There's Only You ✔

Chapter 13

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF SELF HARM. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Chapter 13

Sometimes, you could be having the time of your life. You could be watching movies with your best friends or having a nice dinner with your family. Then, it just hits you. All the trauma you had endured. Images of your ex-boyfriend beating you. Laying on top of you as he leaves kisses on every inch of your body and not letting you get away.

The worst time that could happen was in the morning. You waste your day away by rehashing the past and thinking about the endless 'what if's like 'what if that never happened to you?' or 'what if he did this instead?'.

That was what happened to me as I was struggling to get out of bed. Pictures of the events that transpired yesterday wrapped around my brain like permanent tattoos. Flashbacks to middle school when he threw a beer bottle at the back of my head were everywhere I looked.

They were there when I glanced at my parents' liquor cabinet. They were there when I carried my glass bowl of cereal to the table. There was no escape from them.

My eyes fluttered open to an empty apartment. The football game was still on, the gun was still on the kitchen table and shards of glass were scattered around me. Gray, nor his friends, were nowhere in sight, but the smell of cigarettes and beer still lingered in the room. I knew, right away, that Gray and his friends were out to meet their dealer.

This was normally when I'd leave. He was gone. It was my chance before he came back and hurt me more. However, what stopped me from leaving were the shards that came from the beer bottle. The danger of the sharp edges that could pierce through skin and cause injury if stepped on with bare feet.

Perhaps this was what I needed to finally cease the suffering for good. If he was going to get away with treating me the way he did, this was my one and only escape. I reached for a shard in between my fingers and examined the sharp point. I winced when I slightly pricked my finger but I never let go.

Taking a deep breath, I allowed the point to face downward toward the skin on my arm. I closed my eyes and reminded myself that this could end the torture. It would be nothing compared to what he put me through but Gray would find me here, unconscious with blood trickling down my arm and realize the affect he had on me.

The piece was inches, then centimeters away from my skin. I prepared myself for the physical pain that was about to take over, but I knew it would be worth it. The tip of the shard barely touched me when a noise came from my phone.

Count On Me by Bruno Mars started to play and I didn't have to look at the screen to see who was calling. It was my guardian angel. Zach was calling me to ask where I was and considering the timing of the call, I took it as a sign from the universe.

The boys never knew about that and I intend to keep it that way. Forcing myself out of bed, I slipped into the first hoodie in my closet that my fingers touched and a pair of skinny jeans.

Zach was cooking me breakfast which I only ate because I didn't want him to go through all the trouble for nothing. Eating the ham and cheese omelet was the last thing I wanted to do. We drove together to school and Zach sensed that I wasn't in the mood to talk. It was a quiet ride, save for the music softly playing on the radio. I met Olive at her locker, as usual.

"Good morning, Olly Bolly," I sullenly greeted.

The lack of reaction threw me for a loop. She remained facing her locker as she packed her books into her backpack with the same somber look etched into her features. A frown was formed on her lips and puffiness lined underneath her eyes.