Running Scared.

Chapter Two

I pressed the snooze button and slowly sat up. The pain in my ribs have gotten worse, the bruise is getting larger and purpler. I brushed my teeth, straightened my hair, and put on my clothes. I wore a zebra short sleeved shirt and black jeans. I wanted to go bold, but merely under the radar. I looked in the mirror and fixed my hair again. I kinda looked good. I like my hair. It’s red and falls on my shoulders.

    I slid downstairs and ate some cereal. Derrick walked out the bedroom wearing only boxers and walked to the fridge. He yawned, grabbed the orange juice, and drank straight from the carton. “Eww,” I said while eating my cereal, “Some people in this house actually drink that orange juice.” He burped and said, “What, I haven’t heard you complaining before. I do this so many times.” I then realized I’ve been drinking after Derrick. I started dry heave. “You’re a pig,” I said while putting my bowl in the sink. He grabbed my arm and said, “Hey, don’t make me hurt you.” I yanked away from him and walked out the door. I met a couple of the other kids from my school at the bus stop and waited for the bus. I put on my headphones and listened to my music. I knew today was going to be a long day.

    For almost the whole school day, I have been in complete pain. I’ve been bumped into, shoved, and accidentally hit. Now it was time for P.E. I walked into the locker room and saw other girls getting dressed for P.E. I stopped at a locker and started getting dressed. I took off my shirt and almost all of the girls eyes fell on my ribs. I knew they were looking at the bruise on my ribs. Melanie walked up to me and said, “Oh my god Lola, what happened to you?” I didn’t know how to answer. “Uh… I fell on something,” I quietly said. “Oh,” she said sadly. I knew she didn’t buy it. I could tell she felt bad for me. But I didn’t need her pity. I didn’t need anyone’s pity. I finished tying my shoe and quickly left. Dani quickly ran after me and said, “Lola? Are you okay?” I wasn’t okay. Almost every girl in that locker room saw my bruised ribs. “No Dani, I’m not okay. I can’t stand Derrick. This morning when I called him a pig, he warned me. I’m so sick of him. I want my dad back.” I walked away and got out of exercising. I told the coach that I have pain in my stomach and he sent me to the nurse’s office. You can get out of exercising easily. He doesn’t even ask what kind of stomach ache because he afraid we’re going to mention our period.

    “Now Lola, how did you get these bruises,” Nurse Betty asked. “I fell on something,” I told her quickly. She shook her head, gave me an ice pack and aspirin, and said, “You’re not fooling anyone.” I sighed and said, “Okay, if I tell you… you promise not to tell anyone.” She agreed and pinky promised. “Well, my mom has this new husband. I never liked him and he as well never liked me. He beats me up, when he gets frustrated. Sometimes he tries to be nice, but I don’t want anything to do with him. He’s a prick. I won’t ever like him. He gives me a bad feeling.” Nurse Betty hugged me and let me take it easy. I liked her, she old but nice. She has curly grey hair, big glasses, and a kind of a frail body. I hoped she wouldn’t tell anyone. Dani later came and said, “Hey, how you doing?” I sat up and said, “Getting better.” She helped me get up and walk back to the girls’ locker room. “Don’t worry about the staring. It’s only because they saw your bruises.” I kept my head down until we got inside. “Why won’t you call the police? They’ll put him in jail,” she begged. I put on my shirt and said, “Because, he’ll get out and be furious. He would come back and do worse than he already did. Just don’t worry about it.” Dani got up and said, “Don’t worry about it?! I’m your cousin. I have worry about it.” I hugged her and said, “How about this, if it get worse I’ll call you and the police. Deal?” She sighed and said, “Deal, now come on. Let’s gets to work.”