A Rose and its Thorns

Chapter One

I woke with a start, panting and sweating, its been the same dream, the same nightmare that has woken me like this, for years. I roll over and push the power button on my phone as the bright light assaults my eyes, I wait a few seconds for my eyes to adjust before I look at the glowing phone, 3:30. Should have guessed it, the hour when it happened, the hour where I always wake up dripping in sweat sometimes crying, sometimes screaming. 

Knowing I wont get anymore sleep I close my phone, and get up. I'm not the cleanest person in the world but I also cant stand messes sometimes, I look at my room with its disorganized desk and a few stray pieces of clothes spread about the floor. It makes me irritated to look at, so I do what I always do when I wake up, I clean everything. Its the only thing recently that takes my mind away from the prison my past trauma has made for it. Its takes a while for me to rearrange everything, when every book and every piece of clothing is in its place I am fully satisfied and I proceed with my daily routine of picking clothes and taking a shower.

By the time in out of the shower my alarm in going off telling me to wake up. I have a habit of always waking up way earlier than needed, its been burned into my head along with other thing that no matter how hard I try to shake it, it clings to my skin like rabid leeches slowly draining my free will to think and act for myself forcing me to do what was drilled into me, do what I was taught all those years before. 

When I finally trudge down the steps my mother greets me with her usual self  "You look terrible. go to my room and put on some of my makeup, I wont let you walk out the house looking like that. While your at it put on some thing different." Being the person I am, I only respond with my usual tone of voice "Yes mother." With at being said I go back up stairs and up to the room at the end of the hall and smear some concealer under my eyes and put on some mascara and a bit of brown eyeliner, and put my dark hair up into a neat, tight ponytail atop my my head.

When I get to my room I strip out of my pants and shirt leaving me in my underwear. Looking at myself in the full body mirror I take in my pale skin with light pink scars and dark ink from my past running across my sides and back, I pinch the skin of my sides and sigh. Reminding myself not to eat to day because I ate over my limit yesterday and I still needed to lose weight.

I finally yank my eyes away from my body not being able to stand looking at it any longer. I turn to my closet and find some loose jeans and a top that is a few sizes to large and hangs off of my body awkwardly. When i get to the bottom of the stairs my mother gives me a once over and nods her head once approvingly. I turn to look at my mother fully "I'm off to school now mother, I'll see you when you get back from work." I say. I wait a few seconds for a reply but when none is reciprocated I turn and leave closing the door softly behind me. The walk to my school is not unbearable, its another thing that calms me down and gives me enough time to mentally prepare my self for the bloodbath that  sure to happen when i arrive.

The parking lot has very few cars considering I always arrive at least 45 minutes before school starts. I push past the doors, leading me to one of the worst days of my life apparently, but it could also turn out to be one of the best. 

Since I don't hangout with people at all I head strait to the library, the only place I could live  in peace at this hell hole, I find a book that I have seen many times and have not yet picked up. I give the book a shot, a romance novel, my type of book. Soon after picking it up I get invested, falling into the plot and characters the story spiraling around me and coming to life in my head. I'll admit the book is a cliche and yet I'm invested and it swims constantly and ebbing at my head with the day dreams of the book and yet how unreasonable it may sound I start to wish for a type of relationship and love conflict that the characters and author have created. 

With me being so invested in the book I hardly notice the bell ring, I quickly pick up the book and rush to the librarian and check it out. Stuffing it into my bag I swing the strap over my shoulder and jog out of the room that I love so dearly. Leaving the smell of books and the comforting warmth behind me, only to be flung into the hallway. the hallways always fill me with rage, the incessant surging of the people, the pushing and the yelling. Its over stimulating. No matter what people have told me about how 'high school with be the best years of your life' I'm looking forward to leaving in two years and getting into a collage and moving out of this god forsaken town.

I'm the first one in my class, as always. The teacher looks up at me when I walk in a small smile slips onto his face as I walk past. "Good morning Alice." He says in a kind voice. "Good morning Mr.Smiths." I say trying to mimic his voice. I find my seat in the back corner with a wall behind me and a window to my right, I have a direct view of the door. I wait as people slowly trickle in and find their seats. No one sits near my, perusal. people tend to avoid me. No real reason I just don't associate myself with people, not only does that make me susceptible to bully's and being ignored. Not that I mind, I couldn't care less about what people thought about me. People don't need to know about me. They don't need to know, they don't truly care about who I am.

I whip my book out of my back back and sink down in my chair. Quickly falling into the fantasy wold that is my book. I was forcefully knocked out of my fantasy world when the door slammed violently against the door and a haughty over the top male walked through the door and sauntered in like he owned the place. Mr. Smiths looked over at the boy with a frown printed on his face and mechanically stood up, "And you must be the infamous Zander McLane then. I'm even surprised you showed up." 

The so called Zander bows dramatically falling deep to the point his chest almost touches his knees, "that is I sir, pleased to meet you" He stood with a smirk plastered across his face, his floppy black hair fell over his eyes, his hand moved from his pocket to push the hair away. as soon as this boy entered I hated him, but felt a connection with him.   

The teacher rolled his eyes and looked over the class " You'll be sitting next to miss rose. Alice people stand up." Startled I almost want to protest but I don't, I stand slowly. The rest of the classes eyes snap to me immediately, the majority of the females glare the males just look really uninterested. 

Zander looks at me and his eyes widen and then his eyes go blank and he marches over to me I sit down quickly and pick up my book that I had gently placed on my desk and attempt to go back to reading but cant, I feel this weird itching on the side of my face and I slowly look over next to me and see that Zander is just sitting there staring at me. I make eye contact to let him know I caught him staring at me, all he does is hold my gaze and smirk. This pisses me off more, white knuckled I break and turn back to my book quickly, making my hair snap over and fall across my shoulder. I make it look like I am uninterested and pretend to read, after what feels like forever the bell rings, I shove everything into my bag and rush out the door. I'm the first out the door, which is unusual for me, being a creature of habit I am.