My Safety

One~

Only one word can describe my life; chaos. It's always been just my mother and I, my dad left before I was born and my parents never had any other kids. My mom is my lifeline, she's my best friend. I thought that nothing would ever change between us, that was until she started dating Brad.

Brad is the typical all American businessman; he's got four successful sons, a huge business that's worth millions. He's a massive douchebag to me, but he makes my mom happy so I deal with it. He and my mother have been together since I was six, it's been eleven years of dealing with his constant comments about how I'm such a boy, how I should take lessons from his sons, focus more on becoming the perfect lady because apparently focusing on sports and school isn't going to get me anywhere in life. But, little does he know that the only reason any of his sons are fucking passing school at all is because of me.

"Ava, dear, can you please go get the boys? They're out in the garage," Caroline demanded. Walking out of the living room, I'm face to face with the angry lady.

"Caroline, what happened?"

"Those boys are going to be the death of me. I swear, they're trying to put me into an early grave. Just go get them, please?"

"Yeah, I guess I can do that," I say with a smile. Caroline was hired by Brad when he and my mom decided to move in together. Something about my mom being to busy to deal with me because his sons are more important than I am, but that's fine. Caroline has been there for me ever since I was seven, she and her husband have always been my parental figures. I went to her whenever I had questions about things or if I was ever sad over a boy.

Walking into the garage, I'm instantly screamed at, "Ava, get the fuck out. You know you're not allowed to be in the garage after the incident." I look up at Eden, Brad's eldest son.

"Dude, don't even waste your breath," Domenic scoffed at his older brother. The incident that Eden's referring to was entirely his fault. He's the one that dared me to climb the tree, and stupidly seeking his acceptance I did it. I climbed the fucking tree only for him and his brothers to start throwing pebbles at me, it wasn't the first time they did that. But it was the first time that they threw more than just tiny pebbles at me. After almost an hour of sitting in the tree, crying and bleeding because Austen and Oliver, his twin brother, decided to throw eggs at little me. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if Oliver wasn't a pitcher for our middle school baseball team. Rolling my eyes, I wait for them to all stop laughing at my misfortune. When they finally stop, I tell them that Caroline needs to talk to them and I walk away.

In an effort to not breakdown in front of my mother, I walk up to my room. My room is the only place that I can actually relax and not have to worry about anything. The only good thing about my mom being engaged to Brad is that I have a giant ass room to myself. As soon as my head meets my pillows, my phone goes off. I look at the notification and instantly tense up. It's from Eden's best friend, also known as the guy that played me last year.

"What do you want, Erik?"

"Just wanted to make sure that you aren't dead," Erik knows all of the shit that the Rivera Brothers put me through.

"Yeah, I'm still alive. Now is that all?" With that, all I hear is the end tones of our call. Heaving a sigh, I walk to my bathroom and stare into the mirror. All I can see staring back at me is someone that I don't even recognize. My brown hair is all matted, my brown eyes are duller than usual and I would be surprised if I could even manage to smile. Pulling my hoodie and leggings off, I can't even look at myself. I've lost so much weight. Shaking my head, I get into the shower with only one thought in my head; tomorrow is a new day.

"Ava, wake your fucking ass up right now." Uh oh, Eden's pissed at me. Again. I roll over and look at his huffing form in my doorway.

"What do you want, Eden?"

"What I want is for you to fucking leave. I love your mom, she fits in with us. But you? You don't belong here at all. The only people that like you are Caroline and her husband, and even then that's debatable."

"Eden, fucking stop."

"No, not until you realize that no one wants you here. Not until you take your shit and leave." It's only when he throws the only picture I have of my father, that I decide that he's right. Before I can say anything, he storms out of my room with one last nasty look over his shoulder. It takes me awhile to gather the courage to get up from my mattress, which is basically on the floor, and the minute I do, I break.

I break from eleven years of this shit, of being told that no one loves me and that it's my fault that my father left. I know nothing of my father, only that he used to play hockey and that I look exactly like him, that's probably why my mom doesn't love me.

Breathing a sigh, I stand up and find my duffle bag. It's only when I start throwing things into my bag that I realize what I'm doing. I start to wonder if it's worth it to even leave, I'd only be forced to come back since I have no family other than my mom and the Riveras, if I can even call them family. So, instead of running away, I decide to write a note.

Dear whomever it may concern;

    I'm safe. Not like any of you care anyways. I've got money and a place to stay.

            Sincerely, Ava.