Motherless

Burdens and Bonds

For the past few weeks, I've been hanging out a lot with Melody. She's been a massive help in math, and my grades have improved big time. I haven't gotten anything below a B since, which feels amazing. Plus, no one's calling me dumb anymore; they even ask me for help sometimes.

Melody's been giving me rides home after school, except on days when I have to work. Yeah, I've got a job now, with the drug dealer. Not Pablo, but his boss. I needed money fast, so he hooked me up, and now I gotta work it off selling drugs on the corners. I give the cash to my mom, and now she's got me paying half the rent. So, yeah, can't really quit working for Dagger.

Anyway, some weekends, Melody takes me out. Like last weekend, we hit up a fair. She's been wanting to meet my parents since she's been spending so much time with me.

I've told her that my mom's a nurse, which is true, but I don't see her much. And my stepdad's a truck driver, though he's really a mechanic, so I'm home alone a lot. She hasn't asked any more questions lately. I really like her and hate lying to her, but I guess it's for the best.

Right now, it's lunchtime, and I'm eating with Melody. "Talia, how come I never see you with any friends?" she asks, waiting for my response. "Um, I... Because I don't have any friends," I admit, feeling kind of down.

"Hey now, those kids don't know how cool you really are. If they don't wanna be your friend, it's their loss. As a matter of fact, I'm glad to have you as a friend," she says, pulling me in for a hug.

After lunch, I head to my locker to get my books. As soon as I close it, my books get knocked out of my hand, and I'm shoved against the locker. "Did you enjoy your lunch, loser?" It's Kyle, Becca's brother. Great, the whole family's jerks. "Just let me go," I groan, trying to get away.

"Gladly," he drops me hard, and then kicks my stomach. "See you later, weirdo," he laughs, walking away. I sit up, holding my stomach, looking around at the empty halls. I struggle to get up and eventually make it to class, ten minutes late.

"Why are you late to my class, Ms. Howard?" Mrs. Anthony asks. "I was--" I didn't get to finish talking. "Don't even try to lie to me, just go to the office now," she says, and the students laugh at me as I leave the class. Why can't I catch a break? Why does everyone hate me?

Instead of going to the office, I head to the girls' bathroom. I look in the mirror, crying. "You're so pathetic. No wonder everyone hates you. You're just fat and ugly. Nobody cares about you," the voices in my head continue.

I cover my ears, screaming, "Stop! Quiet!" I punch the mirror, shattering it, and look at the blood dripping from my hand to the ground. "No, no, no," I say, looking at my bloody fist, hoping to stop the bleeding. I don't want to wait for someone to find me, so I run out quickly, leaving a trail of blood.

"Hey!" I look back to see the hall monitor chasing me. I panic and run faster. As I'm about to reach the exit, a door opens, and I crash into it, falling to the ground. I see a blurred figure leaning over me, speaking, but I can't hear. Then, everything goes black.

Melody's POV
During class, I received a call from my sister. "Everyone, continue working. I'll step outside for a moment," I announced before stepping out to take the call. As I opened the door, I was met with a sudden impact and a loud thump. Closing the door behind me, I discovered it was Talia.

"Baby, are you okay?" I knelt down beside her, forgetting about the call. "Sweetheart, answer me. Are you okay?" I asked, but she barely responded before fainting. "Dammit," I muttered, noticing the blood covering her fist as I examined it.

Focusing back on her, I tried to wake her, but it was futile. With no one else around, I grabbed her wrist and lifted her onto my shoulder, being careful not to jostle her too much. Carrying her swiftly but cautiously, I made my way to the infirmary.