"What is this, Lana?" Her mother angrily waved the five-hundred-twenty-dollar bills she had handed her. "This would barely cover the rent for this month. What about our food, the electricity bills, your father's medical bills…?" And the list went on and on.
It had been the same every time she came home after working all day. Her mother would ask for the money she had earned with her blood, sweat, and tears as if that was a debt she owed them.
"And your brother needs five thousand by tomorrow." Her mother demanded, as if money grew on trees. Then all she had to do was wait for it to drop into her lap.
But she knew better.
Every day, she showed up to work before dawn. Jumped from one waitressing job to another. And then, dropped dead on her bed by midnight.
Her body had barely recovered from her exhaustion before she had to do it all over again.
"Five thousand?" Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at her mother. "What for?"
For years, she had funded her brother's drinking and gambling problems. This time, she had enough. She would never waste any more of her hard-earned money on his vices.
"Your brother found a new partner for a business venture. He needs five thousand as start-up capital." Her mother explained, trying to sound convinced that her brother had turned over a new leaf.
But not her.
She was not buying her brother's bullshit. If anything, her brother would only blow her money on his bogus schemes and gambling debts.
"I don't have that kind of money." She lied. But she had secretly stashed some of her salary somewhere her family couldn't touch it.
She had been saving for the time that she had to leave this family for good.
As soon as she received her last paycheck, she believed she would finally have enough to escape this hellhole.
Then, she would be free to live the life she had always dreamt of.
Sighing, exhausted, she turned to leave.
All she wanted was to lock herself in her room and sleep.
But before she could take another step, she felt the hard tug on her hair, sending her flying onto her back and lying flat on the floor. She should have known her mother would not let her off that easily.
"Don't think just because you have a job, you can already look down on your family." Her mother stared down at her with a burning rage.
Not a minute too soon, her father and brother appeared by the doorway, just in time to find her crawling back on her feet.
"What's going on here?" Her father asked, turning between her and her mother. His voice lacked any warmth of a father concerned with his daughter.
Of course, she already knew no one was coming to save her. Not from what was about to happen.
"It's your daughter." Her mother said. And it was enough to set her father off.
Her father quickly grabbed the whip he kept behind the door and gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Immediately, she braced her body for the pain, shielding her face and arms with her back.
"You ungrateful bitch. For money, you have the nerve to disrespect your mother." Her father's voice boomed inside the small living room while the sharp edge of the whip sliced through her clothes and into her skin.
It had always been like this. Whether she submitted or fought back, the result was all the same. As long as she could not give them what they wanted, she ended up beaten and bruised.
"For twenty years, we raised you. And this is how you repay us." Her mother seconded, airing her own twisted grievances.
Since she could remember, her mother had used such words to guilt her every time she tried to defend herself. Then, her father would whip her, disguising their abuse as a means to discipline a disobedient child.
"Am I even your daughter?" She questioned them, but her words fell on deaf ears.
Her cries of agony— ignored.
"Come on, Sis. It's just five thousand." Her brother coaxed her, pretending to stop her father from hitting her again— acting as if he was on her side.
But she could see through his facade.
For twenty years, she had never felt their love. Her parents never cared for her. Her brother only remembered her when he needed something.
"You will get that five thousand by tomorrow, or else." A venomous warning wove through her mother's tone after her father landed his final blow.
***
Alone.
Back in her room, she nursed her wounds, hissing as she applied an antiseptic to the deep cuts on her back.
As tears started to blur her eyes, she wondered what she had done wrong in her past life for her to end up with a family that had never cared for her at all.
She had tried hard to be a part of this family. To love them unconditionally.
But it was no use.
No matter what she did. Regardless of her sacrifices. Nobody still loved her.
"Aah!" She gasped, her flesh trembling.
Her heart aching.
"I'm done." She declared, grimacing at the sting of the open wounds as she wrapped them with a clean bandage.
Slowly, she tiptoed to the common bathroom, careful not to alert her family, who were busily watching a movie in the living room. Then, she took out a bottle of painkillers from the cabinet and silently walked back to her room.
But before she could close her door, she heard her mother speak.
"Mr. Miller?" Her mother's excited voice caught her attention. Then her next words sent a horrific chill directly into her heart. "He actually agreed to marry Lana for two hundred grand."
"Yes, yes, yes…" Her father responded positively. "He even raised the price to three hundred grand if we can deliver Lana by tomorrow."
"Damn, who knew Lana could fetch such a high price?" Even her brother didn't bother to hide the thrill in his tone as he counted the money with his fingers.
Peeking through the door, she stood frozen.
Mr. Miller was the richest loan shark in their neighborhood. But not just that. He was also fat, bald, and disgustingly obnoxious. If she was not mistaken, he could be old enough to be her grandfather.
And her family was planning to sell her to him.
Fuck!
"I have to get out of here." She mumbled to herself, knowing that if she stayed, she might eventually end up lying in the pool of her own blood. And her family would still not care.
After popping two painkillers into her mouth, she grabbed her bag and started packing.