"Emily!Get your butt down here and come meet your brother's new girlfriend."
"He's not my brother ." I muttered to myself, but yelled , " Coming! " I learned long ago to not back-chat my foster parents, going along with whatever they say was the easiest way to avoid a beating.Getting mad didn't help either because strange things happen when I get mad like thing that I concentrate on explode. Then I get real beatings.
***
The worst beating I ever got was when I got home one night, crying. "What's the matter with you?" Margeret, my foster mother snapped, obviously annoyed. Not wanting to reply, because I was afraid she would get angry if my voice shook, I just shook my head. I zipped up my hoodie even further. Her head snapped up, "What are you hiding?" Not giving me a chance to awnser she grabbed my arm and zipped my hoodie down exposing my collarbone. "What is this?" She shrieked."You got a tattoo?" Not waiting for the obvious awnser she hit me, again and again and again.She pressed her thumb into the still raw tattoo of a feathet fading into birds causing me to cry out. She gave an evil laugh, shoved me to the floor and left. My face was bruised for over a week. The only person who tried to help was Margaret's son who helped me to my room after she left my on the floor near the front door. So I didn' t hate Jared completely.I was 16 at the time. It happened almost 2 years ago.
***
"Emily!" Margaret yelled again snapping me out of my flashback. I quikly got up and ran down the stairs. "I'm here." I said breathlessly. "Emily,meet my new girlfriend, Megan." Her nails are red.That's the first thing that I noticed about her. Wierd, but I always notice the smallest things first. Slowly I took the rest of her in. She is classicly beautiful with blond hair,blue eyes and that look of a girl so mean she could only be one of the populars. The populars who always shunned and made fun of me.
" I remember you."I said without thinking " You're the head cheerleader ,right?" She gave a small,incredibly fake smile en replied," Yes and you're the math nerd, right?"" That's me." I replied stiffly.
As soon as Margaret started ignoring me and talking to Megan,Jared and her husband Max , I took it as my que to leave and go back upstairs to my room. I sat down behind my desk and continued with my homework.
About an hour later someone came stomping up the stairs. Suddenly afraid that it was Max or Margaret I jumped to my feet and stood behind my twin bed in the middle of my room. After the door was slowly opened I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. In my doorway was Jared. Altough he didn't like me much,he still didn't hit me, like his parents. "What do you want Jared?" I asked while sitting down on my bed. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something and then closed it again. After a few moments of silence he said,"Nothing , goodnight Emily."
