Amnesia • hemmings

0.6

The next day, I came to school with bruises on my wrists from my mom, and cuts on my wrists from me.

I walked into first block, and saw someone sitting in the seat next to me. That seat is usually empty. I walked to my desk, surprised to see who was sitting there.

"Hey, Hemmings." She smiled.

"Irwin." I raised my eyebrows at her, and she giggled. "Why are you sitting here?"

"None of my 'friends' are in this class." She shrugged.

"So, why are you sitting by me?" I asked, sitting down.

"I want to." She smiled.

"Because there was no where else to sit?" I asked.

"No, because I knew you would sit there." She said, pointing to my seat.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I wanted to sit by you, because none of my friends are in this class." She shrugged.

"So I'm your second choice?" I said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, kind of. I don't want you to be my second choice, but I know my friends would make fun of me if they saw me with you." She almost whispered, looking down at the desk.

"Oh." I said.

"Why do you always wear a sweater? I mean, I get the bracelets..." She trailed off, and I knew what she meant. She had told me yesterday that everyone knew I wore the bracelets because I cut. "But why the sweater?" She asked.

"I love this sweater." I shrugged, not wanting to tell her the real reason.

"But even when it's hot outside you wear it." She said.

"Yeah, I love this sweater." I said again.

"That's a lie." She said, the smile disappearing from her face.

"No it isn't." I said, crossing my arms.

"Hemmings, I know when people lie. People lie all the time. And I know you're lying." She said, staring me straight in the eyes.

"Go to the bathroom in a couple minutes. Tell the teacher you're on your period or something." I said quickly, and she looked at me like I was crazy.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" I asked my teacher.

"Make it quick." He said, pointing to the classroom door.

I walked out of the classroom, and stood in front of the bathrooms, waiting for Vivian.

A minute later, she ran out of the classroom.

"Why were you running?" I asked when she got to me.

"I had to act like 'it was an emergency'." She laughed. "So can you tell me why you wear that sweater?"

I was scared to tell her. I didn't want her to know I was being abused by my mum. She would freak out.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone." I said.

"I swear, I won't." She nodded.

I slowly took off my sweater, now wearing my muscle t-shirt, revealing my many cuts and bruises my mom made.

"I have more on my chest and back." I said, looking at my arms.

"Show me." She whispered.

"Vivian, we're in-" I started, but got cut off.

"Well come here." She knew what I was going to say, so she grabbed my arm where there were no bruises or marks, and pulled me into the girls restroom.

When we got in, she whispered, "Show me." Just like she had in the hall.

"Why are you whispering?" I laughed.

"I don't know, I do that a lot." She smiled at me. "Are you going to show me?" She asked.

"Dang, eager to see my chest." I smirked.

"Shut up." She said, almost hitting my chest. She stopped, because he remembered I had bruises there too.

I slowly took off my shirt, to show my many bruises from when my mom pushed me into anything and everything, some cuts, too.

Her fingertips slowly and gently ran over my chest, and my heart was pounding. She noticed me yesterday, and today she was touching my chest. Dream fucking come true.

"Who did this?" She asked quietly, her eyes moving up to meet mine.

"My mum...." I trailed off, looking down at my chest, also.

"Why would she do this to her own son?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Ask her." I shrugged.

"Your mum is a bitch." She said, covering her mouth straight after. "Sorry."

"It's fine, I know she is." I shrugged again.

She started humming a tune that I didn't know while looking over my bruised chest.

"What song is that?" I asked.

"What?" She said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"What song were you humming?" I laughed.

"Oh, you wouldn't know it, it's an original song." She was the one to shrug this time.

"Really? You sing and play, and write too?" I asked, not really surprised. Vivian can do anything.

"Yeah." She laughed, looking at the floor.

"Can you sing it for me?" I asked, not thinking.

"It's not good." She said.

"I bet it is." I said, sitting on the counter in front of the large mirror across the wall to check yourself in.

"Fine. It's called Skinny Love. I usually play the piano to it, but I don't have it right now obviously, so I can't." She giggled, before she started singing.

Come on skinny love what happened here

Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere

My my my, my my my m-my my, my

Sullen load is full so slow on the split

And I told you to be patient

And I told you to be fine

And I told you to be balanced

And I told you to be fine

And now if all your love is wasted

Then who the hell was I

Cause now I'm breaking at the britches

And at the ends of all your lines...

"Holy hell, that was amazing, Irwin, you have to play it for me someday." I said, laughing at the fact she thought it was bad.