We grew up in a household that was never peaceful or safe. They called it 'The Compound.' It was a very big house and held a lot of secrets.

Nobody knows what goes on there except for the people working there.

When I mean by we, I am talking about I, my sister, and my mother.

Well, where should I begin? I guess from the beginning then. Well, It all started when my mother's parents sold her off to this vicious monster who you would come to know as 'our father.' They were never in love with each other, my mother was never into men she was and still is a lesbian, but her parent was homophobic and hated what their daughter was, so instead of supporting their child, they sold her off to one of the worst men ever known in that town, Mr. Rogers.

Mr. Rogers is a very rich man but also rude to people; he treats them like dirt, people go to him for help, he helps, but when he comes back to get what he wants, he makes sure he destroys your life as well.

This was the situation my mother had found herself in. Her parents had gone to Mr. Rogers to borrow money but never got to pay him back, but since they knew that he had eyes for their daughter, they used this opportunity to send their daughter away, saying it was better to be sold to Mr. Rogers rather than being what she was.

My mother tried to escape from him, but she could not because he had locked her up in his 'special room,' which was what he called it. Where she spent every night crying and praying for someone to come rescue her, but no one did.

She was only visited by the maid, and the sister of Mr. Rogers, who treated her differently, made her feel special.

Mr. Rogers came to her room that night. He was staring at her. So she concluded that he wanted to sleep with her.

That night he went to her room, he caressed her skin and tried kissing her, she woke up and started to scream but no one was home to help her, Amelia again had left immediately after dinner to see her friend who just gave birth and the rest of the maids would not dare get between what was going on. She tried to push him away, but he was stronger than her.

He tried taking off his clothes. She used this opportunity to reach for the vase and hit him on his head while he was trying to take down his cloth; this made him lose consciousness.

She ran away from the room, trying to escape by opening the door and seeing Amelia there. She ran to her and hugged Amelia tight; she was speechless.

Amelia knew this was going to happen sooner or later. It was not the first time her brother had tried to rape someone and succeeded in doing it; he doesn't care how old they were.

He had always had a thing for young girls, even though he was in his early forties. He wanted young blood that was from the age of fifteen, he chased after them, and if they did not give him what he wanted, he took it by force.

Who was there to stop him? No one, the last person that did, where was he now? DEAD. Yes, they ended up dead when they tried to build a case on him; even the police were scared of him, Amelia as well. That was how vicious Mr. Rogers is.

///

I know he has noticed the way I looked at Luna. If only he would let me be with her, no, he won't.

When he hasn't gotten what he wanted, he was going to ruin her life, and I won't be here to help her; he had sent for me yesterday agreeing to send me to the university after two years of begging him to let me further my education he had always said: "education was not for girls you belong in the kitchen," that was always his reply.

He hated me since I was a product of a one—night stand his father had with my mother, who was a prostitute. She died after giving birth to me.

My father had no choice but to bring me home to his family. His mother was accepting, she loved me like I was her daughter, and Henry was jealous of their affection towards me, but they were both dead now, dead in a car accident.

He got all the property, I guess; I wasn't given anything. I am much younger; I am only twenty while he was like forty, I think.

I know it's because of Luna. That's why he wants me to leave the house. And I have no choice but to leave, even if it means leaving the love of my life behind.

I held her tight, and she stopped crying. She looked at me and said, "promise me, Amelia, that you will take me away from him when you're done with school."

"I promise amour I will;" we sealed it with a kiss. Gosh, I love her so much; we have been keeping it a secret.

///

Slap. "Where the hell is your mother? Answer me, girl. I am your father."

"You were never a father to us. We want our mother."

"You worthless child!" He slapped me. "I am your father! What I say goes."

"Do not touch my sister, you monster." She tried hitting him, but she knew she was not strong enough.

"Enough of this nonsense, you want your mother? Fine, go, get out, leave my house, and be with that whore you call your mother."

"She's not a whore, we'll leave, and you will never see us again."

"Fine, I don't want to see your fucking worthless face," he said, slurring, then left. We packed our stuff and went to look for our mother.

It's been three days now, and we can't find her, we have searched everywhere we know but still can't find her, people are starting to notice us like we are helpless little orphans who shouldn't be on the street at this age, we were not even up to fourteen yet, and we were already on the street begging for food while searching for our mother she was all we needed and wanted.

This life is just so hard. I hope we find her soon.