Glass Butterflies

Chapter 1

The smell of lavender filled my nose, calming my racing mind. But even that could not stop the dread that entered my body at the sound of heavy footsteps on concrete. I clenched onto my teddy bear tighter, and squeezed my eyes shut pretending to be asleep. I trembled at the sound of my door opening; fearing the worst, as I already knew I had been found out.
The dark figure stood over me screaming, it screamed a language that was unknown. It then grabbed me and lifted me from my bed, making me drop my teddy on the floor. I started crying begging for my teddy, it calmed me. So I squirmed and kicked, before the now recognisable man finally lost his grip. I fell back onto my bed, scrambling down to my teddy. Looking back up at him I asked, "daddy, what's wrong?" His eyes flamed at my sentence, I didn't understand what was wrong but it scared me. I never understood why he would get like this but, I knew it was never pleasant, so I ran and as I ran, I screamed. I saw mummy and tried to hide behind her, she shook her head and moved away from me, as if I was some disgusting beast. I felt my heart falter before speeding again as I heard my dad near the door way. Somehow my legs moved by themselves and it felt like I was running from a monster. I hid myself underneath a table so fast I slid on the wooden floor. Tears where streaming down my face now, as he had followed me. I cried, "I'm sorry" over and over as he pulled me out from under the table. He then pushed me against the wall with my throat, pushing so hard I couldn't breathe. "Promise me. Goddamn Promise me you monster that you won't ever touch her again." He scream that at me as I pulled at his arm. With all the effort and breathe I had left, I wheezed "I promise."

10 years later....

I was staring into a overcast sea, my forehead was pressed against the cool surface of the portal that lead to parallel universes. I stared back into the blue eyes that was often mistaken for a second year uni student, probably because they had found no pleaser in boyfriends, or the latest gossip. Maybe because of the bags under my eyes and the scars that hid themselves just under my skin; that unlike other girls my age, I looked tired. Tired of the world. Or, maybe even in the fact that I was always alone, That I found myself in the solitude.
I clenched my hands as my voice whispered in a low voice, "one more time..... One... More.....time......" Tears bled into my vision. Too many wounds coloured dark red, was crusted over all over the my heart and it hurt. It had hurt being left by everyone, and everyone who promised to stay left too. Wearily I took a moment to breathe, before grasping my hand around the heart, anchor, and cross amulet necklace that hang around my neck, reminding myself that it will all be okay. That there's a little good in every day, and even if the world is crashing down, still grow, still learn, still breathe, still trust.
Moving away from the mirror, I stumbled a bit hearing my mum yelling from the kitchen, "Isabella! We are going to be late." The harshness in her voice made me wince, I knew if I dragged my feet any longer she would find a way to kill me. I picked up my school bag off the floor and made a final check in the mirror; moving my short, dark reddish-brown hair from behind my ear. Running out the door I crashed into one of my younger sisters, (name), "Mums blowing her head off, we gotta go." I sighed and nodded before running after her.
Once in the car, as expected mum continued to blow her head off at me. I zoned out and look out the window at the passing houses and buildings. The temperature was only mildly warm, but it was still hot enough to make the confined space feel like a sorer. I had a sinking feeling in my chest and small jellybean like stones at the pit of my stomach. My mouth started feeling dry and my eyes began to burned, as if I had just sat in campfire smoke.
I continued to stare out at the sun that shone generously upon the flashing greens and yellows that I pasted by; ignoring the hum of my mums voice screaming at me. My hands clenched onto my sides, trying to calm the sickly feeling that I had in my stomach. I did it to no advale, the churning feeling of my insides contracting and turning continued. All to quickly my stomach fell and it fell with dread as the car stopped and parked. I had to swallow down the bile that had creeped into my mouth. Pulling myself out of the car, my feet touched the ground hesitantly. I was not ready. Dragging my body to the back of the car I pulled my bag out from the boot, swinging it onto my back.
Each step I took filled me with more fear and dread. My bag became a bag of bricks, that just grew heavier with each passing second. When I reached the path, I kept my head down and arms together. Avoiding the fast moving bodies as much as I could. Finally making it to my locker, I shoved my bag in and grabbed out my books. I still had around ten minutes till the bell and nothing to do. So taking a deep breath, I pulled my books in close to my chest and began walking around aimlessly. Luckily, when your invisible no one notices and you can go and sit corners where you aren't allowed too. When the bell rung, I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly started walking towards my first class.

My name is Isabella Tempest and this is my story.