Misguided

🌺 CHAPTER 0.5 🌺

-"Here, take a hit of this shit." Mark passed me a bag of white powder from where we're sitting on the worn out couch of the abandon house we all hang out.
I've seen most of them around before. All a few years older then me but I guess that doesn't matter here.
I don't ask what it is but instead start to cut it. To be honest I don't care what it is. All I know is I need to get that horrifying smirk out of my mind, the feeling of his body on mine.
The drug hits me instantly and I chug the rest of my drink down. Is this really my life?
Everything starts to become fuzzy, colours moving around the room and I start laughing at my fingers. They look so funny.
Then I hear a laugh join in, not mine, but the demonic laugh that haunts me. It's coming from behind me, his breath on my neck, the sound of his belt buckle opening.
I try to move but my body is frozen in fear. I'm in that classroom again. My head feels light and heavy at the same.
As my body gets lift up and thrown into the hard table I feel like i'm actually back there.
I try open my mouth to scream but all that comes out are small whimpers. My body isn't mine, it's just doing what it has to do to survive.
Everything is falling apart. Everything, and I just have to sit by and watch.
Funny how I'm drowning in my thoughts but everyone around me is completely oblivious.No one notices, not my family, not the principle or teachers. Nobody.-

Arden jolts awake with sweat dripping from her forehead, her chest heaving heavily as she tried to get oxygen into her lungs. She jolts out of bed and crosses the hall into the joint bathroom. She closes the door and turns around still panting. The white walls of the bathroom overwhelming her.

Lifting the ceramic lid off the toilet she pulls out the clear bag filled with little white pills, also know as Xanax.

She opened the packet with shaky hands and pulls three pills out. She pops them in her mouth and calms at the feeling of them start to dissolve on her tongue.
After placing them back she walks over to the sink and fills her palms with the cold tap water and then to her mouth, swallowing the remaining pills.
Then proceeds to splash it on her face repeatedly.

As she looks up to the mirror above the sink she doesn't know who the person starring back is. Shallow eyes and hollow cheek bones. Her light brown hair fraying and falling out.

She can't remember the last time she was able to stomach a full meal. Arden knows she won't get any more sleep tonight as the nightmares would continue to plague her.

She takes out her art book and starts sketching away. An image of a woman with a fierce smile, long black hair is cascading down her face. But there's another face attached, trying to escape its happy mask. This ones screaming in fear. It's a reflection of her own mind.

She doesn't notice the sun has come up until there is a knock on her door. Wren sticks his head in asking if she's ready to head to school.

She puts on a grey pair of sweatpants and a matching over sized grey jumper. Just throwing her hair up in a bun and brushing her teeth. As she walks downstairs all her siblings are impatiently waiting already. She quickly goes to put on her heavy dock-martins.

The New York air is extremely warm today beating down on her and her brothers. Arden is already sweating in her layers of clothing but she can't let anyone see her tainted skin.

She goes to ridge-mount middle school which is the local school in their area, it happens to be right beside the high school we're her brothers go.

Arden, Seven, Lake and Reid all get out of the luxurious car their father bought Wren as a gift for getting into med school. Tainted windows and sleek black leather seats is only the finest for the Hale family.
Sighing heavily Arden begins the long day ahead and heads into the school.

"Have a good day guys." Wren says from the driver seat. Seven is the only one to reply. "See ya later Wren." He shouts back.
Wren continues driving towards the hospital where most of his classes take place.

Seven, being the popular energetic boy he is shoots straight off to his group of football friends. Seven isn't good at the academic side of school but he was damn good at sports. 14 years old and youngest on the team.

Reid is your typical teenage boy. The arrogant attitude and girls swarming him, making his ego bigger. He shoots one last warning look at Arden.

"Not a word about your problems okay. Your already embarrassing me enough with the way your dressed. You look homeless for gods sake."
Arden just ignores him and continues walking to the front doors. Reid scoffs and walks over to his group of smoking friends who are calling his name.

Lake and Arden just continue to the door and when they arrive Lake just pulls her into a hug. She tried not to flinch too hard when he touches her but he didn't notice anyways.

"See you after school okay? Stay out of trouble." He leant down and pecked her forehead before walking off to his first class.

She was alone again.