mermaid 》 alemanda ✔

chapter nine.

alesha

I left the flat I shared with Azuka early, just to get away from him. We had fought the night before after I had told him that I had a long day because of drama club practice and teaching and I didn't want to shag. We had both went to bed angry with each other and Azuka had slept on the couch while I cried myself to sleep.

I hated it whenever we fought, even though the make up sex would be amazing the next night but it didn't seem like Azuka was going to let it rest that I was going to be home late for a while, until the show ended and that would be in late November. I had another month of him whining about the fact I didn't ever want to shag because I was "too tired" to even think about it. I was tempted to break up with him because of it.

Our relationship was getting worse because of our fighting and it had increased since Amanda and I had started swimming with each other on Friday nights after drama club rehearsals ended for the day. He was happy with the fact that Amanda and I were starting to get to know one another.

I hadn't told Amanda about Azuka because I was figuring that Azuka and I weren't going to make it through this rough patch. He had started to hit me outside of the bedroom after I had dropped a glass pan after making dinner because he had snuck up on me to scare me. He was starting to hit my arms or my legs each time that I came home late from school, with good reasons why I was late.

I wanted him out of my life. I had taken to crying in the costume closet because I knew that no one would be able to hear me from the costumes muffling the sound of it. I hadn't told anyone, not even my mother that Azuka was hitting me. It had happened to my mother and I had thought that domestic violence wouldn't be in my life again or become a regular part of it.

I sank down to my arse against one of the band room walls. Simon had already left and there was no drama practice today because Amanda had told me that she had a doctor's appointment that afternoon while rehearsal was going to take place. She had canceled all practices for the musical, including the chorus practice so I was left alone in the band room.

No one was in the arts hallway as far as I knew. Paula had gone home unusually early for her and Ryan had gone home as well. I was the only one left in the department hallway. I stood back up and I turned on the piano.

Music had always been what made me feel better. It had been my birth father that had given me my first electric piano when I was little and I would play it non-stop. I pressed a few keys and I began to play, letting the melody take over me.

"Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well, that's all right
Because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well, that's all right
Because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

"You ever love somebody so much
You can barely breathe when you're with 'em?
You meet, and neither one of you even know what hit 'em
Got that warm fuzzy feelin'
Yeah, them chills used to get 'em
Now you're gettin' fuckin' sick of lookin' at 'em?
You swore you'd never hit 'em, never do nothin' to hurt 'em
Now you're in each other's face
Spewin' venom in your words when you spit 'em
You push, pull each other's hair, scratch, claw, bit 'em
Throw 'em down, pin 'em
So lost in the moments when you're in 'em
It's the rage that took over, it controls you both
So they say it's best to go your separate ways
Guess that they don't know ya
'Cause today, that was yesterday, yesterday is over
It's a different day, sound like broken records playin' over
But you promised her, next time you'd show restraint
You don't get another chance, life is no Nintendo game
But you lied again
Now you get to watch her leave out the window
Guess that's why they call it window pane." By then, the sobbing had taken over again.

amanda

I went to the locker room of the pool facility and I changed into my bathing suit, changing in one of the shower stalls although no one was in the locker room, on the one off day from drama club that I had this month as I had had a doctor's appointment while rehearsal was supposed to be going on. I had gone to the appointment and I had come back to the school to get some swimming in before I went home.

The doctor's appointment had just been a routine one and an assessment by my dermatologist, who specialized in port-wine stains. Nothing had changed about the port-wine stain other than the fact it was now over my ear. The dermatologist looked at the freckles on my chest, a result of not using sunscreen very frequently during the summer hols as a child. I would have to go back the next day after drama club rehearsals to have my gyno appointment done and my mammogram appointment done. I wasn't happy about the fact that I hadn't been able to get all of my doctor's appointments all on the same day and just take a personal day off from school. I had done all of my doctor's appointments all on the same day last year and I had managed to schedule them so they would all be on the same day next year.

I was surprised that Alesha wasn't swimming in the pool as she normally was in the pool every day after drama club rehearsals ended. It was only three-forty in the afternoon so I had expected to see Alesha in the pool swimming or getting out of the pool from swimming. She wasn't in sight at all.

I set my towel down and my phone, getting into the pool. I swam around for a little bit, warming myself up to swim multiple lengths of the pool in a row.

It was strange to be swimming by myself without Alesha swimming lengths by me but I got used to it quickly. I got out of the pool after about a half hour of swimming lengths and eventually timing myself swimming lengths. I changed back into my regular clothes and put on a new layer of foundation after showering in one of the small shower stalls that the school had in the locker rooms.

I had taken to showering at the school after I swam so I always had a face wash with me so clean off the foundation on my face. I make sure that the port-wine stain wasn't visable, or at least not as much and I left the locker room. I drove home to my flat and unlocked the door.

I dropped my bags on the kitchen table and I went to the fridge, hoping to find something that I could turn into a dinner for myself. There was nothing in the fridge as I needed to go grocery shopping desperately. I picked up a take out menu for one of my favourite restaurants and dialed the number.

I order my food and asked for it to be delivered to me. I looked through my text messages after, sending one to my mum because she and my step-father wanted to see me sometime soon because I was completely settled into my flat.

I went to my bathroom and I washed the makeup off of my face. There wasn't a need to wear the makeup I used to cover up the port-wine stain if I was home. I would just try to avoid mirrors unless I was putting on makeup. I put sweatpants on and took off my bra, putting on a sports bra instead.

I went into the living room and sprawled out on the couch, turning the T.V. on as background noise and watching it a little bit. I answered a couple other texts and emails from students about the homework and I went to the conversation that I had been having with Alesha the night before. I pulled up the keyboard of my phone as I typed in:

Amanda:

hey, do you maybe want to get dinner with me on saturday so we can get to know each other better?

I sent the text to Alesha, watching it go from sending to sent and to delivered. I held my breath as I waited for her to reply to the text.

[] hey guys! Alesha's relationship is getting worse with Azuka. Possibly she'll break up with him. What do you think is going to happen next and what did you love about this chapter? Bye until the next chapter!