**Chapter 7: Shattered**

The stormy night had finally given way to a bleak morning, mirroring the turmoil that brewed within Ashley's home. As she walked through the door, she was greeted by the all-too-familiar sound of her parents yelling at each other. The air was thick with tension, and Ashley felt a familiar sense of dread wash over her. She tried to ignore them, but it was hard to escape the toxic atmosphere that seemed to cling to every surface of her home. Tears rolled down her face as she trudged up the stairs, desperate to escape the chaos below. But her parents' argument followed her, their voices growing louder and more heated. Ashley's heart sank as she reached her room and slammed the door shut, trying to shut out the pain and anger that seemed to seep from every pore of her home. Just as she was starting to calm down, she heard her father's furious voice outside her room. "Ashley, get out here!" he bellowed. Ashley hesitated, but her father's anger was like a palpable force that drew her out of her room. She slowly emerged, her eyes downcast, and that's when it happened. Her father's face twisted in rage, and he threw a chair at her, hitting her with a sickening thud. Ashley cried out in pain as she stumbled backward, clutching her face. A black eye was already starting to form, and she could feel the warmth of her tears mingling with the blood that trickled down her cheek. "Dad, please," she begged, but her father's expression was unyielding. Ashley retreated to her room, her heart shattered into a million pieces. She lay in bed, unable to sleep, her mind reeling with pain and fear. The darkness outside seemed to press in on her, and she felt like she was drowning in her own despair. The next day, Ashley dragged herself out of bed, her body aching and her eye throbbing with pain. She stumbled through her morning routine, her eyes fixed on the floor as she tried to avoid thinking about the test that loomed ahead. As she walked to school, the rain poured down on her, soaking her clothes and chilling her to the bone. Ashley felt like she was drowning in her own misery, her black eye a constant reminder of her father's cruelty. When she arrived at school, Ashley's math teacher, Mrs. Thompson, looked up at her with concern. "Ashley, what happened to your eye?" she asked, but Ashley just shook her head, unable to speak. The test was about to start, and Ashley's stomach churned with anxiety. She felt like she was staring into the abyss, with no escape from the pain and suffering that seemed to follow her everywhere. "I just want to die," she thought, her eyes fixed on the blank paper in front of her, as the test questions swirled together in a jumbled mess of numbers and symbols.