Soft Bruises

Prologue

Beams of sunlight poured in through the crack between the window and curtains of Remi's bedroom, displaying tiny particles of dust dancing through the air. It's been exactly two years since the passing of James, Remi's best friend. Each time this day creeps up on the calendar, Rem tries as hard as she can to stay hidden underneath the duvet her grandmother had sown for her as an "I'm Sorry For Your Loss" gift.

Remi's mother understood the lack of interest in attending the first day of her last year of high school, but that didn't stop the guilt from building up in the pit of Rem's stomach. This time last year, Rem's mom, Alice, was so worried about her staying home alone, she canceled all of her appointments for the day just to stay home, brushing the hair off of her poor daughter's forehead.

It took some time, but Remi gained the courage to remove herself from the safety of her bed, despite the pain in her stomach and the knot in her throat. She held her head high and tried to remain fine. She was able to get into the steamy shower, pulling the blue curtain to the side, protecting her from the cold air flowing out of the vent. It was challenging to squirt a pile of lavender scented shampoo into the palm of her hand before massaging it into her scalp.

"Good morning, sweetheart." my mother pushed, pulling Remi closer.

They stood in the middle of the rustic kitchen for what seemed like forever. There were dishes piled high in the sink and empty containers of food took up half of the kitchen table, where as Alice's papers and binders took up the rest. Neither of them had any interest in keeping the house tidy considering they were never home. Alice worked second shift at the hospital downtown and spent the rest of her time at the local bars. Ever since her husband left after her last miscarriage, she hasn't been able to spend a lot of time at home.

Remi had her own life. She was a decent student at Beaverton High School in Oregon and held a job at Plato's Closet. However, Remi had her own battles, aside from making sure her mother got to work on time and always checking up on her prescriptions. Remi has only had three best friends in her life. Blair, Ezra, and James. Blair has been in and out of foster homes because of her drug problems since she was a freshman in high school. Ezra found love with someone who turned him against us weirdos. And James; James is dead. James was the one person that held the gang together. He made sure each and every single one of us knew that it was okay to have problems; it was okay to be mad. Then on Monday, September first of 2014, Remi got a phone call that her closest friend had shot himself in his basement over night.

It was that morning that Blair had exposed Rem to cocaine, something that Rem hasn't been able to give up since. Blair, however, had moved on to other things. She's been admitted into hospital after hospital, but nothing ever changes. Nothing will ever change until Rem gets that same phone call that she got two years ago, leaving her with no one.

But Rem has found it much simpler to just put a smile on and keep going, no matter how badly it hurts.