Chess is the game by emily walton (easy readers .TXT) 📕

didn't have a solid family to love her, like you. you say i love you easily. i bet the only time she said it was to you in that letter, and you could tell it took her alot of force to do that. she doesn't show love, because she didn't know what it was. when you showed it, you scared her. anough to run away." i thought for a moment.

" maybe, maybe not. she could have jsut gotten bored with me, and left, like she has any other time she wanted to leave another foster home.

" she stayed at our foster house more than any other in over a year." mom said.

" until now. she's stayed there for 7 months. that's more than she's ever stayed." mom sighed quietly.

" Chess, she's going to come back. weather it's when she's 18, or requests our house again, she'll come around for you." i grimaced.

" ok, mom." i said, not wanting to argue anymore. she sighed again.

" your father will be around soon." she said, kissing my forehead. then she left.

izzy

i whimpered as the door to the attic opened, expecting the witch to be standing there. to my suprise, it was Phillip.

" you ok?" he whispered, sitting on the cot next to my legs. i couldn't feel anything exept pain on my arms, legs, and face. my stomach had gone numb long ago, from her rythmitically pounding feet. i groaned.

" no." i felt a tear slide down my cheek, and didn't bother to find the strength to wipe it off. Phillip reached up and did it for me.

" the police left. mom said that dad had to leave you here for the night, and he left. i'm pretty sure he went to sally's, though i'm not sure. here." he reached in his coat pocket, and pulled out a bottle of pain releifers and a small bottle of water.

" take these, ok?" i nodded, but he ended up having to put them in my mouth. it took too much strength to sit up and swallow a mouth full of water before i fell back on the cot again. i could feel how swollen my face was, and knew if i moved the covers my bare legs would be black and blue. as if reading my mind, he shoved them back, and gasped.

there wasn't any of my pale skin that wasn't black and blue from the edge of my boxers down. he stared at my legs for a second longer, before his eyes got a scary look in his eyes.

" which one of them did this?" i sighed.

" there your parents, Phillip. does it matter? they aren't doing it to you." he snapped his head up.

" exactly! they should be doing this to me, not you! MIsery, you should let me-"

" phillip. don't. i'm not in the mood to fight." i said softly. i closed my eyes, and he just sat there for a while.

" who was the guy you sent that video to, anyway?" i sighed, suprised at how much it hurt to even think about him still.

" Chess. he was an old boyfriend. i made the huge mistake of walking out on him. i was suprised he even sent the police, after what i did to him." he sat there for a second.

" i'm going to be gone for a few days. 4 tops. take care of yourself, ok?" i felt my eyes try to open in fear.

" promise you'll come back?" i pleaded. i felt something brush my bruised forehead.

" always, Misery." i thought he left, but then i heard

" was he the reason for the tattoo?" i sighed.

" yes."

after i left Chesses house, i got a tattoo of a chess peice on my side. it was a king, like he was.

chess

saturday afternoon, while me and the guys were sitting around, trying not to watch the video again, the doorbell rang. after exchanging a glance with a confused Jonathan, i went to answer the door.

the guy sttanding on the other side was familiar, and it took a second to realize i had jsut seen him on the t.v.

" you CHess?" he asked. i nodded, my eyes widening. he hesitated.

" are your parents around?" i shook my head.

" come on in." i said, then moved aside. he stepped in, and i hollered for everyone to come to the kitchen. they all stopped dead when they saw him. he hesitated again.

" they know." i said softly. he sighed.

" you guys need to come see her, then. she's...worse than at her worst.she's constantly in pain, and we can't figure out why."

" why should you? your only a few years older than her." Jonathan said, just stating the facts. he was training to be an RN.

" because i'm getting a doctoring degree, that's why. i've tried as many things as i could think of, and she's still in pain. and... i think she's dying. she's black and blue all over." his face darkened, and i was truely scared of him for a moment.

" because of my parents." he hissed. then his expression cleared.

" i thought you guys could help her." i sighed.

" my parents wont let me go anywhere. expeceally if they haven't met you." he groaned as all the other boys agreed. then he froze.

" it took me a day to get here. if i stay, your parents will have met me, and if they approve, wont everyone elses?" we nodded mutely.

" fine. i'll stay tonight, but we HAVE to leave tomorrow, got it?" we exchanged glances.

" yeah."

"bye richie, Greg, Chase, Derry." i called over my shoulder as i jogged up the stairs, Phillip behind me. he was going to stay in Izzy's room, tonight. and mom already said i could go with him over the weekend. so the guys were going to tell there parents and meet us tomorrow morning. so we had a whole night to worry.

" what's wrong with her at the moment?" i asked softly, sitting at my computer desk. he sighed, sinking on my bed. then he ticked off his fingers.

" her legs, arms, and face are black and blue. she probably has at least one cracked rib, and i wouldn't be suprised if she has a broken nose. both her eyes are swollen shut, an-"

" ok, ok." he shut up.

" Misery is really messed up." he said finally. i frowned.

" why didn't you get punched when you called her that?" he frowned too, confused.

" she punched me for calling her Izzy. said she didn't want people callig her that anymore. are you the cause for that, too?" i frowned deeper.

" what?" he sighed, pulling out his phone. he flipped through something, before handing it to me. it was a picture of a Chess peice, a king, to be exact, that was black, and wrapped around someones side, from there stomach to there back. it wasn't big, about the size of my hand, but was tilted to take up more space.

" when did she get that?" i asked, suprised. he sighed.

" about a week after she started to actually stay here. she said it was a rememberance of home, or something along those lines." i nodded mutely, suprised. he shook his head.

" she still talks about you. all. the. time. she won't shut UP, no matter how many times we beg her to." i smiled breifly.

" that sounds like Iz." i said absently. he gave me a funny look, but let it go.

" if your coming to my house tomorrow, we need to sleep."

izzy

I was attempting to make supper with my throbbing body when Phillip came back. He stopped to talk to 'mom and dad' in the living room, and I attempted to sit up straighter and turn from the doorway so that he couldn't see my face. I grimaced as I heard other voices with him.

" MIsery! Come meet Phillips friends!" 'mom' hollared. I slowly stood up from the chair I'd dragged to the stove, and made my way to the doorway, where I froze as Phillip gave me a warning look.

Behind him was Richie, Greg, Chase, Derrek, and Chess.

Chess, the boy I cried myself to sleep over. The Boy that, more often than not, Kept me sane as I was beat, or raped. Just thinking about him pushed away Physical Pain.

" Misery, This is Chess, Richie, Chase, Derrek, and Greg. Boys, This is the Brat we have to put up with." 'dad' Introduced us.

" MIsery." I tore my gaze from them to look at him, flinching as his eyes met mine.

" Is supper done?" I shook my head, Knowing not to speak unless told to. He waved a hand dismissively, and I scurried back to the kitchen, holding back sobs.

" Dad, me and the guys have homework we have to do, do you think we can do it in the Kitchen, since there's so many of us?" there was a grunted response as I sturred the noodles.

" Don't talk to Misery, she disobeyed this morning, and she's not allowed to talk." mom said mildly. they all came in, and I felt there eyes on me. I was in my regular attire for this house, which was odd for what they last saw of me. I was in a tanktop and shorts, something that 'dad' picked out. he always picked something three sizes too small, just so that it clung to me. I felt one pair of eyes on me in perticular, and I couldn't help but look up and meet Chesses gaze for a moment. then Phillip slid a peice of paper next to the stove with a pen, and I sighed.

It's something we did when the parents said that I couldn't talk. we wrote notes. I read what he wrote.

what r ur injurys? list, if possible.

I shook my head and held up my right hand, which was hanging at my side, slowly, so that he saw my 3 crooked fingers, middle, pointer, and pinkie. he growled, then glanced at the guys. he motioned to the medicine cabneit, and Greg, who was closest, jumped up, which left Chess alone in the corner of the room. I turned so that my back was to him, then, with my left hand, I folded in my middle and ring finger, holding out my thumb, pinkie, and forefinger behind my back, the sign for 'I love you'. I heard his intake of breath, and smiled slightly. Phillip gaped at me. normally I didn't smile. at all. he whipsered softly.

" this is going to hurt. like hell. I'm going to realine the bone, then brace it, ok? Dad said that he was leaving tonight, and mom usually goes to Johns when he leaves, so..." I nodded, grimacing, and turned away from him, meeting Chesses eyes again.

" alright." I said soflty, my voice cracking.

" when was the last time you drank anything?" he hissed. I closed my eyes again as Chesses flashed.

" a day or so. i'm fine, just fix my hand." suddenly, I felt a snap, fallowed by my hand screaming. I grunted, stuffing my hand in my mouth so i didn't scream, tears