Girl Unnoticed

Girl Unnoticed [10]

Ten

All the trust my mother had previously had in me slowly faded away in a matter of days. On our Sunday lunch, my mother wouldn’t meet my eyes or even acknowledge my existence. I knew that I had pushed her farther than before by not informing her of my whereabouts but she was taking things out of proportion. The table was too quiet and the discomfort was clear in the air. My father felt like a meaningless pawn between the two of us but he wouldn’t speak, afraid that if he did my mother would begin a fight. It was sad to think that I barely spent time with my parents and they were bluntly pushing me away.

I sighed as I pushed my food around in the plate, my hunger no longer an issue. If I kept it up, I would soon be losing so much weight that rumors about me being anorexic would soon flood the school. Biting my lip to keep from yelling, I pushed away from the table and threw my food away. I had gone back to my nonspeaking ways so I didn’t ask permission to be excused before I ran up to my bedroom. Locking the door behind me, I let myself fall on the ground and held my head between my knees. I desperately wanted to take out the box with the pictures of my childhood with Danielle, but I felt too down to even want to take a peek.

My mind was being flooded with thoughts, and none were happy to say the least. My relationship with my mother was deteriorating faster than I wanted and my father would always take her side so I had no way to defend myself. I had no friends to confide and pour my feelings out to and I dreaded the thought of the day ending and having to go back to school. Casey had made sure I would experience hell and even though she subdued her attacks last week, I knew she would be preparing for more. It was a proven fact that the world was against me and I couldn’t do anything to change it.

I spent the rest of the hours of the day simply sitting on the ground and watching the numbers on the clock change. My eyelids were becoming heavier as the sky noticeably darkened and I couldn’t fight against it.

***

The pounding on my door woke me up and I groaned from the heaviness of my body. I had fallen asleep on the hard floor and my back and neck were paying for it. Quickly changing out of my clothes, I made my way downstairs and my parents had already gone away. My stomach churned but I didn’t stop to grab something to eat from the kitchen. I wouldn’t be able to hold the food down without knowing what Casey had in store for me today. It would be so simple to tell my parents or just an adult about the abuse I withheld at school but I was too stubborn and didn’t want anyone to fight my battles.

Everyone whispered quite loudly to each other as I made my way up the stairs to my locker. Some laughed as they pointed at my hunched figure, hiding under the light blue hood that I wore. Hanging on my locker door was a small, folded note that had my name written in a clear, cursive handwriting. Only Casey would be meticulous enough to do something that took in many details. My feet slowed down on their way to my locker and stopped right in front of it, not permitting me to step any closer to it. The note could hold anything inside but I knew from experience that it would be nothing positive.

Letting the note loose from the pink ribbon that was taped to my locker door, I unfolded the letter and let my eyes scan the page. Are you that pathetic that you can’t even make friends with the school’s loner? Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about you, but this won’t be the worst that’s coming to you. At the end of the page, Casey had drawn a little heart that was filled with pink ink. I tore the note to pieces and threw it into the nearest trashcan.

During my first class, instead of paying attention to the lecture the teacher was giving, I thought about how Casey knew that Rhys had rejected my friendship. He had told me that he didn’t want to be my friend in the privacy of his home and the surroundings around it were deserted. Rhys didn’t seem like the type of person to share personal thoughts or feelings to anyone other than himself, or gossip of any kind. The only Casey would’ve known about it was by either manipulating Rhys or giving him something in return that he wouldn’t be able to refuse.