Better Days Ahead (Book 1 of the BDA series)

"Wake up you lazy brat, how long will you sleep for?", My step father yelled as he poured water on my sleeping form, I jolted up from the bed drenched "I should have poured hot water on you instead of cold water, you disgusting thing, Come here!" He dragged me from the bed with a loud thud. I landed hard on the floor, he threw the bucket at me.

"You fool I told you to wake up as early as 4:00 am look at the time, I even woke up before you," Another slap followed by a punch that's how he continued beating me till he was satisfied "you want to skip school right? I will make sure you go to school," another slap, "get up, clean the house and make me my breakfast, then go to school bitch!!"

You must be wondering what is going on? This is what my stepfather does to me, he usually abuses me, like that is not enough, he forces himself on me. His name is Hassan Dario.

I did not take his last name because the man is not my actual stepfather, he and my mom never got married. He is tall with light skin and stubble on his face, he does not bother to shave sometimes, he has brown eyes with long hair and full lips. Some girls would find him attractive but not me because I know the kind of monster he is.

I hate Mondays, it is my first day of school after moving from Lagos to Abuja, and look at what he is doing to me, when will all this stop? I'm tired of this life. I do not want to go to school but he is forcing me so that our neighbors will not raise questions about it. I should be happy about going to school because I will have hours of freedom, there is no way he can come to school to beat me. But both school and home are not much different, I'm a new student. I will get bullied and beaten over and over in school like the beating I get at home is not enough. That's why I do not want to go to school.

My name is Axymah Seizer Adam, I am sixteen years old, I was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

I am tall and chocolate in complexion, I have short black hair, I have glossy black eyes, with thin lips, I have a full-body, and I look a lot older than my age, well I look eighteen.

Both my mom and I moved to Lagos to live with him a couple of months after my dad passed away.

I was only nine years old then, and my mom died several days after finding out that I did not lie to her about my stepfather, I was turning thirteen then.

I told her that her fiancée abuses me whenever she goes out to work, and now I wish I never told her.

I wish I never made that call, she would not have broken all speed limits to try to reach home to get to the root of the matter, and maybe she would not have been dead.

She died a very tragic and devastating death, a car crash after I called her and told her what he did to me.

She was rushing back home from work and she was involved in a car crash it was raining and she was overspeeding. If I had not called her she would not be dead, she would have been here with me. Her body was torn, we buried only parts of her we could find, images of that day still haunt me at night.

My stepfather made sure that I felt the guilt of her death and it's always hanging over my shoulder, always telling me in detail what caused her death.

He never allowed me to forget the reason why she died, 'Me' What hurts me most was that he did not even mourn her death.

My mom was a very beautiful, hard-working, caring, and loving woman, she had a plump stature, she was chocolate in complexion, she also had black glossy eyes, and short black hair, with a full lip. I got everything from her except height, I got that from my dad.

My mom was born in Benin city but she moved to Abeokuta to live with my dad because he hailed from there.

I hate my life so much more than one could imagine, it would be better if I was never brought into this world.

"Will you get up from that floor or do you want me to drag you to school by your hair, you know I can do that without batting an eyelash." After hearing that I quickly shot up from the floor and jumped into the shower to take my bath I also did my business and came out. I do not have a lot of clothes so I don't have to waste time deciding which outfit I should wear.

Whenever I move any part of my body a bolt of pain shoots through me. I carefully wore baggy jeans trousers and an oversized sweater, my worn-out canvas.

I had to put on some make-up to hide all the disgusting bruises my stepfather caused me, making sure I moved slowly and gently.

He did not want what happened in my old school to happen again, that is the main reason moved here.

Flashback

Two weeks ago

It was on a Monday like this I went to make breakfast for him because he loves to have his four slices of bread, a cup of warm Lipton tea, and two omelets waiting for him on the coffee table every morning, but I stupidly put five slices of bread instead of four. I was running late that was why I made that stupid mistake, he came down as soon as I finished with his breakfast, and he saw the five slices of bread on the table.

A dirty slap straight to my cheek had me turning and seeing stars.

"Why did you put five slices instead of four?" He asked angrily right before giving me a slap that completely rest my brain followed by a punch straight to my gut. That's how he continued beating me till I was bruised all over. My face was all kinds of colors, blue, purple, even pink. I was so scared.

When he was done beating me to a pulp, I picked up my backpack and wobbled straight for the front door not before receiving words of curses and insults from him, everyone around looked at me weirdly but that was the least of my concerns, every part of my body aches and I am running late for school. I tried to make it in time but as always destiny was against me, my class teacher Mr. Godson asked why I was late, but as soon as he saw my face and condition, he quickly asked me to go to the principal's office.

There they both asked me what happened, I lied of course but they did not buy it. They called my stepfather, I begged them not to but they did not listen to me, they called, he came, I do not know what he told them happened because I was excused from the principal's office while they talked but I know he did not tell them what happened so he must have lied to them. He took me back home, where he beat me up more and told me am never leaving the house, I told him and pleaded to let me go to school that I can hide my bruises with the make, then he got me an eyeliner, mascara, a concealer, he didn't want my class teacher or my school principal to raise any questions so we changed state.

*end of flashback*

I wore my makeup, carried my backpack, and headed downstairs to make breakfast, making sure everything was just the way he likes it.

I shot out through the front door as soon as I heard footsteps. I do not want him to beat me again, I'm hurting all over. I know I might not have anything to eat today.

All of the time I only eat the scraps left by my stepfather, some other days my stepfather will not even leave any scraps for me to eat just to punish me, I just hope that stops soon.

I guess I will just go hungry today like every other day. I moved too quickly and I started coughing out blood.

I just wish he would kill me and put me out of my misery instead of beating me like this.

At least today he went easy on me, sometimes he would force himself on me and beat me black and blue. I shivered at that thought, school is the last thing on my mind right now, I tried to walk slowly so I will not hurt myself further.

I was following the sign boards and asking around for Metro puritan high school.

I walked for about twenty minutes before I finally arrived at my new school, I can not wait for the day to be over because as a new student I will be bullied and I cannot have that, I'm already getting enough even more than enough torture and torment from my stepfather.