19 You + Me

The Beginning

The last bathroom stall. I know it all too well. I know it like the back of my hand. The chipped tile to the right of the toilet, the smell of the stall considering what time of day it is and if anyone has used it in the past hour.

I'd say this toilet is my only friend. I spend most of my week in here. I usually miss the last half of school because I'm in here. Not like I have any core classes anyways.

I lift my shirt up slightly and touch the already forming bruise. Right when I touch it, I pull away and cry in pain. I pull my shirt down right in time because I feel my lunch coming back up. I grab onto the toilet and hold my hair back. I flush the toilet and take a drink of my water from my water bottle. I stand up and lean against the wall to support myself and get balance.

I unlock the door and walk to the sinks. I look in the mirror at my beaten-up reflection. My lip is split and bleeding, I have a bruise by my eye and a bump forming above my left eye. I splash my face with cool water and grab a paper towel to dry it, making sure not to touch my wounds too hard. I place my finger under the water and wipe my lip, trying to get the dried blood away.

I reach into my purse and grab my makeup bag. I grab some concealer to try and hide my black and blue spots. I place some powdered foundation by my lip on the wound and put lipstick on the rest. I place everything in my purse and walk around the corner to look out into the long hallway. It's clear. There is still 10 minutes of last period left so I have some time. I have an off hour this hour so I can do whatever I want. I walk into the hallway and fast walk to my locker. It is 3:52 so I have seven minutes to leave the school if I want to avoid them. I open my locker and grab what binders and books I need for homework. I close my locker and look at my phone screen. 3:54. I have five minutes to get out of here. I walk to the stairs and make my way down. Three minutes. Of course there wasn't any parking when I got here so I had to park in freakin' China. I fast walk across the school and round a corner when the bell rings. I jump a little but keep up my pace. I start moving a little faster so I can try to avoid them. I'm almost out the doors when I hear them.

"Where do you think you're going?" He said.

I open the doors and start running for my car. I'm outside for about ten seconds before I hear the click of the doors open again. I grab my keys, unlock my car, get in, and lock the doors right in time.

"Unlock the damn doors or I'll break your window!"

I put my keys in the ignition and turn it to Start. I put my foot on the breaks and put my car into drive. The only thing I can hear is the screaming and pounding from outside my car. I take my foot of the break and hit the gas. I don't care if I hit them.

I look in my mirror and see them flipping me off. I sigh and turn my music on. I play my playlist labeled: Country 🌾💙 and hit shuffle. I sing along to the songs that come on and turn a corner to pull into my favorite fast food restaurant/diner. I pull into the drive through and look around. I know this is their favorite diner too. I see a 1995 Silver Porsche in a parking spot right next to the doors of the diner. I automatically look forward hoping no one will notice me.

I make my way up to the speaker and look at the menu even though I already know what I want.

"Welcome to Las Papas Diner, how may I help you?" I hear a middle aged man say into the staticky speaker.

"Yes, may I please have a number four?"

"What would you like to drink?"

"Water please."

"Will that be all for you today?"

"Yes please."

"Okay that will be $4.25 at the first window, thank you."

____________

I stop my car and open the door. I get my backpack, purse, and food from the back seat. I lock my car doors and enter my house.

"Buenos tardes Ms. Abbie."

"Hola Ms. Sanchez."

Ms. Sanchez is my family's maid. She cleans our house but she mostly took care of me when I was little because my parents have to work.

"How was your day?" Ms. Sanchez says as she dusts a vase on our dining room table.

"It was okay, how was your day?"

"Ocupado!"

"Lo siento..." I say as I walk up the stairs. But I stop and walk back down, "hey where are mom and dad?"

"They might be in their offices."

"Okay, thank you," I walk back up the stairs and holler back down, "I'll see you in a while."

"Yeah, yeah."

I walk into my room and close my door. I drop my backpack and purse on the floor and bring my food to my bed. I grab my remote and turn on some random show. I start eating my food and grab my phone from my back pocket. I check my social media and set my phone back down.

I finish my food and set the trash bag on my side table. I get up to go to the bathroom. Once I open the bathroom door, I hear my phone vibrating. I run over to it and look who it is. Jonah. I hit decline and toss my phone to the side. I lay on my back and look at the ceiling. I close my eyes and just think. I think about how there is only about a week until I am sitting on a chair in the sun on the beach in South Carolina. Eight more days. Only eight days.

_____________

I wake up to Ms. Sanchez shaking me lightly, "Get up honey, would you like some dinner?"

"I'm not very hungry thank you though." I sit up and stretch my arms.

Ms. Sanchez grabs my face and rubs on my lip. I try not to make a face so she doesn't expect anything, but I guess she saw through it, "What happened?"

"It's nothing, I'm okay." I pull back from her grip and stand up.

"Did they do this again? You can't let this keep happening! You need to tell someone!"

"It doesn't matter, no one does anything anyways and mom and dad don't care about me enough to notice my pain."

"They love you Abbie, they just have work."

"Wow, I come after work I guess. The second choice?" I grab my phone and purse and walk out of my room.

"Oh stop it." Ms. Sanchez follows close behind me, "Where are you going?"

"I don't know. Just somewhere." I get out the front doors and sit in my car. I start my car and sit in my driveway a while.

I feel my cheek get wet so I reach up to feel them. Great, tears. I don't try wiping them away. I just cry. I alway hide my emotions so people think they don't effect me. I need to let these tears out.

As I sit in my driveway, I contemplate about everything. School, home, life. I punch my steering wheel and lean my head against it. I start gasping for air because I can't breath.

I put my car in reverse and pull out of my driveway. I start driving. I don't know where to, I just drive.

______________

After a while of driving, I find myself on top of our town mountain. I step out of my car and walk up the steep white concrete stairs that lead up to a small white concrete building. I sit in one of the window frames and look over the city. It's a lot prettier when you aren't being chased through its alleys and hiding in its dumpsters.

I reach into my bag and pull my portable speaker out. I grab my phone from my pocket and turn the speaker on. I sync it with my phone and turn on some soft music to match how I feel right now. I relax my head against the wall behind me. I close my eyes and listen to my music.

"Mind if I join you?" I nearly fall out of the window when I hear a deep voice behind me.

~

Hey guys! So this is the first chapter 😁😁😁 It's a cliff hanger too, but I hope you guys like it! Make sure to vote and comment so I keep writing it :))

Bye beauties 💞💞