She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the remaining sleep and removed the torn blanket covering her bruised body. Her hands reached the bed side table and searched for her black rimmed glasses.Phoenix was a natural beauty. She had the most captivating dove eyes, petite alluring physique and red hair which were her unsnatchable assets gifted by God. Milana,her step sister,always felt jealous of Phoenix's beauty. Thus, for her beauty to remain concealed from the universe, Milana gave her big black rimmed glasses instead of contact lenses to cover her pulchritudinous orbs and a black wig where her long silky red hair stays hidden.
She put her legs on the floor and shivered with cold when a sharp pain shot from her legs reaching her middle. Phoenix has had a fever for the last two days. She felt frequently reeling because of weakness and almost went twice to the state of unconsciousness.
Last night Madonna, her step mother, who was equally wicked as her half sister had beaten her with a broom. Milana stole money from her mother's handbag and often booked Phoenix for her wrong doings before their parents. But did Phoenix have an option to defend herself? Even though she could speak, her lips were often sealed because the more she spoke the greater the abuse she had to suffer from Madonna.
Her father was indifferent towards the daily suffering she endured in her family. Sometimes Phoenix wondered if she was really his blood because he was so insensitive towards her. Her sister was equally wicked as her step mom.
The only person in the complete house who cared about Phoenix was her half brother Trevino, two years older than Milana. He looked at her pitifully when she was going badly whipped by his mother. During mid-night, when everybody fell asleep he tip-toed into her room with some food and two tablets of Aspirin with a glass of water.
Phoenix considered herself fortunate at least there was someone in the house who was bothered about her. Her father betrayed her mother. Though she knew everything, her mother had to keep quiet because she was sick for a long time and couldn't many times quench his bodily needs because of illness.
Gabriel slowly became a womanizer and started having an affair with her current stepmother, who gave birth to Trevino and Milana. After Rachel Phoenix's mother left the world due to cancer, Gabriel remarried and made Madonna the mother of Trevino and Milana as his legally wedded wife.
Phoenix became the maid and cook in the home while Madonna and Milana enjoyed life going out and partying, draining away the few assets that the family had.
Phoenix could manage only going to school. Afterwards she had to give up studies to become a full time maid in the house because the family couldn't afford the education of three children.
While Milana and Trevino went to school and college, Phoenix became the house-keeper and also worked as an assistant in a small flower shop to look after the house expenses.
"We had toast and eggs yesterday and you are repeating the same breakfast today too? Why didn't you make pancakes?" Milana scowled at Phoenix in question.
"Milana, we do not have strawberry syrup in the house to have with pancakes and the shopkeeper refused to give us a loan because we already owe him a huge amount." Phoenix replied meekly, already feeling the not so welcoming goosebumps hitting her.
"How dare you give a back answer to Milana..." Madonna raised her hand to slap Phoenix.
Phoenix shut her eyes and flinched to brace the slap about to strike her but Madonna's hand never reached her cheek.
Phoenix opened a single eye in fear to find out what happened when she would notice Trevino's hand stopping Madonna.
"Mom, shut the hell up! Phoenix had been suffering from fever for the last two days. Instead of giving her medical assistance, you people continue to exploit her even when she is sick." For a few moments there was a staring contest between the mother and son but none of them talked daring the other to speak.
"How disgusting!" Milana puffed out air before fluffing her cheeks and stared at her brother, mother before getting up and pushing back the dining chair she sat earlier which gave a shrieking sound.
Trevino ignored Milana's comment. "Phoenix, get ready. We are going to see the doctor today and you're going to rest the remaining day after coming home from the clinic."
Phoenix opened her lips about to speak but Trevino was on time to place his finger on her lips.
When Madonna was about to interject Trevino stopped her with a sentence which raised the hairs on her skin. "I am ashamed to call myself your son, mom because you do not possess the heart of a mother. For a girl who is like a daughter to you, who kept serving you night and day for the past eleven years without a holiday just in a crave for a loving glance from you, you are a sick and disgusting woman who couldn't speak to her even a few sweet words."
It was not only Madonna whose body froze in place, the whole room fell silent feeling shocked for the words that came out of Trevino.
While the other people continued to stay in the trance that he created, Trevino pulled the arm of Phoenix to reach the entrance.
Booking a taxi Trevino accompanied her to the nearby clinic like a responsible older brother.
The doctor examined Phoenix and diagnosed her with extreme anemia after a few blood tests. Her hemoglobin percentage was too low which caused her reeling with fatigue.
Phoenix ate very little. It was basically the leftover after the whole family had their meals. Sometimes when the food was insufficient, she had to adjust with only a glass of water and sleep the night with hunger. The result was chlorosis, another name for bloodlessness.