mermaid 》 alemanda ✔

chapter ten.

alesha

Amanda:

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

My eyes flitted across the phone screen as I read the text that Amanda had sent me an hour ago. I had been trying to figure out a response but I couldn't seem to decide on anything. Sure seemed too casual and yes seemed to short but said that I needed her. Saturday nights were when the abuse always hit the highest point.

Azuka didn't let me leave the flat unless it was with his permission and it had come to the point where I was afraid to ask him if I could go grocery shopping because he had eaten most of the food in the flat by himself. He would make it into an argument that he didn't eat that much and he was an easy boyfriend to have.

He was the worst and by far, the hardest boyfriend that I had ever had in my life. Sunday would be quiet days for the both of us. He would apologize profusely for hitting me the day before and during the week and he would give me a piece of jewellery to try to make up for it. It had been the same cycle for the past month.

No one knew about what he was doing to me and I didn't tell anyone or go to the authorities for it. Azuka would kill me if I did but I took pictures of each of the bruises that he left on me so I would be able to go to the authorities in secret and have evidence of the abuse on my body. I wanted to get out of the relationship.

My friendship with Amanda was slowly becoming closer and I wanted to tell her why I had the bruises on my wrist instead of lying her that I was clumsy and fell a lot. Amanda always didn't seem to believe the lies that I was forced to tell her. She had seen many of the bruises but I also covered the worst ones up with waterproof foundation for swimming with her.

I didn't like lying to Amanda and I wasn't the best lier but I was becoming a good was because of the abuse Azuka inflicted on me. I pulled the keyboard up on iMessage and began to type.

Alesha:

Sure. What time and what place?

I left it at that and sent it to her. A bubble came up on the phone screen, indicating that she was typing a response to me.

Amanda:

does 7 work for you? at my flat probably.

She typed her response quickly, telling me that she had been by her phone when I had sent her my reply. We went back and forth for a little bit until I had to go to bed. I liked being able to talk to Amanda but I hated having to lie to her. I didn't want to lie to anybody at all because I hated it but I was forced to.

When Amanda had first texted me asking if I wanted to have dinner with her so we could get to know each other, my mind had went to the fact it sounded like she was trying to ask me out on a date with her. I didn't mind it but I didn't like Amanda romantically. I was done with love for now. It had burned me and I didn't want it to become a date with Amanda. I was straight and from Amanda's personality, it seemed like she wasn't straight but I didn't know what she was.

It was impossible to tell with Amanda. Our relationship was odd. We would cuddle with each other during drama club rehearsals, her head on my shoulder but I had had a lesbian relationship in uni and we had been like that. I couldn't tell if Amanda had a crush or something on me because I didn't see her all that often, just in drama club rehearsals, swimming, and sometimes in school.