abuse | zd

seven

|alissa|

"alissa mae! there's a boy here to see you!" my mom called from the bottom of the steps.

i groaned, rubbing my groggy eyes with one hand as i felt in my bed for my phone with the other. it was 10:27am, and i really wished i was still asleep.

i stood, fixating my tangled hair into a messy bun and stretching as i left my room.

as i reached the top of the stairs, i could already see zach standing just inside the doorway, his hands clasped in front of him. confused, i walked down the steps, coming face to face with him.

"hey," he said, stepping towards me.

"what are you doing here?" i didn't mean for it to come out rudely, but based off of zach's face, he took offense to it.

"i wanted to talk to you." i watched as his hand reached to the back of his neck, scratching it as he glanced between me and the floor.

"okay?"

"preferably somewhere that's not here."

-

we found ourselves parked atop a cliff, sitting in silence in zach's audi.

just as i found myself gaining the courage to say something, zach spoke up.

"i know about you and bryce."

"what?"

"i know what he does to you," he said.

"what are you talking about?" i played stupid, hoping that zach was wrong in his beliefs.

"i know about the abuse." i looked over to him, waiting for him to continue. "i know what really happened the other morning."

"i told you what ha-"

"you lied," he said. i could tell he was becoming irritated, but i stood my ground.

"you don't know anything about bryce and i's relationship." i crossed my arms over my chest, turning my body in the car seat to face him.

"i know more than you think," he mimicked me, turning his body.

"there is no abuse, zach, bryce and i are fi-"

"don't fucking lie to me, alissa," he raised his voice, and i winced, sinking into the seat and shutting my mouth.

he noticed, immediately apologizing.

"how?" i asked quietly, looking over to his sad expression. he kept his eyes down, looking to the floor.

"he told us," he said. his voice got quieter with each word, as if he was ashamed of it.

"us?"

"me, monty, and justin," he listed.

i squeezed my eyes shut, feeling tears well at the corners of them. they probably all thought i was disgusting. i'd been used, i let that happen to myself. i was disgusting.

"everyone's gonna know by tomorrow," i choked, letting out a sob. "what did he say?"

"he told us about the other morning, and after school monday," he was avoiding eye contact as he spoke.

|zach|

"after school?" alissa turned to me, her eyebrows pulled together.

i thought back to monday, remembering the face she made as she swallowed the vodka in her water bottle, and then thinking forwards to how intoxicated she was before bryce and her left before lunch.

i swallowed hard, turning to her, "you must have been too-"

"drunk." she finished. "i crashed as soon as we got home from school," i watched closely as alissa's eyes brimmed with tears, threatening to spill as she brought her hand up to her mouth and chewed the skin around her nails.

"lissa, i'm so sorry," my voice cracked as i spoke.

i looked at the beautiful girl in front of me. the bangs of her hair had fallen from the the bun in her hair, framing her face nicely when it wasn't in front of her eyes. they were blue- her eyes- although when the light hit them a certain way they appeared grey. she had the most beautiful smile. i hadn't seen her smile in a long time. i watched as the tears fell over the edge of her eyelids, wetting her already-red cheeks. bryce didn't deserve her- he never did- and yet she'd been with him since freshman year.

i didn't understand it.

i wanted to show alissa hinsley how she should be treated. i wanted to show her everything she was worth.

|edited 03/04/2020|