Oxygen

Chapter 1O

"Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep...."

I groan as I wake up to the familiar noise of my alarm clock continuously beeping. I fumble around my nightstand for the button that will save me. Finally, after clicking it off, I pull myself out of bed. I walk past the mirror, and stop. I glance over myself. Every morning, I do this. I always look at my body as if I was someone else, making sure everything seems okay. My long, light brown curly-ish hair is pretty messy, waiting for me to help it with shampoo and conditioner. My body is still the same womanly shape, curvy in the right places, and bruised in the wrong. I stare at the most resent, my dedication to my little sister the cause of it. Being 5"6", I almost reach the top of the mirror, so I move forward, staring at my face. My emerald green eyes are wide, and the curly lashes have them framed nicely. Perfectly plucked eyebrows just need a few swipes with the fingers. My shapely lips are parted slightly. The glass fogs up from me being so close, so I back away. Not bad, I think.

"Ali, please don't be late again for school!" I hear my mother shout.

"Sorry mom!" I shout right back.

I sigh, knowing nothing has changed, and quickly grab a towel making my way towards the shower. I let the hot water caress my body, and massage me. The familiar smell of my shampoo and conditioner calms me. After wringing my hair out, I step outside and brush my teeth. In my room, I pick out a simple outfit. Skinny jeans, with a green long sleeve shirt that matches my eyes. I pull my grey, suede boots over my feet. I mess around with my hair, finally deciding to leave it down. I stumble around my room and collect the various pieces of paper I think are the ones I need for the day. 

"Alison Mariah, get down those stairs this instance before I leave!" 

Hmm, mom's more nervous than usual. Wonder what's goin' on. I grab the cat to bring him downstairs to eat, (He is very old, so cannot walk well, let alone go down the stairs) and plop him onto his favorite bench. 

"Good ole Tom, never gets angry when I'm running a little late" I whisper to him. 

"Ali, please, I have conferences this morning. I can't be late" My mother insists.

Well, now I know why she's so anxious. I grab an apple and run to my car. I put my bag on the seat, and put the key in the ignition. I make my way through the neighborhood streets, ariving at school in less than 5 minutes. With a little time to spare, I take my cellphone out and turn it on. 

7 UNREAD MESSAGES: SEAN

"What the..." I say to myself. 

"Ali, where are you?"

"Ali, please answer me!"

"FUCK ALI why aren't you answering me!"

"...."

"I swear to god ali"

"That's it, you're getting it"

I swallow hard, and I carefully glance around the parking lot. No sign of his beat-up chevy, so I open the door to get out....

"I've been waiting for you."

I freeze. My heart starts to speed up, and I turn around slowly to face Sean, my boyfriend of almost a year now. I stare into his huge brown eyes, with as much pity as I can.

"S-Sean, what's up?" I whimper.

"Ali, you didn't answer my messages, why not?" He questions.

"I was sleepi-" 

He grabs my arm and pulls me towards the woods surrounding the school, out of sight. I cover my chest with my arms, anticipating what's coming.

"I don't care. I expect you to answer me when I text you!" And he hits me.

My eyes water, and I look back at him, waiting for the apology. Instead, I get another blow. I stagger a little, and get hit again. This time, I fall to the ground.

"You were a bad girl Ali, never do that again"

He kicks me, and the world goes black.