BRIIIIIIIIING. The bell rang, signalling that school was over, and students were allowed to go home. I look around quietly, gauging my surrounding environment. It was Friday afternoon, and everyone seemed to be pumped for the weekend. There was probably some stupid party happening at the William's house-er-mansion again. Almost everyone is invited to these parties, except for me. That's what you get for being the outcast though. Not like it mattered anyways, I had my job, schoolwork, and my... father to deal with. I don't know how everyone's going to finish their homework if they're going to that party. We have an essay to write for Ms. Millers, a project on atoms for Mr. Baxter, prepare for debates in Mr. Yules class, and to top it off, we have 10 pages of math homework for Mrs. Lain.
Sigh, how am I supposed to finish all of this while he is still home? I guess I'll just have to do it at the bookshop this weekend.
I checked my watch to see that it was already 3:05 PM.
Shoot, I need to get going! Oh come on, I didn't pack my uniform today! That means I need to run home, grab my uniform, and go. Realistically, I'll be fourty-five minutes late, but... I'm seventeen today... I'll just have to pray that he's not home...
I quickly head to my locker, and messily packed my homework into my bag. I slammed my locker shut, before wheeling around, and exiting the school. Lakewood High was the only high school in Janeswood, so all teenagers came here. Maybe that's why everyone knew each other... I jumped on my skateboard and headed for my home. It was in the worst part of town, about a half an hour ride away. I sped through the roads and took some shortcuts here and there, and I made it to our street in under twenty minutes. I stop moving and looked around slowly, making sure no one was on the street before silently walking up to my house. I slowly looked around, and dumped my skateboard and bag behind the bush that was stationed on the side of the house. I looked up and located my window, on the highest part of the house possible. He made me live in the attic, saying that he needed the rest of the house for himself. I was only allowed inside the kitchen to cook, and the laundry room to clean. Those were the only places in the house that were remotely clean, and everything else was in disarray. Every time I come home, I had to scale the wall to get into my room, so I sneakily hid a rope as ivy vine, and used that to help me scale. Today though, my vine was gone, and I think he found out how I got in now. Luckily, there was a tree tall enough to reach my ledge, so I scaled that, and hopped onto the ledge. Secretly, with the left over money I made, I have been taking self defence classes.
I grab the hidden key and unlocked the window, quickly sneaking in, and changing into my uniform. I locked my window again, and I unlocked the door to get into the hall, and locked it again once I was out. I look around for him before walking down the hall, stepping over the creaky steps. I look around when I'm at the top of the stairs, when I'm suddenly flying. A scream left my lips before I even knew what was happening, and then I'm soaring through the air. The ground was coming closer though, and...
That was not one of my greatest landings, let me tell you that. I stuck my arms out to break my fall, but my left arm gave out, and I landed on my left side. I banged left side of my head on the ground, and the world was spinning again. My left side was painfully throbbing and I could hear slow, calculating footsteps coming down from the flight of stairs.
When I realized the footsteps were coming closer to me, I tried to push myself up, but my arms collapsed from under me, and I fell to the ground in a painful heap. I cried out as my head struck the ground again. Everything was spinning faster, and the smell of drugs and alcohol was not helping. I heard him chuckling from all directions, and I just closed my eyes, wishing he wasn't at home, that I didn't forget my uniform today, that I didn't get myself in this mess. I slowly rolled over onto my back, panting at the effort it took. Then I heard it. The sound of the knife swishing around in the air. I flinched at the sound, and heard it whizz by my ear, landing mere centimetres away from my head.
"Hey Jade... Do you remember what today is?" he maliciously slurred the words. I gulped loudly, and my heart rate picked up and filled my ears as panic enveloped my body. I panicked mentally in my mind.
Oh no, I was really riding on that he would forget! He's going to carve a letter into me again, and laugh maliciously while I cry! Oh no, oh no, oh no...
Ever since that day he started carving into my body when I was sixteen and a half, he would almost always carve my body daily, and I had an assortment of nicks, swirls, scars, and more. The ones I hate most are the letters. He carved a big 'J' when I was sixteen and a half, a big 'A' when I was sixteen and three quarters, and today, since I turned seventeen, I was suspecting that I'd be getting a 'D' to match the 'JA' that I had.
"Please don't! No, no stop! Please! STOP FATHER!" I pleaded. Yes, that man was supposed to be my father, but really, he was but a stranger, living a druggie life. I screamed in agony as the knife pierced through my skin, and was skillfully led to mark a 'D', but he wasn't done yet. He saw the tear in my uniform, and cut my side. twirling the knife, plunging even deeper than normal, soaking in my cries and pleas. He was a monster and he knew it. He stopped carving me, and just watched the blood flow out, before turning around and walking away, vanishing behind a door, and clicking it sound shut.
I lied there, just trying to breathe in and out evenly, to regain my calm, and clear thinking. When my head wasn't spinning as violently as before, I opened my eyes and surveyed the situation. My side was throbbing painfully every time I took a breath, but my arm had stopped bleeding. I rolled onto my unwounded side, panting heavily, and used my good arm to push me up. I clenched my teeth as blood started pouring out of my side wound again. I stayed in this position, getting used to the pain, before pushing up until I was standing on my two feet. I swayed at the excruciating pain radiating from my side, blood soaking my uniform. I leaned against the wall, trying to regain my bearings again, before I started walking. I slowly walked toward the door, trying not to move my side much. I had to lean against the wall every few minutes to catch my breath. When I finally made it to the door, I opened it and stepped outside. I clutched my wound tightly as I staggered away. I didn't know where I was going, all I knew was that I needed to get away from him.
I don't know how long I was walking for, but slowly, I was becoming lightheaded and dizzy. I was becoming dazed, my mind was fuzzy, and I couldn't think properly. I stumbled, and tripped, landing on my unharmed side, and I just looked around. I barely felt the pain, my mind becoming foggier by the second. I stared ahead, but when I heard footsteps coming closer, on reflexes, I looked around until I pinpointed the source of the noise. It was a blurry blob that I could make out was a man. I panicked for a second, thinking it was him, but then the stranger cried out something, and I didn't recognize his voice. I sighed in relief, it wasn't him. I could finally die in peace, without him there. With my last burst of energy, I opened my eyes, and took in my surroundings hazily. The sun was covered with clouds, and the wind was picking up. I was far away from my home, and I surprised myself by smiling. I might as well smile one last time before I die. I then led my eyes over to the man, and observed how the concerned/panicked look covered his face, and led his body. He looked somewhat familiar too.
I suddenly became tired, and I passed out, wondering one thing,
Where had I seen him before?
