Skeletons

Chapter Two

Because Lila had gotten off the train so quickly without bothering to look at what station they had gotten off at, it didn't surprise her that she was still three stops away from her house. They'd have to walk ten blocks to get to her house. They considered taking another train, but Lila feared that they'd walk into another train and find Austin there. Walking, although it would take much longer, just seemed safer.

"So how do you know that guy if you don't mind me asking?" Emmett asked as they ascended the stairs out of the station.

Lila let out a humorless laugh, shaking her head slightly and looking down at the ground quickly. With a deep exhale, she looked up and over at Emmett. She could see light purple bruising under his right eye and she felt a pang of regret. She should've handled Austin herself instead of sucking someone into it and letting them get hurt for her.

"In sophomore year of high school, I was the new girl. I didn't know anyone, and I felt totally alone," she said, stopping at a crosswalk and waiting for her turn to walk. She peaked over at Emmett who was looking at her with slight concern in his eyes. "This boy with snow white hair and the clearest blue eyes introduced himself to me in math class and we instantly became inseparable. He showed me around town, introduced me to so many people, and made me feel like this place could be home." Lila looked over at Emmett and rolled her eyes. "He made me feel important."

The two crossed the street and Emmett stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He seemed confused as he wiped the corner of his lip with the back of his hand, dried blood smearing onto it. "What happened then?"

Lila adjusted the straps of her backpack as she walked. "A few months later, he asks me to be his girlfriend and I'm so beyond happy that it doesn't even take me a second to think of what my answer is going to be. I said yes, and we become the 'it' couple. You know, the ones that wear the matching outfits and get crowned homecoming king and queen and have too many pictures together on Instagram?" Lila could see Emmett's face and he looked almost disgusted at the idea of it. "I know, totally lame, totally cliché, and totally not me," she said, shaking her head and laughing. "But, when you're dating the most popular guy in Westford High, you don't question it. You don't question the butterflies in your stomach and how happy he makes you. You don't question when he yells insults at people in the hallway or pushes them around like they're there for his amusement because he loves you, they're just random high schoolers, and at least he isn't doing that you, right?"

"But he was doing that you?" Emmett guessed.

Lila shook her head. "At the beginning, he wasn't. He was everything I would consider a gentleman. He would open doors for me, get me nice gifts, take me on dates at fancy restaurants. It started when one of his stupid friends convinced me to try out for cheerleading, saying I'd be able to support Austin more at his football games, that we'd get to spend even more time together. I made it and I told him and he said, and I quote, 'The cheerleaders must be lowering their standards nowadays. You're definitely not skinny enough to be one'. I was totally shocked but he took me out to dinner that night and acted like it was just a mistake. But he didn't stop. He'd laugh at me in my cheerleading uniform, call me pudgy, pull down my skirt because he thought it was too revealing and called me a slut." Just thinking about it all made her head hurt. It made her feel like she was reliving it all over again.

"Well," Emmett said, seeing how uncomfortable Lila looked, "we can talk about something else."

"No," she interrupted, "I'm fine." Taking a few deep breaths to clear her head, Lila began again. "The last day of sophomore year, I wore some shorts and a crop top because it was super-hot and this time, he didn't just call me a slut. He slapped me and threatened to break up with me if I didn't dress more conservatively. I cried, and he called me later that night begging me to forgive him, saying he made a mistake, and he would," she stopped. She was on the verge of tears, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry, in fear that if she started crying, she wouldn't be able to stop. "He threatened to hurt himself if I didn't forgive him. So, I did. And I thought he would change. He would go through phases of making me feel like he cared, actually loved me. And then he would insult me and belittle me and eventually hit me. He would threaten me, and it scared me, but I didn't know what to do."