didn't waste any time hugging him really hard and sobbing.

"Ana?" He questioned as he hugged me back, his voice full of concern, making me want to cry harder. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Wes," I said. "C-can I sleep in your bedroom tonight?"

He didn't spend any time as he carefully put me on his bed before lying down on his bed. As he went to close the lamp, I immediately shook my head and grabbed his hand.

"Please, don't," I said, pleadingly.

He slowly got up, nothing but concern, showing in his eyes as he looked at me. "What is going on Ana? I won't push you, but you can always tell me anything."

I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself before speaking, knowing that I could trust my eldest brother. "D-did mom tell you what happened?"

Weston nodded, seeming to start knowing what was going on. "Yes."

"W-well, I guess it badly triggered me as I got a nightmare from it," I continued, playing with the blanket that was covering me. "I thought I could handle it, but tonight was just too much. I can't stay in my room; it feels like he's still there, h-haunting me."

Without another word, Weston looked at me with reassuring and soft eyes. "Stay here. I'll get you something unless you want to come with me."

"I will just stay here," I mumbled. He nodded and gently left the room. I let out a shaky breath as I recalled all the haunting memories still fresh in my mind.

A few minutes later, Weston came back into the room with two steaming mugs. He gave, me what I now identified, as hot chocolate before sitting beside me.

"Thanks, Wes," I whispered, taking a small sip of the hot chocolate. Its warmth spread through me, providing some comfort.

"If you are comfortable, do you want to share with me?" Weston asked.

After a few minutes of thinking about it, I slowly told him everything I remembered from the nightmare, which was everything. As I continued talking, for some reason, I felt a bit lighter even though the lingering fear was still there. I could easily tell that Weston was pretty angry at William and the situation, but he didn't show it, as he continued to listen to me.

"I am so sorry that happened to you Ana," He whispered as I laid back down on the bed.

"It's fine Wes. I have learned to live with it. What matters now is what is going to happen," I mumbled, half-asleep.

"Do you want me to tell Dad and... mom, or do you want me to keep it a secret?" He asked. I noticed how he finally called Zoe 'mom,' but I was very happy about it.

With some thought, I just said, "Sure."

I felt him say something as I fell into a deep slumber.

***

It has been nearly a month since the incident and now, today, is finally Thanksgiving. Halloween had ended not long ago as all my brothers going to high school, and I went to the Halloween party. I dressed up as Max from Stranger Things and my friends also dressed up as Stranger Things characters. We sang Running up the Hill by Kate Bush and danced like anything.

Right now, I am waiting for everyone to come down so we can all get instructed by Grandma Lexi on what to do today. With me, currently, is Eli (Preston), Chris, and Wes. And now, I want to annoy Chris because it was really silent, and I knew that there were still 20 minutes till everyone came down.

"Watch how I win," I whispered to Preston who seemed curious as to what I was about to do.

I poked him continuously till he finally looked up from his phone. "Yeah?"

"I challenge you to an arm-wrestling match."

Christian put his phone away and put his hand on the table. "Sure."

"Loser has to tell an embarrassing story during Thanksgiving dinner."

He shrugged, looking confident as he said, "Whatever, fine."

Without any hesitation, I licked my clean arm and touched his arm making him yelp. As I caught him off-guard, I pushed his arm down, winning.

As I jumped in my victory, Chris shot me a bemused look. "Seriously? Licking your arm? That's your secret weapon?"

I shrugged; a mischievous grin plastered on my face. "Hey, a win a win. There was no rule saying that I couldn't lick my hand. Now, get ready to share that embarrassing story, dear brother."

Preston let out a chuckle as Weston shook his head in amusement.

"Come on Preston. Help me to tell her she actually lost, and we need a re-match."

Preston shrugged. "Losers say that, Christian. A win is a win."

Christian grumbled. "Whatever."

Preston and I just continued to laugh at his annoyed face making me also smile in triumph.

Mission: Succeeded.

Just as the laughter subsided, Grandma Lexi's voice echoed from the staircase. "Alright, everyone, gather around! It's time to discuss our Thanksgiving plan!"

We quickly arranged ourselves at the table, in the living room where Grandma Lexi was seated. Slowly, after 4 minutes, everyone started to gather around.

"So!" Grandma Lexi started. "As we all know, it is Thanksgiving. And one Thanksgiving, what better way to spend family time than to gather around and get ready for dinner together!"

"She always says this," Finley whispered to me. "It's basically a tradition now."

"Okay, to start off. Thomas and his brothers will set up the movie plan for Thanksgiving, Marcus, his brothers, Weston, Christian, Alexander, Alessandro, and Samuel will work on the décor, Vincenzo, Caleb, and Alfonso will focus on making sure everything is going on right, your mothers and I will start on cutting the vegetables but we still some things from the grocery store so Ariana and Sebastian, both of you can go," Grandma stated. We all nodded.

"And, if you guys finish earlier, help us with the cooking," Grandma Lexi finished of as we all nodded in agreement. Then, we head off.

***

"What the hell is Philadelphia Cream?" Dad mumbled, squinting his eyes at the phone, making me laugh and shake my head.

"Come here," I said, walking to the dairy section and grabbing 5 cubes of Philadelphia Cream Cheese after reading the list on my phone for the quantity needed.

Dad smiled and sighed in relief. "Thank God you are here. You don't know how many times I had to run back to the store because I didn't get the right ingredient."

I chuckled, having an imagination of Dad being breathless, running back and forth because he didn't want to face his mom's wrath. "Don't worry dad. What's next on the list?"

"Garlic Powder," Dad said.

I nodded and led the way to the spice aisle, weaving through the crowded grocery store. As we reached the spice section, Dad glanced at the various bottles and containers, looking a bit lost.

"Here it is," I said, handing him a bottle of garlic powder. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, we need some fresh parsley," Dad replied, consulting the list. "I think it's in the produce section."

We navigated our way through the vibrant array of fruits and vegetables until we found the parsley. Dad picked out a bunch, examining it closely.

"Looks good?" I asked.

"Perfect," he replied, placing it in our basket. "Now, what's next?"

I also looked at my list before saying, "Parmesan Cheese. Should also be in the dairy section."

As we walked towards the dairy section again, dad began to speak. "So, how is your archery thing going?"

"It is going good dad. There is a game in a bit. Quite excited about it."

"Is it during sports day?" He asked.

Sports day where all types of sports are played against different schools. Depending on the score, our or other schools may or may not go to the major championships next year which could be a big shot into getting scholarships.

I nodded. "Yeah, it is. In terms of the family, in the morning is first my archery, then ice hockey where Atlas would be playing. Then Sam, Alex, Sandro, and River would be playing football or soccer. After that, Romeo, Finley, and Alessio would be playing Basketball."

Xavier and James also play basketball, Theo plays football/soccer Jane plays Netball and Emily does track races. Since there would be a break between archery and ice hockey, I might go see Jane and Em for a while. Anyways, football is at night.

We reached the dairy isle and started to look for parmesan. 

"Parmesan, Parmesan," Dad muttered, scanning the freezer thing.

I pointed to a container. "There it is."

Dad chuckled, "Thank you, Ari. You're like my personal shopping assistant. I should bring you along more often."

"Consider it a service with a smile," I teased.

"So, what's next?"

***

As we reached the outside of the mansion, Dad stopped the car and turned to look at me. "Thanks for helping me out, Ari. It would have been a disaster without you."

I grinned. "No problem, Dad. Teamwork makes the dream work, right?"

We both got out of the car before taking the groceries and headed inside the house. As soon as we entered, however, we heard Aunt Tessa shouting. "SAMUEL ADRIAN KINGSTON! ALEXANDER MASON KINGSTON! ALESSANDRO MASSIMO KINGSTON GET YOUR BUTTS HERE NOW!"

Dad and I looked at each other before saying, "Oh no."

We both headed to the kitchen to see Sam, Alex, and Sandro all looking like lost puppies as they stood in front of Aunt Tessa.

"How did you guys burn salad? You don't even use salad You don't even use salad dressing that requires heating!"

Sam, Alex, and Sandro exchanged guilty glances, and it was Sandro who finally mustered the courage to speak. "Well, Aunt Tessa, you see, we were trying to help. We thought we could make a warm salad, you know, like those fancy ones at restaurants."

"Aunt Tessa's eyebrows shot up in surprise and disbelief, yet I could see a tinge of amusement in them. "A warm salad? Boys, there's a reason those fancy restaurants do it with professionals. You don't put lettuce in the oven!"

Sam scratched his head nervously. "We might have misunderstood the recipe a bit."

As Aunt Tessa was about to speak, I intervened. "It's fine Aunt Tessa. They'll try and salvage the salad, but I will help them a bit and instruct them on what to do. They do need to learn the art of cooking.

Aunt Tessa smiled as Alex, Sandro, and Samuel gave me a relieved smile. "Thank you, sugar."

Grandma Lexi, who seemingly entered the kitchen again, with her apron on, greeted them with a warm smile. "Well done, you two! Now, let's get those ingredients into the kitchen. We've got a feast to prepare! And Sebastian, hopefully you haven't gotten the wrong things, again."

Dad's check turned a shade of pink as he cleared his throat. "No mum. This time, I got it all with the help of Ariana."

"Good, good," Grandma mumbled before turning to me. "Ari, can u also help make the risotto?"

"Sure."

***

We all finally finished cooking all the food. I finally taught those three how to make salad without burning it and made some risotto as well as helped with dessert. Now, Troy, Thomas, Romeo, and Rocco were setting the table up before we started with the food.

The dining table was adorned with the warmth of Thanksgiving decorations, and the aroma of the feast wafted through the air.

Grandma Lexi stood at the head of the table, beside grandpa, her eyes twinkling with pride. "Well, it looks like we've managed to pull off another Thanksgiving feast. Let's take a moment to appreciate the hard work everyone put into making this day special."

All of us cheered and agreed before we started munching, the clinking of plates and utensils added a rhythmic background to our chatter.

"So," I started, smirking at Christian. "Christian here has an embarrassing story he wants to share we us. Right. Christina?"

Christian groaned, glaring at me as Eli snorted, playing the events that occurred not long ago. We all quieted down, glancing at Christian, waiting for a response from him.

"Or do you want me to tell them why you have to share the embarrassing story?"

His eyes widened as he shook his head before groaning. He mumbled, "When we had school evacuation. I always used to think it was because zombie world domination was going to occur. So, I thought we had to race with them in order to win and get killed."

The younger brothers and I laughed at him as his face turned red in embarrassment.

"Why did he even have to tell this story."

"Because I won against him in arm wrestling," I replied, smirking at Christian who looked at me in disbelief.

"I thought you weren't going to share that after I said the story!"

"I never said that, Chris."

"Ugh, you are so annoying."

"Why, thank you. As a sibling of yours, I take that as a big compliment."

We all continued to share stories and talk about things till we finished dinner. Later, we all went to the living room and talked for a bit more before putting on movies. I cuddled next to dad as I smiled at the screen a bit.

This is the best Thanksgiving I have had in a while.

Date Published: 16.11.23

Word Count: 2, 861 words

A/N: Hey people. How are yall all doing?

What do you think of the chapter?

Any Theories?

INDIA WON THE SEMI-FINAL FOR CRICKET! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FINAL! WHO ELSE CAN'T WAIT?

For those who are from New Zealand, The cricket team still did really well and I applaud that! Good Game!

Anyways, Happy Birthday to Anyone Reading this!

Bye! Have a nice day!

Jas