If I Stay

The past always comes back to haunt you.

"Hey Jc?" He looks up from his phone, "Yo." He smiles.

God his teeth are just so perfect.

"Whats your friend Rickys' last name?" I bite the inside of my cheek, waiting for him to reply. He looks at me puzzled. "Its Dillon. Why? Youre not gonna stalk him are ya'?" He chuckles, running his hands through his soft hair.

My heart starts beating. No. If my brother found out that Im friends with one of his friends, he'll kill me.

Ricky, my older brother, is a control freak. When we were younger, he would always have friends over, & he told me to never talk to them or even look at them, that they were his friends, not mine. He's also very abusive. Before he left for Florida, he yelled at me to fetch his camera, & when I told him to get it himself, he punched me in the stomach & called me a lazy bitch. Yeah, best older brother right?

I shake my head. "Its-Its nothing. Just-stay away from me." I push myself up from the booth & walked outside. "Courtney!" Jc called after me, his vans slapping the cement behind me. I fumble for my keys, but manage to unlock the door & climb in. I lock the car doors.

"Courtney! Hey dont do this. Ill text you!"

I pull out of the parking lot & drive back to the hotel.

I wipe stray tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand, hating myself. I should have known that he's friends with Ricky.

Ricky scares me. When he left for Florida, I was so happy to be honest. I was free from his abuse. My mum & Nalla dont know about the abuse, unfortunatley. Ricky always manages to be in the same room Im in when i try & tell my mum. He threatens me to not tell them, or he'll beat the living shit out of me.

I pull into the hotel parking lot & climb out of the car. As im walking into the hotel lobby, my phone dings. Its most likely Jc. I ignore it because I dint need Jc. Not now.

*********

The next morning, I wake up to the sun beaming in my face. Great, who opened the blinds? I grunt tiredly, & get up to shut the blinds. "Courtney?" Nalla calls from the bathroom. I rub my eyes grougley & start for the bathroom. "Hm?"

She smiles. I notice a missing tooth. "Hey did you loose a tooth last night?" She nods enthusiastically, her cheeks turning red. "Can you believe it? Im only 8 & I already lost 5 teeth!" She bounces up & down, clearly happy about that. "Thats great kiddo!" I say cheerfully, ruffling her hair.

As I walk out of the bathroom, i hear a knock at the door. Who in the world would be up this early? I opend the door to see Ricky towering over me, his face res with anger.

"You little bitch!" He shouts, oulling me by my wrist into the hall way. The door slams behind me. "Ricky I- I didnt know!" I say, my hands shaking. He slaps me across the face. "What did I tell you?!" I caress my cheek, tears streaming down my cheeks. "I said, what did I fucking tell you!?" He raises his hand up in the air, getting ready to hit me again. I flinch. "You said not to hang out or look at your friends because theyre yours, not mine." My vision begins blurring by tears. "So why did you talk to Jc & go out with him?!" He barks. I flinch again, hoping someone could hear him shouting.

"I didnt know he was your friend! I swear!" I plead. My cheek was starting to sting.

"Stay away from him!" He orders before storming off.

I slide down the wall, sobbing, still caressing my cheek.

I knew he'd find out. I knew he'd find me.

I got up & opened the hotel door. "Courtney did you hear all the shouting?" Nalla asks. I nod, quickly wiping my tears away & cupping my blood red cheek.

She looks at me worried. "Courtney are you okay?" She walks over to me & wraps her arms around my waist. I nod, "Im fine, Nalla, I just ran into the elevator door. Clumsy me." I fake a smile, hoping she'd buy my lame excuse.

"Oh, okay. Well, Mum invited Ricky & his friends over for dinner tonight, she told me to tell you."

I feel myself turn pale.