Bruised But Not Broken

Chapter 2

Him. My dad. It. A gun. He is standing there in the door. The revolver that is usually well hidden from sight in the garage is in his hand. He holds it up to his head.

"Daddy NO!" I scream.

Why do I not want him to commit suicide. I hate him. He hates me. He abuses be. He wants me dead. But he is all I have.

"I killed your mother, I have to do this."

Wait what? My mother died from a drug overdose. She died when my father was out of the state.

Suddenly the gun is pointed on me. His hand moves toward the trigger. This is it. I'm going to die.

An ear piercing scream escapes my lips. I sit bolt upright in my bed. My clothes and hair are plastered to my skin. I start to cry. Unlike my nightmare, my dad is not standing in the door frame. He is at work. I slowly limp my way to the kitchen. Someone bangs on the door. I ignore it until the knocking starts again. Whoever it is seems ready to kick the door in.

"I swear to god if you killed her, I will kill you!" The voice from outside says.

Pike. I recognize that voice. He is the boy that lives a few houses down from me. He is the one in my grade and without a doubt, the most popular boy in our school. We only talk sometimes, he probably looks at me as an outcast just like the rest of his popular friends. He's nice though, and isn't exactly the type to let anyone die. I just wish he wasn't on a walk. If he wasn't, he wouldn't of heard my scream.

"I'm gonna kick this door in!"

I limp to the door. I open it. Standing there, as I knew would be, was Pike. His eyes were fuming, his hands in fists. Even I admit to myself that he is highly attractive. Bright grayish-blue eyes. Slightly wavy brown hair. Lightly tanned skin. White teeth.

"Hey...I heard you scream and your window was open. I thought...someone got in."

"I had a bad dream."

"Explains the tears."

I forgot that I had been crying. God, I must be even uglier than normal.

"Why do you have all those scratches on your arm?"

I look down at my arms. They are bloody and red. I must've been scratching them during my nightmare.

"From last night." Is all I say.

"What happened in your bad dream?"

"Someone tried to kill me."

"Who?"

My dad.

"Some guy." I say.

"Do you want to come to the bagel store with me?"

I hesitate. I don't want to trust him. I don't think I can. Man I have trust issues.

"Sure...but I have to get ready. You can come in if you want."

He nods and follows me into the house. At the bottom of the stairs, the garage door is open. I stop short in my tracks. I begin to picture last night's events. I start to feel nauseous, my stomach is in knots. I can still hear the conversation, as if it is happening before me. I let out a small whimper, and slam the door shut. My legs go limp and I fall to the floor. My body is numb and I am crying. Above me, Pike stares in awe.

He bends down and reaches his hand out. Instinct washes over me as I flinch and slam myself against the wall. My hands fly up to protect my face. My eyes close and my body is tense. I am still crying. I keep picturing my dad there instead of Pike. Then, something happens that snaps me back to reality.

Pike falls to his knees and reaches his arms around me. He enfolds me in a hug. Heat radiates off his body and calms me. He lets go and wipes the tears off of my face. I am still shaking and crying. I look at him for a minute. He is shaking too. Is he...worried about me?

"Hey stop your going to hurt yourself."

My hands are clamped and one of my palms is close to bleeding. I loosen the tension in my hands and eventually my hands are no longer in fists. I am still tense everywhere else though. In front of me, Pike is still on his knees. Then something totally unexpected happens. He wraps his arms around me again, both arms pulling me closer to him. One hand pulls my head into his chest and the other one is rubbing my back.

His touch does not make me flinch. This surprises me. But I know Pike would not hurt me. I trust him.

My trust. That is something I've never given to anyone else besides my mom.

We sit on the floor, me in his arms, his warmth, his safety. His hand still rubs my back. I wonder if he sees the scars and bruises on my back. I'm alright with him seeing them though.

You trust him. Remember that. Don't screw this friendship up. Because then you have no one again. I tell myself.

The thought honestly terrifies me.

After what seemed like an eternity, he gets up, and helps me up. I am no longer crying as we enter the threshold of my room.

"Are you okay Windsor?"

"Fine."

"That really scared me."

"I don't know what happened." Being half honest.

"I think you had an anxiety attack. Do you know why?"

"My dad was talking to a man I don't like yesterday."

"You know you can trust me, right?"

I do know that. So why am I holding back?

"They were saying that I don't know the truth about my mother. I guess it just made me upset that they were talking about her."

He nods, but I can tell he believes I'm holding something back.

We walk upstairs to my room. I quickly get ready and put my hair in a bun. I join Pike in my room.

"I'm ready."

"Let's go then."

We walk in silence for about two blocks before he starts talking.

"I'm really sorry about your mom. I know it's been five years since she passed."

"Thanks, and I'm sorry about your parents too."

Only a week before my mom passed, his parents died in a car crash. He lives with his brother in the same house they've always lived in. I don't see his brother often. He is a police officer and works at night.

More silence. My mother seems so distant to me. I miss her so much. Before I even know it, I'm crying.

"Hey, don't cry."

He pulls me across the street and into the trees. Only a few feet in is the lake. He tells me to wait there. He goes off to buy bagels.

I sit and think. Pike is really nice. Maybe I've had a friend all along and just didn't realize it. But then again, he doesn't stand up for me in school. The serenity and quietness of my neighborhood's little lake calms me down. My crying slows. Soon, it completely stops.