The Billionaire Darkness

Chapter Ninety-One

The downpours of late spring had seemed to assail Brooklyn as I walked home from work in the last month alone I'd have nearly every possible combination of words hurled at me from Demetri about how I dressed and as bad as it was to admit, I'd been to the park once a week, and every time I'd been on the bench staring across the river, that boy had shown up. Sometimes with advice on how to keep my head up, other times to just be present while I cried.

Could you befriend someone like that? I wasn't actually sure.

It must be odd watching someone you don't actually know express themselves so deeply. It had been one of the only things I'd managed to find at least a little bit funny even if it was at my own expense. I just knew that at some point it would have to end, there would be no more going to the park at night because Demetri had begun to make it his habit to be out late at night now too.

I'd also been avoidant of my actual friends since I didn't want to break down in front of them. There would be a murder reported by the end of the day if I did.

It wasn't quite my biggest challenge either. The main one, and the one I was silently cursing myself for was letting my single day of trying to dress for me, to let myself quit shrinking into myself had failed so quickly. I hadn't touched any of the clothing that I normally would if I wasn't in this situation to begin with, and I still didn't have a single way out.

I had been documenting all of the abuse though. Every event, the count of the bruises, what was said, which had been a big issue since I had to make myself not dissociate from Demetri's words. It was all there in the notebook I kept hidden.

I'd already thought of what I wanted to put in the newest addition to it, aside from the obvious purpose, I wanted to make a separate section that contained what the mysterious boy had given me for advice, as a way to remind myself if I felt like I was spiralling into self harm again, which I'd done already just on parts of me only I would see, or I could hide.

Having the reason I was good at makeup be to hide my scars and marks shouldn't be how I was learning any of this—but it was.

Passing through one of the neighborhoods near mine I turned facing the main highway where I could see the bridge and for a moment wondered what it must be like across the river in Manhattan. Away from Downtown Brooklyn which I could hear the thick traffic just a few miles away.

I'd also been thinking more about Thornbrook, and tried to find out what I could about the school but there was limited information that the public seemed to have access to, and I learned that the Thornbrook Official page of Instagram was only for students that actually went which I found just a little irritating but I wasn't ever actually going to be able to go so why would I have a chance.

Still the school's name stayed in my mind while I walked home until I'd shut myself in my room after cleaning up the house since my mom was working late again tonight, and I had several long assignments to get done.

Pulling on my favourite hoodie I curled up in the window sill with my laptop and my notebooks and began to work through my assignments, jotting down notes as I worked through the assignments occasionally stopping to change music and glanced out of the window at the sky as it faded from day to night until it had become completely dark.

After nearly four hours and more pages of homework than I had actually wanted to do I slipped it all back into my bag and set it down next to the window seat before I glanced out of the window watching the little street traffic that the neighborhood had at night. People walking their dogs, or jogging, along with the late to home vehicles parking and the occupants seeming to rush into their homes.

Not long after I spotted my mom's car round the corner and rolled towards our house before parking. Watching her out of my window, she pushed herself out and up the steps to the front door.