He Saved Me

Chapter One

Lia's POV

I woke up to "Good Morning" by Mandisa, and the sound of a slamming door. I groaned. Not again, I thought. I got out of bed and peeked through my blinds to see mum speed away from the house. "Lia!" Dad bellowed. I cringed. "Yeah?" I answered timidly. I heard his heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and quickly grabbed and hid anything and everything he could use to hurt me; it was actually better if he used his own self instead of my belongings and other physical objects...

He threw open my door and I shrunk back as it slammed against the wall and he walked towards me. "Why are you women useless? You are all so weak! Your mum ran away again...." he began ranting. Yeah, mum ran away because you're drunk, AGAIN, I thought to myself. But I didn't dare say it out loud; I had long since learned it was best to keep quiet during times like these...

Even when he says, "Answer me!", I know to stay silent because either way, he will hit me.

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I was late for school, as usual, and I had to walk. Even though it was August, and the sun was beating down, I was wearing a sweater and dark skinny jeans to cover all signs of abuse. The only person who knew about the abuse and my parents was my best friend, Jessica White. We were the outcasts and weirdos at our school, so its not like anyone really noticed or could care less.

Jessica's POV

Lia walked into class late, again. Poor Lia. She'd called me when she was on her way, telling me her mom had left, and this time I doubt she would be coming back, and that her dad beat on her again. I asked her to spend the night because I had a surprise for her. Which, lucky for me, was all totally preplanned with permission from her dad.

"Hey," she said quietly as she took her seat next to me in biology. I smiled softly. "Hey, page one-oh-two," I whispered. She nodded and started reading. I could hardly wait till she came over.

Lia's POV

The school day went by super slow. At the end of the day, I met Jess by her car and we rode to her house in silence. Her parents weren't home; they were surgeons and spent majority of their time at the hospital. "So are you excited that fall break starts Monday?" Jess asked. I simply shrugged. That just meant more time alone at home with dad. Yay me. Jess gave me a sympathetic look. "Look, I know it's not ideal, but I have a surprise for you that'll help. And your dad has known about it for a couple days so don't worry about that." I sighed. "Okay. What?" She opened her mouth to tell me, but in that instant the phone rang. She merely glanced at the caller id and turned back to me. "It's the church prayer chain. I'll let it ring and go get some popcorn. Go put on your pjs and get cozy." She pushed me towards the living room.

I sat on the couch and turned on the tv. "One Direction is in Jacksonville, Florida, this week for their Take Me Home Tour. Next week, they will join us here in Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Centre in Louisville." Jess plopped down next to me. "Hey, Jacksonville?" She asked. I nodded and turned the channel to NFL. They were playing a rerun of the Ice Bowl. Jess is from around Jacksonville and had just moved here to Kentucky with her mom and stepdad. "Yeah. They're there for another week. So in two weeks they're in Louisville. It'd be cool to go." I'd been a fan of One Direction for awhile, and actually got Jess into it. Her favourite was Niall. While I must admit I like the "fetus" One Direction best, I've always been a Harry girl.

"Duh! I know this! Which is why I got these." She smiled and held up two tickets in front of my face. I felt my eyes grow wide. "No. Way." I said, refusing to believe it. She shrugged and grinned like the cheshire cat. "Not for Louisville though." I felt my eyes get wider. She squealed. "Surprise! We're going to Jacksonville!"