Shackled by Lies

Prologue

"Mom, I'm serious, I don't want to go to the dance tonight!" I protested for the hundredth time.

My mother continued to ignore me and continued to pull at the strings in the back of the dress.

It would have been a gorgeous dress too if it wasn't for the fact that I was so overweight and had to have it made twice the size that it actually was. It was a powder pink color and had a plain shape, fitting tightly to the chest and then flaring out at the skirt. It was beautiful on the mannequin but it made me look like a cupcake, and not a pretty one either.

It wasn't even my idea to go. I kept the dance a secret from my mother until she had a meeting with my teacher, who kindly informed her about it! It has been torture for me from that moment on. Especially from my older brother who just couldn't stop making fun of the dress, telling me how awful I looked every five seconds.

He wouldn't stop either, no matter how many times my mother threatened him. I knew she was blind to the fact that he was just telling the truth.

I looked like the outcast I felt I was at school and it was torturous just to look at myself in the mirror. My blonde hair was curled around my rounded face and my eyes that were made up in pink were narrowed, like it always was because of my 'baby fat' that my mother claimed never left me. I still don't believe her but I didn't argue about it anymore. I knew it would just cause a huge fight I did not want to be a part of.

This dance was going to be humiliating and I already knew I would be crying myself to sleep tonight, whether I knew we were moving or not.

"Tough luck, sweetheart. This is the very first High School dance and I will not have my only daughter miss it just because she thinks she is ugly."

My mother's stubborn words caused my lips to thin out.

My brother, on the other hand, tried his best not to start laughing all over again. If he did, I knew it would be more than likely that my mother will come through with her threat of taking his phone and television away. He was going away to college soon but he knew he still needed it until he was finally out of the house.

My father had tried harder than my brother to get my mother to stop me from going but my mother was a really stubborn woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

"Now, remember to say goodbye to all your friends tonight because tomorrow we're leaving and I don't want any daughter of mine neglecting their friends."

What friends was she talking about?

I shared a look with my brother who was clearly wondering the same thing before we both shrugged our shoulders and shared a quizzical look.

My brother might be an ass most of the time but we were still able to spend time together and talk from time to time, especially when my parents left the house for a weekend or so. The rest of the time we were like typical siblings who barely made time for each other. It was because of that reason that he knew that I didn't actually want to go to the dance. He also helped to hide it from my parents but now that it's blown up in my face, he just makes fun of me and the dress.

It was another ten minutes before I was loaded into my mothers car and she was taking me to the High School dance, a place I really didn't want to be seen at.

Actually, I didn't want to be seen anywhere but I was stuck.

It was like stepping into a different world when I finally made it into the school hall.

It was decorated with silver and white, streamers hanging from the ceiling and the stage curtains were decorated with sparkling stars. Even the hall floor was shiny and polished, showing that the school took the dances seriously.

I could see many wonderfully dressed girls dancing on the dance floor, with a few guys standing to the side to watch. Most of all, the music was almost deafening. All in all, the place was remarkable and I could finally understand why everyone was raving about tonight.

Unfortunately, I still didn't feel like I belonged here.

I did my best to stay out of sight once I was entirely inside and I even managed to secure myself a spot right beside the speakers, making me almost invisible to anyone at the dance. I managed to stay hidden for most of the evening before my hunger got to me. I was forced out into the open to get something to eat and that's when my evening of hiding turned to an evening of hell.

I didn't pay attention to anyone surrounding me until I got to the buffet table and started piling food onto a plastic plate. I was just about done when I heard snickering from beside me and looked over to see Mercy and her friends watching me with amusement and laughter so clear in their eyes. These girls were the 'IT' girls in my grade and will probably be the most sought after when they finally got to be seniors but until then they were ruling over our grade group. Her boyfriend, a guy who was currently the quarterback for our school and who was the guy every girl wanted, was standing at her side and openly laughing at me.

"Oh my, girls would you look at that. I didn't even think anything could look that pathetic!" Mercy exclaimed and caused more than a few people to turn around and watch me with curious eyes.

"They probably had to make a dress to fit that many rolls. Tell me, did your mother really think any kind of dress would make you look good?" Denise, Mercy's best friend, asked before breaking down into laughter again while I could feel myself shaking and tears starting to form in my eyes.

"Oh look at the poor thing; she's going to start crying now." Dan, Mercy's boyfriend cooed and started laughing all over again. That was when Mercy narrowed her eyes on me and took a menacing step forward, showing as little mercy for my feelings as ever, she stepped right up to me and slapped me across the face.

"I worked my ass off to get this place to look good and then you had to show up and spoil the beauty of the night with that ugly dress and your disgusting face! Who made you think you were invited anyway?"

I felt the tears starting to run down my face and rested a hand on my stinging cheek while she threw her hands out to her sides.

"Look around you, Alice, no one wants you here, no one likes you and no one will ever in their right mind even consider dancing with you in public, so why are you still here?"

I dropped my plate back on the table and started speed walking towards the gym.

"That's right, just keep walking, get the hell out of this dance and don't even think about coming back! This might be your school but this dance is my territory!" Her words echoed behind me as everyone around me started pointing and laughing at me. The only ones, who never did anything, were the seniors who weren't a part of Dan's crowd. The last thing I spotted before I burst out in tears and ran was a set of dark sad eyes watching me.

I didn't stop running, even after finally reaching my house I simply ran up the stairs and ignored everyone's calls up the stairs when I slammed the door behind me.

One thing I did vow that evening was that I would never ever return to that place, ever!