Bullied & Abused ✔️

Chapter Twelve

~ Ariel's outfit above ~

The rest of the weekend flew by, and before I knew it, it was Monday morning. Our dad had gotten back late last night, and I was pretty sure I heard him stumbling up the stairs. I learned to lock my room door when he came home like this.

After that one incident.

"Ariel! You coming?!" Adam called from downstairs, snapping me back into reality as the thought of my dad climbing onto my bed crossed my mind.

"Coming!" I shouted back, grabbing my bag off my desk, and headed out of my room.

As I walked to the top of the stairs, a groaning sound came from the bathroom, then the door opened, revealing my dad, who, I could tell, was still a little drunk and very hungover. I stood there watching as he tripped into the hallway, leaning against the wall with his hand, then his eyes shifted over to me.

"What the hell you are looking at, brat?" He asked, glaring at me. My eyes quickly fell to the floor, avoiding eye contact with him. He chuckled at me, which turned into a cough as he took a few steps forward, getting closer to me. I glanced up at him, now standing next to me as I gripped onto my backpack strap tighter, my heart skipping a beat.

"Ariel! Let's go! We're gonna be late!!" Adam shouted from the kitchen, making me look down the stairs leaning forward. I turned my head back and gasped, seeing my dad's face inches away from mine. I could smell the alcohol from last night still in his breath, making me take a step back onto the edge.

Before I could react, my foot slipped, losing my balance as I tumbled down the stairs. I rolled onto the first-floor landing on my stomach as I heard my dad laughing from upstairs.

"Ariel!" Adam shrieked, running over to me as I pushed myself up onto my elbows. I glanced up the stairs, seeing my dad's bedroom door slam shut as Adam asked if I was okay.

"I'm fine," I replied, slowly pushing myself up off the floor, groaning a little in pain as Adam immediately grabbed my shoulder, helping me stand up, then leaned me against the wall for support. He looked at me cautiously, checking to see if everything was broken or twisted the wrong way. 

"I'm fine." I repeated, "Just sore." I added as he looked up at me in shock at what just happened. He heard me tumble down the stairs and probably thought the worse.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He demanded. I nodded yes, "Gezz, Ariel, you almost gave me a heart attack!" He said dramatically.

"Well, it wasn't my fault!" I told him, glancing up the stairs. He sighed, glancing upstairs too, then shifted his eyes back to me.

"Why don't you go get in the car while I go grab my bag." He told me. I nodded and sighed before heading out to the car.

A couple of minutes later, Adam joined me in his jeep and started the engine, then pulled out of the driveway.

The whole way to school, all I could think about was running into Kian.

What would he say?
What do I say?
Do I ignore him?
Or should I just let him explain himself? 

Was this all just some sinister plot planned by the guys to embarrass me in front of the whole school?

Many thoughts ran through my mind as we drove into the school parking lot and pulled into a spot. My mind went blank as I heard the loud slam of the car door, pulling me back into reality. I glanced over at Adam, who was standing at the opened rear door, grabbing his bag from the backseat. I sighed, taking a deep breath before opening the passenger door and climbing out of the car.