What Are We?

Joey

God, my face looks horrible. There is a cut next to my right eye and a bruise just beneath my cheekbone. Not much I could do about it anyway. I fix my hair as much as I could. The bathroom door opens but I don't turn around to look, the blood coming from my nose seems more important than someone who needs to pee. But that was a bad call. Now there's a set of arms that go around my chest and pull me to theirs. I know its Caleb. His grip is gentle but ready to hold you if you try to push him away.

"Hey baby." This guy has got to be bipolar, he beats me one second then the next he acts like we're lovers when we aren't. But I know that if I try and push him off, he beats me out of anger but if I let him do what he wants, he thinks its an invitation to do as he pleases. I always try and talk him down but it never ends just like that. My girlfriend, Sheila, says I shouldn't let myself but Mason, my brother, says if I get kicked out of this Private school I somehow got into, I would be a dead man. Besides I'm not the fighter type, I try and play nice. So I'll put up with this until graduation if it means nobody gets in trouble.

"Babe. Answer me." Caleb pulled me closer into a tight grip. I had no other choice so I talked.

"Caleb. Please let go. Just stop and we'll go to class." I really didn't want to get beat up again but there was no avoiding it, my words only made him tighten his grip causing his nails to dig into me. His left hand loosened but only to slide down lower. He put his face in the crook of my neck and it wasn't like I could just push him off. He had me from behind.

"But class isn't as fun as seeing you shiver and squirm J" Caleb's breath was hot on my neck. It was disgusting. I tried to get out of his grip but he has so strong. Caleb let out a laugh at my attempt to get free and dug his nails even deeper into my hip and chest, then shoved me to the wall so hard I fell to the floor. I pushed myself to the corner and tried to look for an escape but he was all I could see. He was still laughing at me, at my fear of him. He bent down to reach my eyes then grabbed my face in his hand.

"Awe poor stupid little Joey. Babe don't you know that you can't escape from me. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your pick." I knew that I was going to get a beating but there was no way I was going to get sexually assaulted by Caleb.

I moved my head from his hands and pushed them away. That's when Caleb gave me the evil smile he only used on me. I tried to put my body into a ball but he yanked me up. Before I knew it, my face was getting punched, my stomach felt nauseous. He threw me against the wall again and I felt my arm pop then a searing pain went through it. I lost my footing when he pulled me back which caused me to slip. My head banged hard against the sink and the pain from the beating, along with world, started to fade away.

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"No Mark, my son is not going back to that school again. We are going to send him with Mason!"

Was that my mom? Going with Mason? What was going on?

"Relax Crystal, it was just one fight." I knew that that was my dads voice.

"Dont tell me to relax when we are here in the hospital for my youngest son. Besides I can hardly call it a fight when our boy was getting beat up while unconscious. The doctor says that he's got bruises from weeks ago. So it isn't just "one fight" and now my baby has a broken arm with cuts on his face to go along with it." Mom was raging.

I could hear my dad trying to soothe her, but not long after that, I heard him give into her pleas to transfer me to Mason's school. So I guess I'm moving schools. As long as I'm far away from Caleb I'm okay. Don't know what I'm going to tell Sheila but she'll understand. I hope. Changing schools in the middle of the year. Just great.

Just kidding. This is going to suck and be the death of me.