Something You'd Never Expect

Epilogue

"It's okay, Kirstin. You can do it." I sighed shakily and grabbed the microphone from a girl named Lilian. I stepped hesitantly onto the stage, breathing in and out. The school had asked me to tell my story for all the other victims of bullying and/or abuse, just as a ray of hope for them. I held the mic to my lips, then spoke. 

"Hey, everyone. Um, my name is Kirstin Moonlight, but you can call me Kirstie." I took a breath. 

"My story begins at age ten, when my brother, um...was killed by my father, Jeremy. My family covered up the story, making it seem like they never had a son. He was about sixteen, and before it happened, he gave me a small iPod shuffle and a necklace with a ring dangling from it, 'Happy Tenth Birthday, Kirstie. I Love You' engraved on the ring. To this day, I still wear it. After his death, my parents became..abusive. They used me for manual labor, and when I said or did something against their actions, they beat and starved me until I became the scrawniest and skinny kid in school. School was my only escape, until seventh grade. A girl who most of you know as Courtney Oakwood began to bully me, teasing me constantly about my love for music and singing, saying I was fat and untalented, and that I didn't deserve to live. I only had one friend and that was my best friend, Ariana Snowfall. She was the best I could ask for, and even if she was lesbian, she was the sweetest, goofiest, and all around awesome person I had ever met. A few months ago, I met the new kid from Arlington, Texas, Scott Sydney. He was adorable, slightly feminine, and the biggest dork I knew. I was happy, slightly.

"A few weeks after meeting Scott, I found a girl named Esther Valentine sobbing in the bathroom. She was bullied for being transgender, so I took her into my, Ari's, and Scott's little group. It was all fine and dandy, until she approached us. She told Ari and Scott some really awful things, and said she had burned my sheet music, as she had. She told me that I didn't deserve them, and that she and I were better off without Ari and Scott. That really pissed me off, so I defended them and walked away. A few days after that, my best friend committed suicide. It drove me to depression and more panic attacks then ever, including insanity. More nightmares ran through my thoughts, and I felt alone, betrayed, and so insecure. I let it slip to my parents that I was asexual, and Jeremy lost it. He dragged me to our guest room and....cut me in....a lot of places." I wiped at a few tears and took a shaky breath. "My parents and sister were arrested, and now I live with Scott and his parents, Dawn and Colby Sydney. All I'm saying is....there is hope for you. All of you. Someone will care for you. You may lose people who mean so much to you, such as a best friend or brother, or both, but someone will come around and show you that they care. You just have to wait. So don't throw your life away if something bad happens. It might hurt someone who cared about you, like if someone you loved did the same. There might be the biggest hole in your heart, but it can be mended. Just, hold out. Because you'll find your hope, like I found mine." 

THE END