CHAPTER 2 - Weak Men Create Hard Times

...(7 years later)...

Fortunately for Scylla, she's still studying as an 11th-grade student. Others might not realize, but Scylla is thankful that she can get to stay in school. She hates her home so much that she'll do anything not to be there.

At her school, she often notices that boys are staring at her. It made her feel uneasy and uncomfortable. She thought that they were looking at her bruises, but she realized that her short skirt was showing her thighs. She then quickly adjusted it.

"Damn these perverts, and damn this skirt. I hate this uniform," she said to herself.

Throughout her years as a high school student, she had some friends, but none of them were as interested in her so far.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. As usual, she gathered her things and left the room as soon as possible.

She went straight home, and as soon as she opened her door, she saw her mother drinking again.

"Ma, stop that, you never stopped drinking."

Her mother looked at her palely.

"Scarlet... You know this is how we escape this hell..." Her mother whispered.

Scylla then grabbed the beer from her mother's hand and put it in the trash.

"Ma, you're losing yourself again. You're the one who reminds me to be strong, right? What's happening to you?"

"I couldn't fix myself, dear... But you can still fix yours... Your life... That's why I'm always reminding you."

"But..." Scylla paused for a moment, then she hugged her mother, who was sitting on the couch.

Then her mother said, "Change your clothes now, you're still gonna use that uniform tomorrow."

Scylla nodded. She went to her room and changed her clothes. She then went to the bathroom and washed her face, where she stared at her reflection again.

She said to herself, "Who am I? I don't know who I am."

After fixing herself, she went back to her mother's, but then she saw her coughing more often.

"Ma, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah *coughs* just had a cough, it happens often." *coughs*

"I told you to stop smoking, right? I thought you did."

"I did *coughs* for a while, I just had one stick, that's all.*

"Ma, we don't have any money to buy medicine. What are we going to do?"

"Just- *coughs* give me a glass of water."

Scylla hurriedly went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass, and then she found out that they didn't have any mineral water left.

"We're out of water, ma. Wait for me, I'll buy outside."

Scylla put on her sandals and went outside to buy her mother a bottle of water as soon as she could.

A few minutes later, she came back to her mother and handed her a cold bottle of water.

"I'm sorry, ma. This is all I can give you..."

"Don't worry, dear... This is more than enough. Start preparing for dinner, your father will come home soon."

Scylla nodded. She's still new to this, she's never been so caring with her mother. As she grew up, she started to realize that her mother cared for her, too. She realized that her mother was just another victim like her.

Day by day, she started giving her mother more attention and care, as her lungs started to become worse.

...(A week later)...

Scylla and her mother went to a hospital for a free check-up. As they expected, there's only bad news. The doctor announced that her mother might develop lung cancer if she doesn't stop smoking.

"I'm always reminding her to stop, doc. My father was also smoking and drinking." Scylla told the doctor.

"That's bad. You should convince him to stop if you can. Exposure to smoke caused by him is much more dangerous to you." The doctor replied.

"I know..."

"If you don't need anything else, then you may go home now."

"Thank you, doc." Scylla and her mother head their way out of the hospital, along with the prescription from the doctor.

...(A few minutes later)...

"Since we can't afford to buy medicine, the only thing we could do is to stop you from smoking," Scylla said to her mother while walking home.

"I'll try." *Coughs* "I think it's getting worse." *Coughs again*

"You'll be better soon, ma. Stay strong."

The two finally arrived at their home. They saw her father's shoes, so they expected him to be at home now.

Scylla guided her mother to sit on the couch.

"Stay here, ma. You must be tired from walking that far."

Scylla went to the kitchen to get her mother a glass of water. Then all of a sudden, she smelled something unusual.

She gave the glass to her mother and went upstairs.

Scylla looked at her father's room; the door was open. She took a peek at a slightly open door when she saw something that shocked her.

Her father is sitting on his bed, facing the wall. It seems like he's hiding something. Scylla tried her best to identify what he was doing. Her heart beats quickly, but then it beats even faster when she confirms herself. It looked like he was using illegal drugs.

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