Suggested by someone on AO3
Tw: Abuse
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"And lastly, Tara and Amber!" Their overly enthusiastic teacher, Mrs. Isley, said, handing them their paper with all the materials that they'll need.
Tara and Amber had no problem working with each other. They were friends but they did have mutual friends.
Since Tara and Mindy were the best of friends, Tara definitely got brought it some of Amber and Mindy's conversations.
Amber and Tara had no problem with each other, they've just never had the chance to properly get to know each other, so they both were pretty happy to get paired with each other for this project.
The bell rang, signaling that the class was over. Everyone stood up and grabbed their bags and things they needed.
"So, can we meet at your house today to get this done?" Amber asked, pushing in her seat.
"Yeah, sure," Tara smiled, walking towards the door with Amber following. "Okay, great," Amber said, going the opposite way to her next class.
Tara's eyes widened as she realized what she had just done. Why would she say yes? Her home life is a mess.
A drunk mother, a missing sister, and a missing father. It wouldn't look good for her, and for some reason she really wanted to impress Amber.
She can't tell her never mind, it's too late. "Damn it," Tara whispered to herself as she walked to her next class.
She didn't want Amber or anybody knowing about what happens at home. Mindy was her childhood best friend, so she's the only one who knew about the abuse.
Tara would go over to her house with make up covering her bruises all the time, but one time she had a big bruise on her rib cage, while they were having a sleepover at Mindy's house, Tara's shirt had rose up in her sleep and Mindy saw it.
They had a very emotional talk with lots of crying and hugging, but Mindy swore she would never tell anyone and she didn't.
Tara made sure to never let anyone find out ever again. That's why she had to make an excuse up as to why Amber couldn't come.
**
"I will call you when I get home," Tara said, as they all grabbed their things to leave school. Amber smiled and nodded before turning away and walking.
Tara is a horrible liar and she would've came up with some shitty excuse that absolutely no one would believe, and her making an excuse would just make Amber and anybody more suspicious of her home situation.
Chad and Liv has also been close with Tara for a really long time and they haven't even been to her house yet. They try not to worry or assume things.
They just try to tell themselves that 'She's just not comfortable with having people over' or 'She's just too tired to have people over'.
They don't want to assume because they feel like it's honestly not their business.
When Tara got home, she immediately looked around for her mother, going to her room and seeing her stretched out and asleep on her bed with a mostly empty vodka bottle.
Tara sighed and shut her mothers door back very carefully. She definitely didn't want to wake her up, especially when she's about to have company over without asking.
Tara didn't even try to ask. There was no use. Her mother would probably just scream at her or hit her. Like they say, "It's better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission," That probably won't work anyways because Tara feels like her mother hates her, so she wouldn't forgive her. She'll find any reason to put her hands on her.
