This had to end. The scrutiny that I was getting daily was unbearable, and everything was becoming too much. I just had to get away from the craziness and stress.
"Do this, Jasmine" and "do that, Jasmine" was all I ever heard at home. My stepmother and sisters only believed that I was there to serve them, and my dad was never around to stop them.
A couple of days ago they started planning a graduation party for Savannah and Samantha, my horrible stepsisters. Of course, I was leaving school also, but I was enlisted as a waitress at the party.
I've had enough. In the past I was too shy to do anything, and I kind of still am, but I knew I had to do something before I exploded.
It was mere hours before the party began, and I was wearing the generic champagne color dress that every waitress was assigned and pair of agonizing white high heels. My best friend Rayne was nice enough to pin my brown hair up into a nice bun and do my makeup, but all the while she was complaining about how badly I was treated and how I should just walk out and live with her. I knew that if I did that I would be tracked down and more bad would come of it than good. But Rayne, being the wild child she was, told me to screw them.
Technically, since I was a legal adult, I could leave home and go anywhere I wanted, and they couldn't do or say anything. But I was dependent on them for food and clothes and basically everything. I have nowhere to go.
I walked outside and wandered to the beach that was right in our backyard. There was no doubt in my mind that my stepmother married my dad because he was never around and he was very rich.
I felt so much better as I got away from that horrible house that held so many bad memories. I needed to get everything off my chest, and I had no one to talk to. Rayne would get even madder, and I had no other friends. If I wrote it down, Savannah or Samantha would surely find it and they would probably show the whole town.
The slight breeze ran over my skin as I walked down the familiar path to the beach. I adjusted my glasses as I looked out onto the water as the sun set, lighting the ocean on fire. I didn't always have glasses, but when my dad was gone on business stepmother was either too lazy or too mean to get me more contacts. So I had to settle for my thick framed glasses that I've had since I was a preteen.
It was extremely difficult to walk in high heels on the sand, so I slid my shoes off and left them at the end of the pathway. I would pick them up when I went back; I walked down closer to the water and the rocky sand felt amazing under my feet.
I stood there, my feelings almost bursting from my chest. I had to let it all out, and no one was around to hear me. I began to sing loudly and clearly, my rich voice drifting along the beach with the wind.
"Skies are crying, I am watching
Catching tear drops in my hands
Only silence as it's ending
Like we never had a chance
Do you have to make me feel like
There's nothing left of me?
You can take everything I have
You can break everything I am
Like I'm made of glass
Like I'm made of paper
Go on and try to tear me down
I will be rising from the ground
Like a skyscraper
Like a skyscraper"
I sat down on the sand and stayed quiet. I felt peaceful. Singing always made me calm, even when I was a child- my mother, when she was still alive, used to sing me to sleep when I was a crying toddler. I remember her beautiful voice and someday I hope to be as perfect as she was.
As I stared out at the constant tide, I tried my best to forget everything. I just wanted everything that was bothering me to sail away in a little raft and never been seen again.
"You have a beautiful voice."
I jumped and turned around, searching for the owner of the unfamiliar voice. I spotted him behind me, his blond hair swept to the side and his blue eyes sparkling under the pink sky.
"Thank you." I smiled politely and he sat down next to me.
We sat there for a few seconds in silence, but it felt much longer.
"I didn't know anyone was here." I said, trying to ease the tension and start conversation. "I wouldn't have sung so loud if I knew I wasn't alone."
"You should never hide that voice of yours." He turned and stared at me. I felt slightly embarrassed. I had never attracted the attention of a boy, especially a boy as handsome and nice as this one.
"Thanks." I repeated, not really knowing what to say. I didn't really like being put in the spotlight like that.
"Mind telling me what's on your mind?"
I laughed softly. "You wouldn't be interested."
"I'm interested in anything that can make a girl upset." He paused, biting his lip. "Pain and sadness is not something I want to see on a face like yours."
"You don't know me." I fidgeted with the hem of my dress and dug my heels into the pebbles.
"Then tell me something about yourself so that I do." He scooted closer and looked at me expectantly.
I still wasn't sure that he was genuine. Savannah and Samantha have done so many cruel things to me in the past, and sending a cute boy to find out all my secrets wouldn't be beyond them.
"Why should I trust you?" I examined his face, trying to see if he was lying or not. He sighed and shook his head.
"Wow- sad and has trust issues. Whatever has happened to you, I truly am sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Because I have a feeling that, whoever did this to you, will never apologize and everyone deserves an apology when they've been hurt." I could see not a single trace of deception or insincerity in his eyes.
"That's the nicest thing someone's told me in a long time." I told him truthfully, a sad smile on my lips.
"If that's true, then that's very disappointing. People need to treat you better." He stated and I saw something flash in his eyes. Was it anger? Why would he be mad about something that happened to someone he just met? If this was his normal attitude towards things, he could be an angel.
I have a small laugh. "Good luck with that. My dad's never home and my stepmother and stepsisters are mad. They've also convinced the whole town that I'm a menace." I told him truthfully. "You must be new here, otherwise you wouldn't be talking to me."
He stayed silent for a while and I could see his knuckles turn white. "You live a truly horrible life."
"I've gotten used to it." I sighed and turned my attention to the water again. Beside me, the boy suddenly stood up, extending a hand down to me.
"Come with me." He insisted.
I cautiously raised my hand, deliberating if I should take the offer or not. "Where?"
"I need to take you away from this place."
"But I don't know you." A million problems ran through my head. He could be a stalker, or rapist, or murderer, or kidnapper, or someone sent by my stepsisters. There was a long list of things that could go wrong.
"I'm Niall." He grinned softly and I knew that he would never do anything to hurt me.
I accepted his hand and he pulled me up. "I'm Jasmine."
"Alright, Jasmine." My heart fluttered when he said my name in his perfect accent. "I'm going to get you out of here."
