Abandoned

Chapter 4

Madeline POV

I couldn’t wait for the day to end.

I’ve had a lot of hard first days, but this one was the hardest by far.

Why did those two boys look so much like me? Why were they so familiar to me? Why did their words hurt so much?

I’ve been called poor before. I’ve been called ugly before. I’ve been called a lot of different names. It never hurt like it did today.

The look of hate in those eyes, identical to mine, would haunt me forever.

I couldn’t wait to go back to my tent.

I closed my locker and turned to my right. I just wanted to leave the school. I wanted to zip up my tent and let the tears fall.

I kept my eyes on the ground. I was afraid to look up. That boy told me not to show my face, and I was going to listen to him. I didn’t want him to call me names again. I didn’t want it to hurt again.

I tightened my grip on the books in my hand. I had math homework, and I needed to bring my books to the tent so I could do it.

Suddenly, I saw a pair of high heels in front of me. I tried to walk around the girl, but she stopped me.

“Where are you going, little bitch?” she asked. “Back to the group home?”

My heart raced. Did she know I was an orphan? How?

I stayed silent, keeping my eyes on the ground.

She grabbed the books from my hands and threw them on the floor.

“Look at me when I am speaking to you.” she said coldly, grabbing my chin and making me look up at her.

I glanced to my left and saw the two boys who looked like me. They had a smirk on their face as they watched the scene in front of them. There was another boy with them who was looking at me with sympathy in his eyes. He was clenching his jaw, and he looked like he wanted to say something.

I looked back at the girl who stopped me. Her nails were digging into my chin, but it wasn’t the worst pain I’ve ever felt. Actually, it was far from it.

Two girls were standing behind her. They had a murderous look on their faces.

What had I done to them? I was at the school for only a day.

“I asked, are you going back to the group home, little bitch?” the girl asked, narrowing her eyes and digging her nails into my skin.

“No.” I answered quietly.

“Does the little poor thing have parents?” she asked mockingly. “I’m sure that they are some lowlifes. Do they drink? Do they do drugs?”

She smirked and pulled my head even further back. She was a lot taller than me, and my neck started to hurt.

“Do they hit you?” she asked, making my stomach twist. “Did your daddy ever punch you? If he didn’t, he should have. You deserve it. You deserve to be...”

“That’s enough!” I heard a voice shout.

The girl turned her head to the right.

“Why are you defending the poor girl, Zack?” she asked.

“Stop it, Amy.” the guy said angrily. “Let her go.”

“Are you going to let him speak to me like that, Maddox?” the girl asked, surprised.

Was Maddox one of the boys who looked like me?

There was no response, but I heard footsteps approaching me and the girl. One of the guys who looked like me came to stand next to us. He grabbed the girl’s hand and moved it away from my chin.

“What did I tell you about lifting your head?” he asked, gritting his teeth. “Lower it right the fuck now and leave.”

Tears burned my eyes. What he said hurt more than everything this girl did and said to me. I listened to him and looked at the floor. I bent down, picked up my books, and stood back up.

I ran out of the school, trying to stop my body from shaking.

My heart hurt. My chest felt like someone was sitting on it. The lump in my throat was huge. I couldn’t gulp it down. I couldn’t breathe. As soon as I stepped out of the school, I felt warm tears fall down my cheeks.

Why did it hurt so much? Why?

As I was walking to the storm shelter, I kept glancing around. I needed to make sure that no one saw me. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen if someone did see me.

I reached the storm shelter, glanced around one more time, and opened the door. I stepped inside, closed the door behind myself, and walked to my tent. I opened it and stepped inside.

As soon as I closed my tent, sobs started to escape me. I couldn’t control them. My body hurt. My heart hurt. My soul hurt.

I placed the books on the floor and hugged my knees. I leaned my head on my knees and let myself cry. I rarely did that. I rarely let my feelings overwhelm me. I couldn’t let myself cry. I needed to stay focused. I needed to be okay. I needed to finish school and go to college. I just couldn’t let myself cry.

But I did it now. I needed it. I couldn’t even control my body.

What those boys said pierced my heart like nothing ever did before.

I somehow managed to stop crying. I took a deep breath and wiped my cheeks.

It would be okay. I would be okay. In a year or two, I wouldn’t even remember those boys.

I reached out for my backpack and took out the forms that my foster parents needed to sign. I’ve gotten really good at signing those. No one ever suspected anything. I took out my pen and signed at the bottom of the paper.

I decided to do my homework while I still had some energy left. I haven’t eaten anything today, and it was really hard for me to focus and stay awake. I only had five power bars left. I had to save those because I wasn’t sure when and if I would manage to get a job.

I would eat one tomorrow morning before school. I would go look for a job after school.

I took a deep breath and focused on my math homework. It was hard to work under a flashlight, but I somehow managed to do it.

I put my stuff back into my backpack, changed into my tent sweats, and got into my sleeping bag. I covered myself with a blanket as best I could.

My mind went back to those two boys. Who were they? Why did I feel like I knew them?

I sighed and closed my eyes.

It didn’t matter. Even if I did know them, I wouldn’t do anything about it. They didn’t want me close. I would stay as far away from them as possible.