The Fringes

Prologue

"What happened to you Storm?!" My mother screeched as I entered the door, my broken glasses in hand and flinching with every step as pain shot through me from the bruises that scattered all over my body. I just shook my head and treaded to my room, leaving her there in shock.

Why does this always happen to me? I thought as I slumped down on my bed and closed my eyes, trying not to remember the gruesome beating that occurred just a couple hours earlier.

But it was too late. And immediately the memory came crashing back like a harsh slap to the face.

"Why hello little Stormy, what do we have here?" Said Brooke, a dumbass who told me to do her homework because she couldn't do it herself. Yes I took it, and then poured my Coke on it and gave it back to her. Like instinct I raised my hands up over my face to prevent a stinging blow, which didn't do much when I was happily greeted by a fist colliding with my already bruised cheek. I winced but said nothing as blow after blow was sent upon me. I didn't try to stop them, I'd learned it was pointless. "You BITCH! I got a zero because of you!" She kicked me in the chest for good measure before taking my glasses and snapping the middle between her fingers and throwing them back at me.

I sighed as I opened my eyes once again and my mother stomped in. "What's happened to you?! You look like you've been hit by a truck!" I responded, "Sure as hell feel like it." And I could tell she was restraining herself from giving me a harsh slap for cussing just from the way her eyes glowed in rage, but as soon as she completely took my state in she sighed and let her shoulders slump. Poor mom.

After a few minutes of wonderful silence she shook her head and muttered "Profanities, don't use them around me please," before looking up and speaking softly "This is the last straw, next year, we're moving."

And with that, she walked out of my room, leaving me stunned because not only did she completely understand what happened, the most stubborn person in the world had finally given up on staff and basically every other thing and was finally choosing to move away from the place she lived in for decades. What the hell was I going to do?