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Chapter 2

  It seems like the harder I try to push people away, the closer they get. For years I've tried to tell Joey to leave me alone, and he just won't. It's like he knows that he bothers me, and he loves it. He never bothers to make dinner or clean the house, and the only thing that we have in constant supply is alcohol. Sometimes he sticks it in my face and tells me to drink, but I refuse. He slapped me once, but afterwards he apologized. I tried to believe that it was the alcohol's fault, not his; but the alcohol was his fault. Nevertheless, I have to live with him by law, so I do.

  I walked into first period and sat in the same corner that I always do. The class wound down as Ms. Morgan, my history teacher walked in.

  "Ms. Richardson, you have a note from the office." She said, placing the pink slip of paper on my desk. I picked it up and unfolded it. Report to counselor's office as soon as possible, the note read. I rolled my eyes and excused myself from the lecture. Snickers filled the room but I turned around, not listening. I walked down the empty halls and pondered why I was going to the counselor's office. I used to go twice a month, but I hated it, and they finally got the hint.

  I walked up to the door of the counselor's office and opened it slowly, but something felt oddly different. I looked at the desk to see a new, young lady. She looked at me and smiled before talking. "Hi there! You must be... Sadie?"

  "Um... yes, Ms..."

  "Oh I'm Ms. Sims. Mrs. Ellis decided to retire from Freeman. Here, take a seat." I sat down and Ms. Sims told me a little bit about herself. She said I didn't have to talk to her if I didn't want to, but it would help if I did. I started telling her about Joey and Cubbie, and eventually my mother. I felt comfortable around her; maybe it was because she was young. The whole time I talked, she listened. She didn't complain, and she didn't ignore me. The bell rang, snapping me back to reality. "Thank you for talking to me." she said.

  "Thank you for listening." I replied. I grabbed my things and slipped out of the room. If there was some way I could stay in that room forever, I would. I hoped we would meet soon again.

  As I continued to second period English, something caught my attention. Because our school is half outdoor, there was small alleys between buildings. A girl sat with her face buried in her knees. I could hear her sniffles and I walked up slowly, gingerly touching her shoulder. Her face shot up and she wiped her tears, trying to hide her emotions. "Are you alright?" She looked at me and I immediately recognized her as a new freshman.

  "I'm fine. Thanks."

  "Where's your next class?"

  "Just down the hall. I'll be fine." I looked closer at her face and saw red spots, soon to be bruises. She got up and walked away as if nothing had happened, so I did the same. The rest of the day went by fairly quickly and normally; that is until the end of the day. I walked by the same alley just in case, and sure enough, she was there. This time there was a boy there. He hit her straight in the face with a clsoed fist, and I ran up to him, shoving him over. He looked up at me and ran away as fast as he could. I helped the girl up and walked her to the nurse, only after asking her who the boy was.

  "It was Eric Carpenter." She choked out before walking into the nurse's office. The nurse cleaned up her cuts and gave her ice for her bruises, but she never asked what happened to her. When the nurse finally let her leave, I followed behind her. She hadn't told me anything about her or who she was; I assumed it's because she was embarrassed. "I'm Jenna, by the way. Thanks for helping me."

  "I'm Sadie. What's with that guy?" I knew I was prying, but she owed me one.

  "Oh, Eric? He's uh... He's my brother's friend. He hates me. He normally wouldn't put a hand on me, but he says he had a bad day." I could hear her voice starting to choke up and tears welled up in her eyes as she turned away.

"Do you want a ride home? I have nothing else to do..."

"Yes, please." We walked to my car and she told me her address, which turned out to be surprisingly close to my house. Before she got out, I asked her if she wanted a ride to school in the morning. She nodded and smiled for the first time since we had met. I smiled too.