Isaac's Sister

Chapter 1

Alexis's POV

I slammed my locker shut right as the warning bell sounded. I sighed and started walking to my first class. Just one more day I thought to myself. Friday. Finally.
"Sorry," I muttered to the person I had just bumped into. I didn't stop to look at him, much less start up a conversation, and I kept going. I saw Isaac walking with one of his friends. He looked over at me and smiled. Isaac walked over to me and handed me a sheet of paper.
"You forgot your English essay," he told me.
"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much. You're a lifesaver!" I exclaimed as I remembered wasting two hours on the homework last night.
"I have practice today, but come and watch so we can walk home together afterwards, okay?" He asked. I nodded and smiled. "Cool. See you later!" Isaac and his friend hurried off in the opposite direction than I was headed. I hurried to my class as fast as I could without raising any suspicions. Once I got there, I saw that I still had two minutes. A wave of exhaustion suddenly hit. I knew it would hit sometime today. I just didn't expect it to be this early in the morning. I had another nightmare. When I was younger, sleep was the only way I could escape him. Now, there was no safe place. I got maybe four or five hours of sleep last night. The good thing about yesterday was that Dad was too drunk to hurt me that bad.
The bell rang just seconds after everyone flooded into the classroom. I kept my head down facing the desk while everyone found their seats. I played with my long sleeves as I waited for the teacher. She was usually late by a few minutes, but I didn't mind. I glanced around the room and saw everyone happily talking to each other. The person to my left was showing off a black eye at he got from being in a fight and winning. I was just hoping that my black eye wouldn't show through the makeup. Loneliness washed over me. Suddenly, everything was just too overwhelming. I found it hard to breathe. I could hear every breath, every pen click, and every rustling of papers that were being made by the students. I felt like I was going to pass out. All of a sudden, the teacher came in.
"Alright, everyone take your seats," she announced.

I sat down on the cold bleachers with my backpack. I hugged my flimsy jacket against my freezing body. Dad didn't care enough to get us real coats. He just got us thin jackets and had us wear them all year. I guess it could be worse. I watched the lacrosse players walk out onto the field and start practice.
"What're you doing out here?" My friend, Declan, asked me. "Looking for cute guys?" I playfully pushed him and laughed.
"More like waiting for my brother. Are you looking for cute guys?" I smiled.
"Yeah, right! If Marc caught me checking out other guys, he'd flip out," Declan chuckled. His boyfriend had always been the jealous type. I couldn't help but shiver as a gust of wind rippled through the air. "You look freezing! Here," Declan reached into his backpack and handed me a large sweatshirt. He was pretty skinny, but he was still half a foot taller than I was. I gratefully slipped it over my head. It was huge on me, but really warm.
"Thanks, Declan," I smiled. He smiled back, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was more of a sad smile. I rested my head on his shoulder, and he laid his head on my head. I closed my eyes and remembered how we first met. It was last year, my freshman year and his junior. It was the fifth week of school, and I was getting picked on. A group of people were making fun of me, and one of them hit me. That was when Declan ran over and stood between me and the group. He told them to get lost. Eventually, they did. Declan turned around and helped me up off of the ground. He walked me home that day, and we instantly became friends. I opened my eyes again, and I was in a different position than I started. I was laying down on my back, with one leg bent and the other straight, and my head was resting on Declan's lap. Declan's eyes were closed, but he was still awake. He was playing with some of my hair. His head turned down to look at me, and I quickly shut my eyes so he would still think I was asleep.
"Oh, Alex," he whispered. I felt his thumb graze the spot around my eye. He must've noticed the heavy makeup around my eye. I heard Declan's phone buzz, and he shifted a little to grab it. "Alex," he whispered as he gently shook me. "You have to wake up!" I opened my eyes, and I looked up. The sky was getting dark. "Your brother just texted and said that his practice is late. He texted your dad about it, and your dad said that you have to come home right now. He's mad at you or something." I shot up and stood up. Declan looked worried. I quickly took off his hoodie and handed it back to him.
"Thank you so much for keeping me company. I'll talk to you later," I quickly muttered. I grabbed my bag and started walking away from him. He grabbed his and hurried after me.
"I'll give you a ride. It'll get you home faster," Declan insisted.
"You don't have to-" I protested.
"Alex, yes I do," Declan told me. I didn't argue any more. I knew that being home earlier would get me less of a beating. We both jumped into his car, and he sped off. He reached over and took my hand in his. I told him about my dad abusing me a few days after he came out to me. His parents are super Christian and are homophobic, so I was the first person he told, other than his boyfriend of course. A bunch of other people in his grade know now. He's much more open about it now. Me, on the other hand, am not. He's the only one besides Isaac that knows.
We pulled into my driveway, and I looked at Declan for reassurance. He lightly squeezed my hand. "The day I turn eighteen, I'm getting us an apartment to live in," Declan promised. I nodded, remembering the promise from last year. I took a deep breath, got out of the car, and grabbed my bag. I slowly walked up to my front door and took one last look at Declan. He crossed his pointer finger and middle finger, and he tapped it against his chest three times. I did the same. To us, it was our "you'll be okay. I love you." With shaking hands, I twisted the doorknob and opened the front door. Dad kept it unlocked for us after school so we didn't have to have our own keys. He thought we were too irresponsible for them. The only thing I wanted more than anything right now was to run back into Declan's car and never go back, but I knew I couldn't do that. I couldn't leave Isaac. I closed the door behind me and dropped my bag on one of the chairs.
"Where the fuck were you?!" Dad demanded.

AUTHOR'S NOTE- Hey guys! I just wanted to thank you for reading, and I promise it'll get better and the story will move quicker in the next few chapters. Please give me feedback on how the first chapter is! Thank you!!