Only You || Newtmas

2.0

It's been five months since the Incident with my parents. It was difficult but we have managed to get settled.

Sonya and I found a small flat in a kind of dodgy part of town that was in our budget but we managed to make it nice enough to live in. We both have part time jobs in cafés after school to pay the rent, we've also saved up a little extra on the side and we're able to fully buy the apartment.

We attend the local highschool and Sonya has already made some good friends. Thinking about it, so have I. I am actually considered popular here. Not that I deserve it, I just hang around the right people. Our parents haven't made a move to find us and hopefully never will. I don't want to see either of them ever again.

I am currently skateboarding home with my new best friend, Minho. He was the first person to come talk to me when I arrived at school. He is the only person that I trust enough to have told about what happened before my sister and I moved here. He saw right through me and knew something was up whenever I talked to him so he asked me, very directly, what was wrong. I didn't want to tell him, fearful that he wouldn't want to be my friend if he knew about my terrible past. At first, he was taken aback but said that he supported me no matter what, that I was a new and better person now. That is why he rapidly became my new best friend.

As Minho and I skate down street after street to get home, we talk about anything and everything. About our popular friend group, something that I have never experienced having before and I must admit that it feels nice to have people think you're cool and look up to you. Even if what you appear to be to everyone else is just a front that you put on for them.

Minho and I arrive at our block of flats. He only lives a couple of floors below me so we get to see each other often. I pick up my skateboard and give Minho a little half-hearted punch in the shoulder, a bit of a 'bye' if you will.

"Gotta get to work, I'll see ya tomorrow." I hesitate before adding, "shuck-face."

Minho's group of friends had invented their own slang. Like 'shuck' is something to say when you're angry or annoyed, 'klunk' is like poop, 'shank' is a friend. Anyway, since I am still a new member of this gang, I am still getting to terms with some of the words.

We walk up the stairs until we reach Minho's flat.

"See you later, man." He calls, as I continue up the steps turning around to wave at him.

Finally, after having gone up quite a few flights of stairs, I arrive at my front door, leaning over out of breath, hands on my knees. I straighten up after a few seconds and proceed to fish my keys out of the pocket of my jeans and unlock the door.

I enter and head towards my bedroom to grab my work uniform before locking myself in the bathroom to change. I turn and look at my reflection in the mirror. What I see still disgusts me after all these months. I will never get over what I did but I'm going to have to live with it. The bags under my eyes seem to become a deeper shade of purple each day. My cheeks are hollow, making every angle of my face sharper.

I finish over-examining my features and splash some water on my face then changing into my navy blue work clothes. I come out of the bathroom to see that Sonya has just got home from her shift at the café, she takes the earlier one on Tuesdays because she has the afternoon off. She's in the kitchen digging out some chips to snack on since she usually waits for me to have dinner.

"Was it busy? Make any tips?" I call out to her, while walking into the kitchen to swipe some of her chips.

"Did you really think I wouldn't with this face?" She flashs her sweetest smile at me and giggles.

I roll my eyes, chuckling a little. "Yeah, yeah, okay, pretty princess. I'm off, see you later." I call as I put my phone in my pocket and walk out the door.