Battered and Bruised.

January: entry 7

Chase and I walked into math, getting an icy cold glare from Alice, I smirked, because, with Chase at my side I could do almost anything I wanted. I waved at Alice and winked at Xander, he smiled, a weird boost of self confidence hitting him. Chase and I sat in our usual seats. "So, Justine..." I heard a heart racing voice, I looked up, it was Xander. "Hey, Xander, what's up?" I asked. "Oh, nothing, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to Starbucks after school?" he asked, he seemed a bit nervous, I don't know why, it was just me. I was ecstatic. "Oh, sure!" I smiled, he laughed. "Okay, see you then." With that he turned around and went back to his seat. "So, who's Mr.Lover Boy?" Chase asked, making a baby talk voice. "He's no one." I said. He laughed, he can see right through me. "You like him!" Chase said a little loud, I hit his shoulder. "Ow!!" Chase faked an injury, I rolled my eyes. He's used to asking girls out, and having girls fall for him. That second Cate came in, she wasn't going near her usual group, she came over to us, "so, I saw Xander come over, did he ask you out?" she squeaked. "Chill, Cate, he just asked if I'd like to go to Starbucks after school." I said, she was used to getting asked out, too. It was almost like a new guy every week. "You know, something is telling me you shouldn't go to see him..." Chase said, interrupting my train of thought. "Nonsense." I said in a fake British accent. Mrs.Riggs came in, we learned math, blah blah blah. After school I started towards Starbucks. I saw Xander, but he wasn't alone, Alice was there. Crap. "Hey, guys..." I said, smiling. "Hey, Justine, where's you boyfriend?" Xander asked. "What boyfriend?" I asked. "Oh, Justine I'm so sorry, I thought that since you had gotten kinda close to that new guy that you two were, you know..." He said sheepishly, my heart started pounding, "Haha, no, I don't have a boyfriend..." I said, plastering on a smile. "Oh, well, that's fine, that way no one can protect you." I heard another man's voice say. It was James, he was on the football team, quarterback. James grabbed my wrist, I winced. "No, don't!" I yelled. "HELP!" I screamed as loud as I could. James balled his hand into a fist, he punched me right in the gut, I knelt over in pain, "You little WHORE." James laughed as Alice spit the words of poison out at me. "No I'm not, if anything, YOU are, Alice, we both know YOU slept with James, though you're going out with Xander, you told me that last year, remem-" I was punched in the jaw, not by James, but by Alice. "YOU'RE LYING!!" Alice screamed. Xander had a look of terror spread across his face, he wasn't expecting this, the brutal beating, the fact that his girlfriend was sleeping with his best friend, none of it. I laughed, "If I was lying, why would you punch me, eh?" I smirked, some of Chase's cockiness had brushed onto me. "because you're worthless, and no one likes you, the only reason Chase really likes you is because he wants to use you as a sex toy!" Alice spat out, I knew it wasn't true, right? I was punched once more in the face, then kicked in the stomach, I was let go and I ran, my small legs carrying me as far as I possibly could, I got to Chase's house, I stood there for a second, Chase would kill me knowing what they had done, and me not listening to him on top of that, oh god. I sat on the step, and hugged my knees to my chest, thinking on how to avoid answering how I had gotten the bruises. I heard the door open, it was Drake. "Chase isn't here, he stopped by the gym." he said. "Okay..." I said, relieved. "You know, he really complains about you. Like, a lot. today he was going on and on about how he thought you were gonna get beat up or some-" I turned around, him seeing the bruises. "He was right..." Drake said. "Yeah...Hey does your mom wear foundation?" I asked getting an idea. "Yeah, Estēe Lauder, why?" He asked. "Perfect, can you show me where she keeps it?" I asked. "Yeah, c'mon." he said, I stood up and followed him upstairs into his mother's bathroom. Drake pulled out a make-up bag and searched through it. "Here." he said handing me the rectangular bottle. "Thanks!" I said I looked at it, "Estēe Lauder Invisible fluid makeup" it read, I looked at the bottom. "2CN2" It read, just my shade! I shook the bottle hearing "Click click click" the ball moving the oils around. I put some on the make up pad, Drake still standing there, "You know, Chase is gonna figure out." he said. "No he won't, because you're not gonna tell him, right?" I asked, more of a demand. "Fine, but he's gonna know. He's really observant." he said. "Okay, but I'm a 15 year old girl that piles her face with make-up, for all you know, I could have serious bags and circles under my eyes." I said. "True..." He said, I tried my best, now it just looked like a small freckle, I used as little make-up as possible, not much was missing, thank the lord. "So, how does it look?" I asked. "Good, not as bad." he said honestly, we walked down the steps, sat on the couch, and waited for Chase to arrive.

"I'm home!" Chase said, seeing Drake and I talking on the couch. "What are we talkin' 'bout?" Chase said hopping onto the couch. "Nothing, just stuff." Drake said. Chase looked at me, "How was your time with Xander?" he extended Xander out in a gushing manner. Drake looked at me worriedly, "What, did something happen?" Chase asked seriously, I laughed staleish. "No, it was all peachy." I said, he was on to me. "Let me see your cheek..." he said, taking my chin. Oh no. He licked his thumb, rubbing my sore cheek. "Justine...what happened?" He asked, seeing the bruise. I winced, preparing for the yelling I was in for. "I-um-I-I..." I stuttered. "What happened?" he asked Drake, "No idea. She just came in and we started talking." He said, he was a really good liar, but only when he was defending himself. Chase turned to me, I flinched, I was scared, he was big, I was small. "Chase, where did you go after school, did you really stop by the gym?" Drake asked, suspiciously. "YES DRAKE, DO YOU THINK I'D LIE?" He screamed, I winced, "Chase, stop, bro. You didn't go to the gym, where did you go?" Drake raised his voice, he could yell. "I WENT TO JASON'S AND WE TALKED, ALRIGHT? I HAD A BEER OR TWO. YOU HAPPY? NOW TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!" He screamed at me, "CHASE, STOP." Drake said. "WHY THE HELL SHOULD I? SHE ISN'T ANSWERING ME AND I'M GETTING ANNOYED." He shouted back, I had to intervene. "CHASE YOU'RE DRUNK, GO UPSTAIRS AND CALM YOURSELF DOWN!" I shouted. Drake looked at me, confused, Chase's face softened. "Okay." he said, he turned around and rushed up the steps. "How can such a loud voice come out of a small body?" Drake asked, I laughed, we were almost the same height, he was actually a little taller, I'm only five feet. "I guess I just got fed up with it." I said, plopping down onto the couch. "My mom told my dad the exact thing when he was drunk a few weeks ago...to go upstairs and calm himself down..." Drake said, a sad look in his eyes. I patted his back, "Don't worry, I know how it feels having a drunk dad." I told him. He looked at me, tears filling his eyes, I hugged him tight, "It'll all turn out, God has a plan." I told him. He looked up at me, smiling. "I never wanna drink when I'm older." Drake told me. "Good." I smiled at him. We turned the T.V. back on and watched it until Chase came back down.

"I'm sorry." He said. "Look, Chase, you can't just go drinking like that. we're only 15 for crying out loud." I told him. "I know. I-I don't mean to, it just calms me down." he replied. "Well, you aren't calm when you're in a drunk state, not around others." I lectured. "Now will you please tell me what happened?" Chase ignored my lecture, I sighed. "Yeah."