Spirited

Chapter Five

    My alarm clock starts playing 'Can't Stop Dancin' by Becky G. As I open my eyes, I realize that Peter is no longer with me. Quite frankly I don't blame him. I get out of bed and I find a note on my dresser. It says:

"Be ready at 7:45. You and I are going to get Starbucks ;) and talk about yesterday.
-Peter"

I smile at the gesture. I walk to the bathroom. I see the knife. I have the sudden craving to cut myself. I do it. I don't know why, but the slickness of the knife feels thrill filled. Until it starts hurting. I dragged the knife across my hip. The blood starts running down my leg. I grab some toilet paper and wipe up the blood. Luckily a Band-Aid was on the counter top.
   After a tear slipped from my cheek I realize, that, no matter what I do, I'll never stop cutting myself even if I wanted to. I take a quick shower and see my mom laying an outfit on my bed. She stops when she sees me. She comes up next to me and hugs me close.
   "Peter is coming at 7:15 you better hurry. I thought I would put something nice out for you," mom states.
   "Peter left me a note saying that he was going to pick me up at 7:45, why did it change?" I inquire. Mom pulls away.
   "Your father is now leaving at 7:45. He doesn't want Peter taking you to school, I do so he told me that the only way for you to go with Peter was if he didn't see you leave." mom whispers. "Come, put this on. You'll look wonderful."

   The clock turns 7:15 and Peter pulls up in the curb. He gets out of the car, and hugs me quickly.
   "My lady," he says, awkwardly. He opens the car door for me. I sit on the leather seat. I whistle. He closes my door and walks to his seat.
   "This is a really nice car!" I say.
   "It's only a Mustang, convertible." I snort.
   "It's only a Mustang, convertible. Everyone has one of these," I imitate Peters voice.
   "Alright, point lost. You ready to go?" he asks.
   "Mhmm," I nod. I fold my hands in my lap and relax a little. Peter starts the car and starts driving to Starbucks. "He hates me," I say out of nowhere.
   "What are you talking about?" Peter asks.
   "My dad," I look at him. "He hates me. Said so himself last night." Peter takes my hand and stops at the red light. Peter gazes into my eyes.
   "He may, but he's wrong. You are an amazing person and you deserve the best parents. I'm sorry that you don't have them. I care about you very much. Ok?" Peter asks. I nod. I point at the green light out of the corner of my eye and he starts driving again. But he doesn't let go of my hand.
   There's a feeling inside of me. A feeling I've never felt before, is stuck in my chest. I don't know what it is, but I never want it to go away. I smile a little, and relax completely.

"Thanks for the ride!" I say to Peter. He never let go of my hand during the ride.
"It's not a problem, but we have all classes together. Your mom wanted us to have all classes together. So now we do. She just thought it would be good..."
"I understand. She wanted to keep me stable at all times. Even at school. I can't thank her enough, or you." I tell him.
"Ok. By the way, you look really nice. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I decided not too," he blushes. I smile.
"Thanks. You look great..." I was interrupted by screaming.
"DECEMBER! AHAHAHAHAHAH, COME OVER HERE!" yelled Allison. She waved me over.
"Go with your friends. I'll meet you in room five ok?" Peter asks.
"Yes, I'll be there. Bye," I reassured. He waved bye while Rebecca grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the group.
"December, no one saw you this summer. You've got some explaining to do, aand why you were driven here by Peter Royce, the cutest boy in the entire world?!" Bella said, surprised. I knew I couldn't lie. About anything. I knew this would happen as soon as I arrived. I don't want to tell them everything. A shiver goes down my spine.
"Umm, well Peter and I hung out over the summer because our moms are good friends and so we hung out a lot and just became good friends..." I start.
"Why do you have scars all over your arms and a few on your leg?" asks Ava. Her, curly, dirty blonde hair tumbles over her shoulders. Her olive skin shimmering from the sunlight. A curious look in her green eyes. My friends start backing away from me. I feel the urge to run, but that shows weakness. I swallow my fear, and start telling them everything.
A few look sympathetic. A few look terrified, and some look bored. My best friend Olivia looks like she's going to cry. That only makes me more scared. I knew I shouldn't have told them.
When I finish, Allison taps five people on the shoulder and they leave. But that's not everyone who leaves. Ava, Mia, Michaela, and Andy follow the other six. Olivia is the only one left. She doesn't look at me.
"OLIVIA!" Michaela yells. Olivia looks at me one last time and mouths 'I'm sorry' and runs off with the others.
The bell rings and I start heading for room five. From that moment, I knew Olivia didn't want to follow. But everyone else hates me. She has to follow the act in order to stay in the group. I swallow back tears.

The first day of school is supposed to be happy, exciting, intriguing. Not for me. In all of my classes I had at least one of my old friends. But Peter was with me. It made things better. A little.
Lunch comes around and I can't bear to face everyone. I run to the bathroom and eat my lunch in there. Before I run into a stall to eat I look in the mirror. My red hair is wavy over my shoulders. I'm wearing a spaghetti strap tank top under a loose one, and a medium lengthened skirt that's black. You can see the scars. They are a fairly dark color. I start swallowing quickly. I know what's about to happen. I run into the stall behind me. I lean over the toilet and let loose.
   I close my eyes tightly to make sure I don't see the throw-up. I find the lever and pull it down. After I'm certain it's all gone, I still feel nauseous. I lean my head on the bathroom stall door. My backpack lays next to me. I search through my main pocket and find my pack of gum. I sigh and pop a piece in my mouth.
"December, you in here?" asks Peters voice.
"Yeah," I croak. I hear his foot steps come to my stall door. I stand up slowly and unlock the door. Peter has a worried look in his eyes. He pulls me close. I cry. He pats down my hair.
"Tell me what happened," he whispers.
"No," I say.
"Ok, tell me when your ready." He kisses my forehead. We stand there for a long time. It felt like the right thing to do. I know that whenever he's around, he makes me feel hopeful. I love that about him. I never want to leave the safety of his warmth and protection. I feel...

Spirited!