"Allison, sweetheart, come downstairs!" Dad calls. I stop hugging myself and stand. I straighten my clothes before walking down to the living room.

"Y-yes?" I mentally curse myself for stuttering.

"How many times have you been punished for not completing your chores?" He asks.

"This makes two." I reply.

"Do you remember last time?" I nod. "Well, since this is only the second time, I'm not going to be as harsh as I am for other things you do repeatedly. I will not, on the other hand, be as nice about it as I was last time. Go down to the basement and wait for me." I walk to the basement door and slowly open it. I walk down the stairs and stand by the freezer, where I'll probably be going. He walks down and stands across from me. "Come on." He nods away from the freezer and my heart stops.

He won't be as harsh as he normally is because he's going to be worse. He unlocks the spare room and ushers me in. I've only been in here one other time, and it wasn't fun. He locks the door back and turns on the lights. I sit down in the chair and he walks over to me. He cuffs my hands to it and takes the back off. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. The doorbell echoes through the house and he mutters a few curses to himself before unlocking the room and going up to see who it is. I let out a relieved sigh. I listen to the clock on the wall while I wait for him to return.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

The door opens and he steps back in before shutting and relocking the door. He walks over and stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders.

"You left your jacket in Eric's van, he was kind enough to drop it off. He deserves more than rubbish like you." He states before squeezing my shoulders and letting go. "Everyone deserves more than rubbish like you. You're just like your pathetic whore of a mother." I hear him crack a whip and I squeeze my eyes shut. "You're both worthless!" I bite my lip to hold back any noise out of pain from the whip lashing across my back. "You're trash!" I feel it hit again and grip the pieces that my hands are cuffed to. It hits again and grip them harder. "You're lucky that you have school tomorrow." He throws it down and uncuffs me. He unlocks the door and flings it open. "Go to your room!" I get up and move quickly to my room. I close my door and grab baggy clothes before walking to my bathroom and getting in the shower. I hiss in pain at the water hitting my back, but pull through. I manage to put on a bra and get dressed. I leave my bathroom and pull my hair up into a bun. Emmett stands by my window with his arms crossed,

"What happened?" He asks. I shake my head slightly. "I can smell the blood Alli."

"I don't want to talk about it." I whisper moving toward my bed. I lay down on my stomach and he sits beside me. I sigh and lift my head slightly. "If you look at my back I'm pretty sure that you'll figure out on your own." I say before resting my head back on my arms. He lifts my shirt and sighs. He pulls it back down and grabs my hand.

"He did it again, but don't worry, you'll be eighteen in about two months and we'll get you the hell out of here. I'll try to get you out of here sooner if I can. I hate the fact that you go through stuff like this." He states. The pad of his thumb glides across my knuckles soothingly. "I care about you a lot more than you think, Allison." I slightly smile before slowly sitting up. I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes, but only for a second, because the words he says next makes my heart flutter. "I love you." I smile and move my head to look at him.

"I love you too." I state. He smiles softly and squeezes my hand gently.

"Come on, you need sleep." I curl up on his chest and close my eyes.