Soul Master

19. Amèlie

After taking up two spaces in parking the car, because I hadn't learned how to reverse park, I checked myself over once in the rear view mirror. My eyes had purple bags, as thought I hadn't slept in weeks. In truth it felt that way too. I ran my fingers over them, as if I could magically erase them, wincing when I went over the bruise. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did considering it had faded so much. A thought of the reflection with a very swollen black eye came to mind. I shook it off and without further lingering, I got out the car armed with a loaded credit card and a mission to spend. I briefly thought that perhaps, I should have brought my phone with me, to let Zayne know at the very least that I had the car, and that I had left town without her permission. Ha! Even to myself the very idea of having my phone would make me fear for my life upon returning home with Zayne knowing I deliberately ignored any calls she was almost certain to make.

'Too late now.' I muttered to myself, as I made my way to the mall.

Inside the city centre, the lights were glaringly bright, a band stood playing soft jazz on the stage as shoppers hurried past going about their day. The last time I had came to the city was a couple of years ago, I had came by bus, since Zayne at the time hadn't been able to drive. And I'd had the unfortunate luck to bump into a group of guys from school as I was entering the lingerie shop. At the time they had seemed somewhat carefree, but when they realised it was me, they began tormenting me. I remember it all.

'Look whose going to buy her first bra.' One of them sneered, as the others had laughed.

'Like she needs one. Look how flat she is.' Another had pointed at me and nudged the third with his elbow 'Hey when you buy a bra don't forget the extra rolls of tissue too.' He continued.

Two others had started cheering 'tissue tits, tissue tits.' Pointing at me, and just when I thought the first guy grew bored of my lack of response, he spoke up.

'Maybe she's not after a bra. Maybe she is going to get one of those!' He pointed to the mannequin wearing a thin strapped underwear.

'Send us pictures won't you.' One of the others laughed.

'Hey how about we help you choose.' Someone from their group had added.

'Wait,' the first guy said. 'I'll go, I can find out if she really has three nipples too.' And as he grabbed my hand and led me into the shop, silenced by mortification I could only follow him and wonder what I had done to deserve this.

'Hey.' He said as he pulled me to a quiet section of the briefs. 'Take these.' He had grabbed red underwear and shoved them in my hand, he hadn't seemed to realise that they came in sizes and he had given me three sizes to large. 'And this.' He threw at me then a bra. I didn't even know my size.

'I don't think these will fit.' I offered quietly.

'Oh, you speak.' He said, he couldn't hide the shock on his face. 'Well now you can call me when you're done putting these on.' He added a strange little outfit to the things he had handed to me already, before glancing around and pushing me into the nearest changing room.

At least he had the decency to wait outside, I had thought.

'And don't take too long, or I'll get the boys to join, and they aren't as nice as me.'

Boys. I hated them.

At the time Asha was the only male that I had ever spoke to, where was he anyway, he was never here when I needed him I thought to myself, as I looked at my small frame in the mirrors of the changing room...Blitzen would have came, he would have saved me from this ordeal. Having repeated their harsh words in my head I assessed my body now almost naked in the reflection, flat they had said, tissue tits, they had teased. If only it wasn't true, then maybe their words would have fell on deaf ears. If only I had my abilities to crush them to dust, too burn them.