The Story of The Misunderstood Writer

Editing

*In relation to the last chapter, I have some words I'd like to get feedback on, so I just wondered what you guys of internet world thought about this expert of my book. I feel like it's too much tell and not enough show.

Loves, UD602

The next few weeks were torture. The morning routine at my house seemed to be getting harder. Suddenly, Erick wanted me to do everything, and had started yelling at me to bring him stuff, like coffee, or pens, when I was in the middle of a chore. That meant I usually couldn't finish in time to catch the bus, and Erick would have a go at me. And when I got to school, I had to watch out for Diana, her goons, and her wannabe fans. It was a month after the incident when I found myself walking toward the Benacles' house instead of my stepfather's. I rang the bell and waited. I'd come the day before, but there was a note on the door saying they'd gone on an errand. I really needed some advice right now. And I felt like I could trust only the Benacles' to give it to me. Dawn was such a great listener, and Kai would try to make me feel better. I spent as much time as I could trying to spend time with them. With everything going on in my hectic life, I hadn't gotten to see them lately, but this house felt like a haven. And Erick wouldn't be home for a while, so I could at least see them. Right when I figured that no one would answer, I heard something thump inside, and the Professor poked his head out. His whole face brightened. "Ah, Ariel! So good to see you!" He moved aside to let me in, and something occurred to me. "I'm not bugging you, am I? I know I come over often, but..." he cut me off. "Ariel, it's no bother at all. It's always lovely to have you over. What's wrong?" His brows furrowed when he saw the bruises on my face. I placed a hand on one of them. "Erick's making things harder." His lips formed a thin line. "Are you sure you wouldn't like us to tell someone?" "Yes, I'm certain." That definitely could not happen. The professor placed a hand on my shoulder, sighing in defeat, and guiding me into the den. "Where's everyone else?" I inquired. "They're out doing some errands they didn't get to do yesterday." He replied, sitting me down on the couch. He pulled up a chair and sat across from me. "Ariel, I know something else is wrong. It's actually been a while since you've come to us. Is everything alright?" I squirmed. The people in this house had a way of telling when something was wrong. Probably from having a big family. Sensing my discomfort, he touched my shoulder to reassure me. "You can tell me. I want to help."

"But why do you want to help me?"

He smiled. "Because you are such a special person. You're like family." I sighed. That was sad. I felt like I didn't have a normal family anymore. And I hadn't the slightest idea why anyone wanted to help me at all. In this world, people only seemed to care about themselves. But Inkler wasn't going to let it go, and the last thing I wanted was for him to go to the police. "These bruises are from today. At school." He looked shocked. "Right at school?!" I nodded. I'd thought the first trip to the principal's office was the worst. Today, I was proven wrong. "I was in the principal's office, and they called Erick in. My schoolmates haven't been so nice lately, and Erick didn't like to hear that, so..." He stopped me with a hand on my cheek. I tensed and grabbed it out of instinct; although I knew he'd never hurt me, I couldn't bury the feeling of foreboding distrust. Instead of pulling away, the way I'd grown used to adults doing, he looked straight into my eyes, and smiled. "You don't have to skip details, Ariel." I wasn't ready to admit everything. I was probably already annoying him with my constant visits and my inability to handle my own problems. But I needed advice, even if I felt I didn't deserve it. I took a deep breath and started again. "They're bullying me. Sylvie was spying on me for Diana, and now they know what my stepfather does." I started to sob. "And they think that I act like I'm better to score popularity points, and that's not true! They think I do that because my stepfather doesn't like me, and they poured lemonade down my pants and they're calling me crybaby!" I'd started rambling, so Professor Inkler sat down next to me, put an arm around my shoulders, and rubbed small circles into my side. He seemed to understand how bad that was. That encouraged me to keep going. "T-to-*sniff*-today, they ripped up my school papers, and stole my thermos, and brought it back, *sniff, hic*... at lunch, but it was a baby bottle, and everyone laughed. And now *hic!* -they're cyberbullying me!" I whipped out my phone to show him. On Wazz, the biggest social media sight in Oregon, was a picture of me that Sylvie had took the day she introduced me to makeup. I was still wearing the blush and eyeliner she applied to me, but now that I looked at it, the blush was glitter-filled and overdone, and the eyeliner was in place to make my eyes look bigger. She'd purposefully done the makeup to make me look babyish, and now, she'd given it to Diana, who'd added a pacifier, pink baby bonnet, and teddy bear. She'd also drawn fake tears and added the caption; 'Crybaby Ariel's too young for makeup, and she doesn't like that!' Professor Inkler stroked his chin, one eye squinted in thought. "Mm," he hummed, nodding. "I see what you mean." He hugged me. "Such terrible children," he mumbled against my head. "What a shame they're doing this to an extraordinary girl like you. But..." he pulled away and looked at me quizzically. "Why did you go to the principal's office?" "He wanted to talk to me." He said he'd noticed the other kids' behaviors and had wanted to interrogate me. And, of course, he'd brought Erick in. That had not gone well. "He brought me into a closet, afterward," I continued, "and he...pestered me." It was too much to say he'd beaten me. Pester sounded so much...gentler. "And after that, Diana found out, and she splattered me with chocolate pudding, and she lied her way through it." Why does everyone have to lie when they do bad things? It would be so much easier to admit it, tackle it, and move on. But I was trapped between Erick, who found some imperfection every day, gave me a racket for it and lied about it, and Diana, who did things to get me in trouble, and, unknowingly, mistreated, and also lied about it. Why did people always have to lie? And what did I do to deserve it?! I felt sick, and powerless, and didn't know what to do. Inkler seemed to understand that without me having to tell him, and hugged me tight again. I cried against his chest, feeling something...strange. I couldn't name it, but it felt nice. I was jostled out of my thoughts by the sound of the door opening and closing, accompanied by the racket of five people. "We're home, Professor!" Christian called out cheerfully. He was holding a bright blue plastic bag with a pink and lavender logo on it. I didn't get a good look at it because he put it down on the coffee table, and then he saw me. "Oh, my goodness, what happened?!" His voice was layered with care and concern, which I couldn't comprehend. Why did they care so much about me? I was just the girl who lived next door, a stranger who visited a lot. The girl who clearly didn't deserve love, for a sin she had committed and couldn't remember. The girl who was being punished. The girl who was bad. And yet, everyone around me looked worried. Tori had her hands on her cheeks, Kai was behind me stroking my hair, and Dawn was dancing in place. "What happened? Did someone beat you up?" She blabbered, frantically. "I'll beat them up!" Then Kai butted in. "Not if I do it first." He stated grimly. "Knock it off," Sean scolded, sitting in the chair the professor sat in earlier. "She's already crying, you might scare her." Christian cupped my cheek, and gently raised my head. "What happened?" I tried to say something, but the thought of choking out everything I'd already said made me cry too hard to speak. It felt like I had a boulder in my throat, swelling its way into my head. I couldn't even remember why I came here. The professor gently passed me from his arms to Christian's, and I felt his strong, yet gentle hand on my head. "Oh, dear," he sighed, taking a tissue from the box Tori offered, and wiping my eyes. "It's been a long day, hasn't it?" Sniffling, I meekly nodded my head, and looked at the professor like a shy little girl, too young to explain anything herself. He took the cue easily, as if this had happened before. "She's in a tight spot. Trapped between a rock and a sharp place." He proceeded to repeat everything I had told them, showing Christian the pot-shots on my phone. He looked through them with his brows furrowed, shaking his head. "No," he muttered, "no, no, this isn't right...Ariel, don't listen to them." Too late. I was already starting to think they were right. I cried every day, more than once, and couldn't stop. Erick's attacks combined with Diana's was just too much to take. And the worst part was that I knew I had done something to deserve it, otherwise it wouldn't be happening...right? When I couldn't stop sobbing, Christian simply pulled me closer, and rubbed my back, while the others offered reassurance and comfort wherever they could. Tori offered me a brownie and some milk. Kai paced back and forth. "Dad, we gotta do something!" Christian nodded. "I know, I know, but Ariel is the most important thing right now." He looked at me. "How are you feeling?" His voice was soft and gentle. I sat up a little straighter. "I'm feeling better. And I'm sorry." Sean's brows furrowed. "Whatever for? You don't have to apologize." I hung my head. "I shouldn't have cried like that. It's my fault. If I didn't screw up so much..." Dawn gave me a hug, stopping me in the middle of my sentence. "Ariel, that's not true."