Found My Second Chance

chapter 2

He chuckled in a way that to anyone else would seem nonchalant or good-natured, but to me it was like the calm before the storm. The disguise he hid behind before he the thud of my back hitting the wall would sound. The echoing noise that rang out before the sharp cry of pain emitting from me after his hand closed around my windpipe. The laugh that followed the tears rolling down my face as he pulled me away and then slammed me back into the unforgiving wood walls. It sent shivers down my spine still, making me curl up in the corner of my seat even further. Chase's jaw set even further, the muscle extending from his jaw to his ear bulging out even further. He shifted the car into reverse with an almost angry click, and looked straight past the evil man in the backseat to back up out of the driveway.

After we had reached the school, Chase practically threw the car into park and crossed his arms over his chest. "Get. Out." he almost spat at Julian, glaring at him like he wanted to rip a hole through his chest with just his eyes. Julian laughed, raising his hands in mock defeat. "Okay, okay, tough guy. I'm leaving," he laughed again, and sadistically winked at me before saying, "I guess I'll see you around Faelynn... We all know you still want to be with me." My fists clenched at his words, and suddenly I couldn't hold on. I couldn't hold on to what seemed like my last shred of sanity, and I exploded like someone had just released the pin on my grenade. "Julian List if you don't get out of Chase's car this second I swear you will wish that you never got in it in the first place because maybe if you hadn't you still would've had a wind pipe!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, breathing heavily as my chest heaved up and down. Both Chase and Julian stared at me in disbelief, but Julian seemed to shake himself slightly and that obnoxiously confident smirk returned to his lips. "You've made your point, princess, no need to throw yourself into another fit." his smirk grew wider, and he opened the door with a click. Even the way he sauntered out of the car dripped with confidence and false superiority.

After he had left, all of the rage that had spurred me to attack him with my words left my body. I shrunk into the corner of the seat again, my nose doing that horrible tingling and stinging sensation as tears tried to fight their way from my eyes. I dragged the back of my hand under my eyes, trying to push them away. Chase's fists clenched and unclenched again, the muscles in his jaw visibly moving under his skin. I grabbed his arm, trying to reassure him, but the fact that I was shaking probably didn't help. "God, I swear one day I'm going to kill that åsshole for ever hurting you, Fae!"

The rest of the day absolutely sucked. I swear that everyone who hates me at my school was going through some sort of evolutionary stage where their rumors and whisper-shouted remarks would just beat down onto me, almost like they had telepathy or something and were using their mind to destroy the walls I had set up. It felt like that each time I turned around, another preppy, stuck up girl or thick-headed boy would be there, sneering at me in their plaid and gray uniform.

"I heard that the only reason the she and Julian stopped dating was because she kept screwing around with the other guys on the football team."

"Really? I heard that she got dumped because she wanted him to get drunk and party with her every time they got home from school."

"Nah, man, I heard that all those bruises were from beating up girls that would hit on him."

No one knows how much I wanted to whirl around and shout the real reasons at them. My hands shook every time the bell rang, and when it rang for that glorious final time, I hurriedly scooped up all my stuff and hustled out of the door. I threw the binders and notebooks I didn't need in my locker, not even flinching when I heard most of them crash to the floor. I could feel their eyes on my back and their whispers reached my ears as my hurried footsteps were the loudest sound in the halls. "Woah, Fae, slow do-" Chase tried to grab my arm, his eyes wide as he took in my appearance. I pushed his hand away, spinning on my heels to face him. "No! No, Chase, no. The whole time I was with him, no was such a meaningless word whenever I tried to say it. No one took me seriously if I refused something. So for once in the past years, I'm saying no." I said in a dangerously calm voice, my eyes burning with both tears and anger. Nothing moved. It was like the whole room had stopped breathing, and all eyes were on me. The only sound was my labored breathing and my own pounding heartbeat in my ears, which both were rapidly rising. I raced off, heading towards the bathrooms. When I got there, I barely had the strength to get through the door. I slumped down the wall, curling my hands into fists in my hair and pulling, gasps and sobs ripping through my lungs. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. My lungs felt like they were filled with fire and my eyes refused to let me open them. Tears streamed down my face, and the last thing I remember was the door slamming open before my head hit the floor and all consciousness left me.